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TAMPA - John Agan was doubly unlucky today – he got bit by not one but two venomous snakes. Doctors think one was a coral snake and the other was a pygmy rattler. The bites happened when Agan was walking his dog at about 1:45 p.m. outside the Masters Inn at U.S. 92 and State Road 579.

Giant Rattlesnake Slithers Its Way Into St. Augustine Townhouse Community ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- The trappers who caught and killed a giant rattlesnake in St. Johns County said the snake was 7 feet 3 inches long. Experts said it's one of the biggest rattlesnakes they've ever seen. The rattlesnake slithered its way into Tuscany Village, a St. Augustine townhouse community, over the weekend. Someone spotted the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, now being called Rattzilla, near homes off State Road 16 and Interstate 95 and called police. Police then called Brandon Booth, a professional trapper. Booth said that when he pulled up,...

"Access Hollywood" executive bitten by rattlesnake Editorial Note: While this story is outside our local area, we thought it important to remind people to be careful of rattlesnakes. Sunday, July 12th, 2009.Issue 28, Volume 9. An "Access Hollywood'' executive bitten by a rattlesnake -- just in time to put her out of action on the Michael Jackson story -- is expected back at work tomorrow after a nasty reaction and two-week recovery that required 22 vials of antivenin, she said today. Sharon Smith's disastrous encounter with the cold-blooded viper occurred June 27 at a roadside rest area on U.S. 101...

Woman Without Fear By Daniel Mannix I FIRST heard of Grace Wiley when Dr. William Mann, former direc­tor of the National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C., banded me a picture of a tiny woman with a gigantic king cobra draped over her shoulders like a garden hose. The snake had partly spread his hood and was looking in­tently into the camera while his mis­tress stroked his head to quiet him. Dr. Mann told me: “Grace lives in a little house full of poisonous snakes, imported from all over the world. She lets them wander around like eats. There’s been more...

Hello Everyone, I happened to see a bald eagle's nest and rattlesnake yesterday, a very positive sight as it reveals that the bald eagles are recovering. You can see them here: http://www.flickr.com/dmathew1

McLEAN, VA (NBC) - A Virginia man is recovering after finding a deadly surprise in his luggage. Andy Bacas was hospitalized after a snake he said he found in his suitcase bit the palm of his hand. Arlington County Fire and Rescue was called Bacas' home after the snake bite. Bacas, an Arlington County Public Schools coach, was taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital, where he spent the night. He is in fair condition. Bacas had just returned from a bus trip to a camp in Summerton, South Carolina with the Yorktown High School boys' crew team he coaches, and the...

ARLINGTON, Virginia (CNN) -- A suburban Washington man was bitten Monday by a rattlesnake that found its way into his luggage, a fire department spokesman said. An Eastern diamondback rattlesnake appears in a photo from the U.S. Geological Survey. "He felt a sharp pain, brought his hand out and saw the bite," said Benjamin Barksdale, assistant chief and chief fire marshal of the Arlington County, Virginia, Fire Department. Andrew Bacas zipped his bag shut and called 911 at about 9:30 a.m. ET, the official said. "He was conscious and alert but a little anxious," Barksdale said of the victim. The...

LONDON, Ky. -- As a woman bitten by a rattlesnake during a church service in London struggled to breathe, hospital employees made derogatory comments about her religious beliefs rather than providing proper care, contributing to her death, a lawsuit charges...

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- A pet store employee was recovering, Thursday morning, from a rattlesnake bite. Store surveillance video showed the man cleaning a western diamondback rattlesnake's cage Wednesday in Hollywood. But, when he tried to move the snake to another cage, it lashed out and bit his hand. The Florida snake handler was rushed to a Miami-Dade hospital that specializes in snake antivenin. Experts said the rattlesnake bite probably wasn't a feeding response, otherwise the attack caught on tape could have been much worse. The Strictly Reptiles Company breeds snakes and other reptiles. Employee Tony Cruz was cleaning the cage...

Fishing writer survives bite from deadly snake By JOHN RUDOLF LAKE HAVASU NEWS-HERALD LAKE HAVASU - It took only a split-second to turn an idyllic day fishing on Lake Havasu into an excruciating encounter with one of the deadliest creatures in nature. Early on the morning of Sept. 11, Doug Busey, 49, the Tahoe Daily Tribune's longtime fishing writer, stepped off of a friend's fishing boat to snap a few photos from a beach on the lake's California side. He knelt down to get a better angle on a cactus, and a dark blur jumped out at it him. Only...

