A Tennessee man nearly lost his finger after being bitten by a rattlesnake outside his home, WZTV reported.
Austin McGee, of Franklin, said he did not see the reptile until it bit him, the television station reported. Doctors said the snake was a baby timber rattlesnake, according to WZTV.
McGee said he was doing some work out in the yard with some friends when the snake surprised him.
"I heard something, it sounded like a faint little rattle," McGee's friend, Noah Hammer, told WZTV. "Must just be a bug or something because it wasn't that loud."
McGee said he thought there was a piece of metal on the ground, but when he reached for it the snake came out of hiding and bit him.
Credit: Neil Budde/Pixabay
Credit: Neil Budde/Pixabay
“It was just kind of a freak accident,” McGee told the television station. “I honestly never thought that a rattlesnake bite was that big of a deal.”
It became a big concern when McGee’s finger continued to swell.
"It progressively kept getting worse and then they popped it and it went back down and then the skin around it kept coming off," McGee told WZTV. "It was like a throbbing, it was beating with my heart every time."
While McGee’s doctors were initially concerned, they now believe he will make a full recovery. McGee is certainly going to be more careful when he pokes around his house.
"Just watch out, watch your step, and don't pick stuff up unless you kick around it and look around it," Hammer told WZTV.
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