You may think a bite from a rattlesnake isn't that big of a deal - but take note from one Tennessee man who almost lost his finger: it definitely can be a massive deal.
Austin McGee's finger was left looking like an eggplant after he ignored a nip from a venomous Timber rattlesnake on May 10th.
The Franklin man was bitten after picking up some metal while doing yard work, but has claimed the jab felt no more painful than a sting.
He decided to take no action - but soon came to regret it when his finger swelled to the size of a lemon. It emerged he was suffering from an infection so severe, he could have lost his finger.
Thankfully though, now doctors believe he will make a full recovery after draining the blood that had filled his finger and treating his infection.
Please note there are gruesome images ahead that many readers will not want to see
McGee told Fox17: "It was just kind of a freak accident.‘I honestly never thought that a rattlesnake bike wasn’t that big of a deal. It progressively kept getting worse and then they popped it and it went back down and then the skin around it kept coming off. It was like a throbbing, it was beating with my heart every time."
After his scary experience, the young man has urged people to take snake bites seriously.
His friend Dalton Dorris, who uploaded the pictures to Facebook, wrote: "I figured I would share with you guys the result of getting bitten in the finger by a baby rattlesnake. The doctors say he will keep his finger and it will be back to normal in 6-8 months.
"Keep this in mind next time you are in the woods. I know I have changed my mindset on not taking them seriously after seeing this. And no, he was not messing with it. He was picking up some metal and the snake was under the metal. He never knew it was there."
Rattlesnake bites are highly venomous, but 99 per cent of people who are bitten will make a full recovery if given antivenom within two hours of being attacked.
