HOW "VENOM IN VEGAS" WORKS

To people passing by on the Las Vegas strip, the stunt looks strangely understated, especially against the glitz and glamour of Caesars Palace and Harrah's. There is a plain glass box. Inside the box, there is a man. And sharing the cramped quarters, there are snakes. Lots of them. All of them deadly. Oh, and the best part: The man and the snakes are living together for 10 days.

It's man against nature, portrayed visually with great elegance and simplicity. Except, of course, nothing is simple in Vegas. Why would someone decide to climb inside a box with a slithering swarm of snakes? And how, once it was decided, could the stunt be pulled off without harm coming to either human or reptile?

A Snake Charmer Named Schultz

It all started with the man — biologist, adventurer and "Wild Recon" host Donald Schultz. Schultz conceived of the idea as filming for the 10-part series neared completion. He wanted to promote the show, which debuted Jan. 5 on Animal Planet, but in a way that got people talking. "This is something that has been done before," Schultz admits, "but not on this scale. The standard scenario calls for a person to be in a box with 30 snakes. My idea was to start with 50, and add five more each day."

When he pitched the idea to the network, he envisioned a low-budget, low-brow affair. But the concept, aptly titled "Venom in Vegas," generated a lot of excitement. As the buzz grew, the Hollywood production team assembled to bring the event to life grew with it. Some of the attention was a testament to the persuasiveness of Schultz's message: that man and snake can live, peacefully, in close proximity. Yet it quickly became clear that the logistics of such an event required a large team to tend to a long list of tasks divided between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Inside the Glass House: Sleeping, Bathing and Eating with Snakes

The first task was the "box." It measures 15 feet by 20 feet (4.6 meters by 6.1 meters) and features a double-door system to allow guests and staff members to enter without inadvertently letting out a snake. A Los Angeles-based crew built the box from scratch, using standard window panels set inside a metal frame. Next, a truck carried the structure to Vegas, where it was placed at one of the Strip's busiest intersections. The location, near several world-class hotels, ensures a steady flow of foot traffic — and a round-the-clock audience of people to watch, learn and engage Schultz during planned Q&As. Live feeds also carry video to the Animal Planet Web site. All viewers, whether they're in person or online, can see everything except the bathroom, which remains hidden behind frosted glass. Otherwise, everything is fair game.

Donald Schultz entered the room on Jan. 17, 2010, and stays for 10 days. He started with 50 reptilian roommates and is joined by five more each day until he leaves on Jan. 26. Although Schultz knew the snakes would be species from the western United States and Africa, he had no prior knowledge of what will be introduced when — rattlesnakes one day, black mambas the next.

His daily activities are just as varied. He eats, sleeps and works with snakes near him at all times. Special guests join him throughout his stay to help conduct experiments. Some of those experiments involve high-speed or thermal cameras designed to capture never-before-seen footage of snake strikes. Schultz has already published papers in scientific journals based on state-of-the-art filming techniques, and he hopes "Venom in Vegas" will enable him to contribute more to the field. When he's not conducting ground-breaking research, he's milking snakes to get venom samples, writing, recording video segments and doing the things anyone would do at home — sleeping, eating, bathing and surfing the Web.

What If One of My Roommates Bites Me?

Even mundane activities carry a certain amount of risk when they're performed near deadly and short-tempered snakes, so safety is the highest priority for the production team. "It's hard to prepare for everything," Schultz says. "We're dealing with wild animals, so it's not always possible to predict exactly what they'll do."

One precaution called for handling snakes according to strict safety protocols. These require that all snakes be double-bagged and double-boxed while they're being transported. Upon release, however, Donald Schultz relies on his own knowledge and wits. He also has spotters to watch the snakes while he's sleeping. In the event he is bitten, Schultz has access to appropriate antivenoms and to medical personnel trained in snakebite treatment. And in case of a life-threatening emergency, a helicopter is standing by to transport Schultz to the hospital.

Even with these sobering reminders nearby, Schultz doesn't seem concerned. "I don't fear any snake at all. And besides, I'll be doing this with the best medicine and the best safety net in the world. Most people who live with these snakes do so very successfully without any of these resources."