Nicolas Cage's reptile row

Jan 21, 2008, 13:30 GMT

12/13/2007 - Nicolas Cage - "National Treasure : Book of Secrets" New York Premiere - Arrivals - Ziegfeld Theater - New York City, New York, USA © Jennifer L. Gonzeles / PR Photos

Nicolas Cage was forced to give his poisonous pet snakes to the zoo because his neighbours were terrified of them.

The 'National Treasure' star kept two cobras at his Hollywood home, but when his neighbours found out they threatened to sue him unless he got rid of them.

Cage, 44, said: "I had to get rid of my pet cobras because my neighbours threatened to sue me. The cobras were called Moby and Sheba and I kept them in my house in Hollywood for about three years. I had to keep the antidote to their poison as well because if one of those guys bit you then you had 15 minutes before the curtains closed. I loved them. I'd watch them for hours.

"I happened to mention them on 'The Late Show With David Letterman' and then it became a big neighbourhood problem. They threatened to sue me unless I got rid of them. I could see their point. I resolved the issue by giving the snakes to a zoo."

The 'Gone In 60 Seconds' actor collects all kinds of oddities including an octopus, dead bats and a piece of the planet Mars.

He revealed: "I paid £25,000 for part of a meteorite. It landed in Nigeria in 1962 and has been authenticated by NASA as a rock from Mars. It's three million years old and fascinates me.

"I like to collect things: an octopus, the snakes, dead bats, human skulls. I study and involve myself completely in something totally different. It is part of what I do as an actor so it's not unusual that I do this in my private life."

(C) BANG Media International