Thursday, September 29, 2005

DEAD RATTLER GETS REVENGE

Tommy Hanover and his son, Trey, killed a rattlesnake in Texas. Used a shotgun to blow its damned head clean off. Then they showed off the carcass to some hunters and hung it up on a fence before they finally "threw it out in the pasture for the buzzards to eat," Tommy told the Houston Chronicle.

The next morning, Trey Hanover woke up and couldn't see. His eyes were swollen shut. His doctor heard the story and came up with a diagnosis, according to the Chronicle:
[T]he shotgun load that vaporized the rattlesnake's head splattered the snake's venom over its body.

When Hanover handled the snake, he got the venom on his hands and later rubbed it in his eyes, made itchy by dust and ragweed. Sixteen days later, the vision in his right eye was back to normal. His left eye was still a little cloudy, but the doctor thought it would return to normal as well.
Always wash your hands after handling your snake.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Actually, this is my son ... the aftermath was a grueling experience. He was legally blind for about 2 weeks and we didn't know if he would be able to see again. Furthermore, the pain was excruciating. As for the snakes, there are so many of the darn things here in Texas I have never been that concerned about their habitat dying out. We're quite used to them around here, and we always let the "good snakes" live.

D. Bright