Attempting to take selfies with rattlesnakes is becoming a disturbing new trend. Earlier this summer, a man in San Diego was seriously injured when bitten mid-selfie, and now Alex Gomez of Lake Elsinore, Calif., may lose his hand after an unfortunate incident with a rattler. Gomez, 36-years-old and a father of three, picked up the angry snake, draped it around his neck, and tried to take a photo before the reptile understandably lashed out and bit his hand.
Gomez’s mother, Deborah, says what we’re all thinking during her interview with CBS LA:
“I’m shocked that he would have that thing around his neck. It could’ve bit his neck, and that would have been it. That’s just being a fool.”
After he was bitten, Gomez’s hand started to swell and he began to tingle all over, so a neighbor immediately called 911 and he is currently being treated with anti-venom. However, there is a good chance that he will lose his hand, as the flesh has already begun to rot away.
While Gomez undergoes treatment and convalesces in a hospital bed, at least he has a supportive mother by his side?
“I told him the news people had been calling, and he said ‘Mom, you better not’, and I said ‘I’m going to’. I’m going to teach him a real good lesson when he gets home. No mercy for him.”
Oh.
Let it be said once and for all: Nature doesn’t care about your Instagram account, so leave it alone.
(Via CBS LA)