Them, there snakes aren't the friendly-type?
Rattlesnakes Bite 4 Over Weekend
UPDATED: 9:17 am MST May 5, 2009
PHOENIX -- Banner Poison Control Center treated four patients this past weekend for rattlesnake bites. There have been eight victims in the past week.
Experts said that means this is the time to take precautions; rattlesnakes are particularly active when daytime temperatures remain above 82 degrees Fahrenheit.
Patrick Hotchkiss of Quartzsite, Ariz., was one of the victims. He had just stepped off his porch Sunday afternoon when he was struck.
"I felt two sharp things, sort of akin to piece of broken glass that snaps off," said Patrick Hotchkiss, from his hospital bed at Banner Good Samaritan Hospital.
Hotchkiss said this particular rattlesnake was about 2-and-a-half feet long and did not rattle prior to striking.
"I should've been more vigilant. Usually I am," said Hotchkiss.
Doctors said one man was bitten on the hand after trying to pet a rattlesnake. They said the man had been drinking prior to the incident.
“We've seen several people who've tried petting a rattlesnake, and even on occasion people trying to kiss one. Any of those things usually result in the patient getting bitten," said Dr. Michael Levine, a toxicologist at Banner Poison Control Center.
