California Man's Rattlesnake Selfie Goes Predictably Wrong

His mother is furious she could have lost her son over a "stupid" stunt.

A Lake Elsinore, California, man is recovering from a snake bite on his hand after a photo op gone wrong.

Alex Gomez, 36, found a 4-foot rattlesnake in a lot near his home Monday and decided to pick it up and take photos with it. He managed to snap a picture with the rattler around his neck, but when he tried to adjust it for a different pose it bit him on the thumb.

"I was going to take it off my neck and do something else with it, but it turned sideways, and it sunk its one tooth into my hand," Gomez told Los Angeles TV station KTLA in an interview from his sickbed.

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Alex Gomez says he's learned his lesson: "Don't mess with snakes."

Credit: KTLA

Gomez dropped the snake and ran to a neighbor's house. He was rushed to a local hospital and received anti-venom treatment en route.

His mother said her son could have died over a "stupid" stunt.

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

It's possible Gomez will lose his thumb or never regain full use of his right hand.

Gomez says he's learned a valuable lesson: "Don't mess with snakes. Leave them alone."

In July, a San Diego man also tried to take a selfie with a rattlesnake. He wound up in the hospital with a bite on his arm and a $153,000 medical bill to show for it.

Please don't take selfies with wild animals, especially venomous snakes.

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