diff --git a/lib/needle.js b/lib/needle.js
index e153b92eb..3d4651efd 100644
--- a/lib/needle.js
+++ b/lib/needle.js
@@ -542,7 +542,7 @@ Needle.prototype.send_request = function(count, method, uri, config, post_data,
         // if follow_set_cookies is true, insert cookies in the next request's headers.
         // we set both the original request cookies plus any response cookies we might have received.
         if (config.follow_set_cookies && utils.host_and_ports_match(headers.location, uri)) {
-          var request_cookies = cookies.read(config.headers['cookie']);
+          var request_cookies = cookies.read(config.headers['cookie'].split(';'));
           config.previous_resp_cookies = resp.cookies;
           if (Object.keys(request_cookies).length || Object.keys(resp.cookies || {}).length) {
             config.headers['cookie'] = cookies.write(extend(request_cookies, resp.cookies));