MAN WHO GOT BITTEN WHILE TRYING TO TAKE A SELFIE WITH A RATTLESNAKE MAY LOSE HAND AS HIS SKIN S ROTTING.

A Southern California man who picked up a rattlesnake to pose for a photograph was badly hurt when the reptile bit him on the hand.

Alex Gomez, 36, was bitten on Monday by the 4-foot rattler in a field at his family's ranch in Lake Elsinore, a community about 60 miles southeast of Los Angeles, according to TV station KCBS, which showed a picture of the man holding the snake around his neck.

Alex Gomez's mother, Deborah, told KCBS on Tuesday that her son might lose his hand because of the bite wound to the extremity. 

Swollen fingers

The man's hand swelled up after the bite, and he was taken to a local hospital and treated with anti-venom, according to the station.

The skin on his hand and arm is now rotting, Mrs Gomez said. 

'I'm shocked that he would have that thing around his neck,' she told the station. 

'It could've bit his neck, and that would have been it. That's just being a fool.' She could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

RATTLESNAKE

Rattlesnakes, whose bites can be fatal, are found in many parts of California.  The peak season for rattle snake bites, which occur about 800 times a year in California, is from April to October, state officials say.

A friend that was with Gomez at the time said the snake had about 10 rattlers and was 'angry' when Gomez approached it. 

His mother said she decided to share his story in order to embarrass him. 'I told him the news people had been calling, and he said ''Mom, you better not'', and I said ''I’m going to'',' she said.

'I’m going to teach him a real good lesson when he gets home. No mercy for him.'

DailyMail