A renowned snake charmer in Thailand has announced he is leaving his 30-year career to spend more time with his family.

Thongkham Lookthongchai, 62, has earned a name for himself kissing deadly king cobras on the head since 1995.

Dubbed the 'King of King Cobras', Thongkam captivated audiences with his death-defying performances, planting pecks on the venomous beasts in various tourist destinations including Phuket, Bangkok, and at the King Cobra Village in Khon Kaen province for more than two decades.

He has earned two Guinness World Records - one in 2006 for kissing 19 king cobras consecutively, and another in 2010 for kissing 34 cobras within three minutes in Rome, Italy.

Despite the recognition he has received over the years, the beloved snake charmer announced his retirement to local media on July 14, and treated them to one final show at his home in Khon Kaen, in the northeast of the country.

Footage shows the expert cobra handler deftly evading a furious cobra's strikes while holding the reptile with his bare hands.

Thongkham said he has decided to leave the profession because he was fulfilled and no longer wanted to risk his life as he is older now.

He said: 'I have already paid off my car loan, and my wife, who works in Bangkok, keeps telling me she is worried for me. She wanted me to leave the capital and stay with our family in the village.'

Thongkham said his retirement was also influenced by a warning from doctors at the Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute, which reported a high fatality rate for people over 60 who are bitten by king cobras.

He said that four members of the King Cobra Club, of which he is part, had died from cobra bites. They were aged 60 and older, he said.

Thongkham added that he himself had been bitten by snakes four times, three of which had sent him to the hospital.

His most recent brush with death happened last 2014 in Phuket, where he had to stay in the ICU for two days for a cobra bite.

Thongkham said snake fanatics and tourists can still visit him at the King Cobra Village, but he would no longer have snakes on display as he plans to sell his cobras for 1,000 THB (29 USD) per kilogram.

Thongkham said he will be living with wife Jan Dang Chai Buddi, 58, at their home in Khon Kaen. Her earnings of around 500 THB (around 15 USD) a day selling mats and blankets are a far cry from Thongkham's handsome income of 50,000 THB a month (1,461 USD). But the former snake charmer said it was enough for their needs.