Terrifying True Stories Of Encounters With Deadly Snakes

May 2024 ยท 2 minute read

Most snakebite stories inspire empathy, but sometimes you hear a snakebite story and you think to yourself, "Eh ... that person kinda had it coming." Fortunately this particular person survived because we wouldn't wish snakebite death on anyone, but you don't have to be a herpetologist to know that taking a selfie with a rattlesnake is a really stupid idea.

According to the Huffington Post, in Lake Elsinore, California, in 2015 a 36-year-old man found a rattlesnake and then ... wait for it ... he put it around his neck so he could take a picture. Then he tried to rearrange it into a cooler pose so he could take a second selfie, and it bit him on the thumb. Because rattlesnakes don't do duck lips or Instagram, and they are venomous and they bite when they feel threatened. In case you didn't know that.

Rattlesnake selfies are evidently A Thing because in earlier that year another California man tried to take a selfie with a rattlesnake and ended up with a $153,000 hospital bill. More than $83,000 of that bill was just for the anti-venom because he needed pretty much all of it. From two hospitals.

The Lake Elsinore man was in danger of losing his thumb and possibly of never regaining the use of his hand. He learned his lesson, though. "Don't mess with snakes," he said from the hospital. "Leave them alone." Brilliant!

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