Bitten Twice, Man 'Ain't Gonna Play With Snakes No More'

PHOENIX (AP) — A 48-year-old Arizona man hospitalized for a week after being bitten twice by a rattlesnake he was holding says he "ain't gonna play with snakes no more."

Victor Pratt of Coolidge told the Arizona Republic that the rattler slipped out of his grasp as he showed it off to friends and family after finding the snake on his property.

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Pratt says he was bitten once when he was 19 so he knew he needed to go to a hospital immediately.

He's been undergoing treatment with antivenin, first being treated at a local hospital and then transferred to Banner-University Medical Center Phoenix.

Banner's toxicology director, Dr. Steven Curry, says prompt medical attention is vital because rattlesnake venom is toxic and can cause swelling that can block air passages.