Pygmy rattler bites shopper
Posted on Mon, Jul. 07, 2008
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AP FILE
A rattlesnake, like this one at a lab in Brazil, bit a shopper at a Wal-Mart in Pembroke Pines.
A Wal-Mart shopper looking for a deal in the garden department found more than he bargained for when he startled a poisonous pygmy rattlesnake hiding in some plants.
The foot-long rattler jumped out and bit him, striking his right hand in between his thumb and index finger.
The man was rushed from the Pembroke Pines store at 151 SW 184
th Ave. to Memorial Hospital Miramar where he received an intravenous antidote from the antivenin unit with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.
''[The bite] wouldn't have been been fatal with an adult male. But you could lose a finger,'' said Capt. Ernie Jillson, an officer with the antivenin unit. The painful bite of a pygmy rattler can be fatal for an elderly person or a young child, he said.
The bitten shopper, whose name has not been released, is recovering and will be fine, Jillson said.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue was working with physicians at Memorial Hospital Miramar and the poison control center of Miami-Dade.
The antivenin unit holds antidotes to the poison of several snake species and has been used in other states and in South and Central America, said Lt. Eddy Ballester, with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. Antivenin is typically administered when the snake venom has gotten into the bloodstream, Ballester said.
Pygmy rattlesnakes grow to be between 18 and 24 inches long and have a small rattle: ''It sounds like a bee buzzing so there's not a lot of warning,'' Jillson said. Wal-Mart said it contacted emergency services immediately after the shopper was bitten and is working with authorities in the investigation, said Daphne Moore, a spokeswoman with the company.
''This is clearly an isolated situation. Customer safety is always a priority,'' Moore said.
bullshit. this has happened before!
Since starting 10 years ago, Miami-Dade's antivenin unit has responded to some half a dozen snake bites that occur at plant nurseries, Jillson said.
It's a natural haven for the pygmy rattlesnake. The snake finds warmth, water and prey, like bugs and lizards, at the nurseries, he said.
''People need to look before you touch,'' Jillson said.
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