SNAKES, lizards and terrapins confiscated from an unemployed teacher by the RSPCA had no noticeable illnesses, an expert witness told a court yesterday.

Romain Pizzi, a specialist in exotic creatures and wildlife from Edinburgh University Veterinary School, was giving evidence at the trial of out-of-work music teacher Colin Shaw, 41, who is accused of 27 charges of causing unnecessary suffering to animals.

The RSPCA had confiscated anaconda snakes, lizards, pythons and even an alligator from a "ramshackle" shed on the grounds of a farm near Wingate in October 2001.

Vets giving evidence for the RSPCA had previously told the court that the animals were living in squalid conditions, with dirty cages and slime-covered water, and that some were suffering from dehydration, mouth and skin infections, and pneumonia.

But Mr Pizzi, a recently-qualified vet, said when he examined the creatures nine days later he could find very few signs of illness.

He said: "In my opinion, I do not believe that the infections on the scale described could have cleared up in nine days.

"Conditions like this in reptiles usually take longer to heal than in mammals."

And he said blood tests taken from the creatures and sent by the RSPCA for analysis had "significant" room for error.

But Jamie Adamson, prosecuting, said that an expert witness called by the prosecution had significantly more experience than Mr Pizzi.

Earlier the court had heard that Mr Shaw, of Market Crescent, Wingate, was believed to be the first person in the UK to breed green anacondas in captivity.

The case continues.