Man's Selfie With Rattlesnake Goes Horribly Wrong

People being injured while trying to take a selfie with a wild animal is now apparently a thing. It’s gotten to the point where rangers in Yellowstone National Park are warning tourists about its dangers.

But a selfie with a rattlesnake? That’s what a mother of a Lake Elsinore man said he did.

Alex Gomez, 36, was trying to take a selfie with the venomous reptile Monday when it bit his hand.

“That’s just being a fool,” His mother, Deborah Gomez, holding back no punches, told CBS Los Angles.

“I’m shocked he would have that thing around his neck,” Gomez said. “It could’ve bit his neck and that would’ve been it.”

Alex Gomez, a father of three, was extremely embarrassed by the incident and begged his mother not to give interviews to the media, but she had other ideas in mind.

“I said ‘I’m going to,’” Deborah Gomez told CBS Los Angeles. “Yeah, I’m going to teach him a real good lesson when he gets home. No mercy for him.”

She said her son’s skin is already rotting way.

Right now is peak rattlesnake season in Southern California, which is between April and October. Because of the drought, experts say rattlesnakes are venturing closer to where people live.

The California Poison Control Center records about 800 bites each year statewide, with one to two deaths, according to the state Department of Fish and Game.

And with the hot summer weather, snakes can still be active at night hunting rodents and other prey animals, accoriding to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Experts say if you encounter a rattlesnake, stay at least six feet away from it and don’t try handle or touch the snake. That’s how most people get bit. And, it should go without saying, don’t try to take a selfie with the deadly animal.

See Also:

• Watch Where You Walk! Snakebite Season Is Here

That’s advice Alex Gomez probably wish he’d heed.

He’s now in the hospital receiving anti-venom treatment and could potentially lose his hand.

--Photo courtesy of CBS2/KCAL9 News