In early August, snake collector Matt Wilkinson of Southeast Portland grabbed a 20-inch rattler off the highway near Maupin in Central Oregon. Three weeks later, in a show of daring for an ex-girlfriend, Wilkinson stuck the snake in his mouth. Near death with a tongue swollen to the point it spilled out of his mouth and blocked his throat, emergency room and trauma surgeons at OHSU saved his life. The 23-year-old became a celebrity of sorts today when broadcast and cable news all over the country channels wondered at his story. On the phone, still out of sorts with sore...

TUCSON, Ariz. — A Mrs. America contestant from Tennessee spent about 15 hours in a hospital here after being bitten by a rattlesnake at a hotel. Christina Ryan of Franklin said she caught sight of a spider on an outside staircase at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort while walking to a rehearsal last Sunday morning for this weekend’s competition. She jumped away from it and a rattlesnake bit her right foot, just above her toe. As time went on, Ryan said the pain got worse. She spent about 15 hours in the hospital and received 10 vials of antivenin before being...

MASONVILLE, Colo. - Zoey is a Chihuahua, but when a rattlesnake lunged at her owners' 1-year-old grandson, she was a real bulldog. Booker West was splashing his hands in a birdbath in his grandparents' northern Colorado back yard when the snake slithered up to the toddler, rattled and struck. Five-pound Zoey jumped in the way and took the bites. "She got in between Booker and the snake, and that's when I heard her yipe," Monty Long, the boy's grandfather, said Thursday. The dog required treatment and for a time it appeared she might not survive the bites she suffered earlier...

Next time you're out in the tall grass, remember this one. This snake was recently found at the J & S Quik Mart located just south of RR 3014 Turnoff on Highway 281 south of Tow, Texas.

DUBLIN, N.C. Authorities said a Bladen County man whose body was found at a racetrack here apparently died of a rattlesnake bite. Lloyd Hood, 44, had been missing since Tuesday, when he spotted the 4-foot snake while walking with a friend through a wooded ravine next to Dublin Motor Speedway. Investigators said the friend - who hates snakes - went back to the car and waited while Hood tried to catch it. Hood - an avid hunter and outdoorsman - never returned, and the friend tried unsuccessfully to find him before leaving and filing a missing person report Wednesday. Chief...

Sept. 28, 2005, 10:48PM Even dead, rattlers are dangerous Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Even a dead rattlesnake can hurt you. Just ask Trey Hanover of College Station. ADVERTISEMENT On Labor Day weekend, Hanover and his father, Tommy Hanover, were working on their deer lease when they killed a big rattler. They shot the snake's head off with a shotgun and loaded the carcass in the truck to show other hunters on their lease that they needed to be careful. "We hung the snake on the fence at the camphouse," Tommy Hanover said. "When we got ready to leave, Trey picked...

<p>ATLANTA — Each year, people in Whigham, Ga., (search) capture 200 of the venomous reptiles as part of the annual "rattlesnake roundup." The tradition began 43 years ago after several residents were bitten and the idea was to keep the slithery creatures' numbers in check.</p>

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- When Roy Williamson hit a tee shot off the fairway, the lie turned out to be much rougher than he thought. Williamson, 60, was bitten in the head by a rattlesnake when he went to retrieve his ball from some wetlands. "I saw my ball pretty much in plain view," Williamson said Thursday, a week after the encounter. "Unfortunately, it was being tended to by a rattlesnake that I didn't see." He said he picked up the ball and felt something scratch at his right temple as he stood up, slapping at what he thought was a...

RUTLAND, Vt. -- A West Rutland man was charged Monday with storing a dead rattlesnake in his freezer. Timothy Duprey, 40, pleaded not guilty to criminal charges of possessing an animal protected under Vermont's endangered species law. Duprey said he found the snake dead on the side of the road in Fair Haven in August. Fair Haven and West Haven are the only two locations in Vermont where the snakes are believed to live. Game Warden Robert Sterling said it does not matter that the snake was dead; possessing it is still a crime. Rattlesnakes are not protected under federal...

Man: Wal-Mart should pay medical bills after snake bite 01:12 PM CDT on Wednesday, October 1, 2003Associated Press BROWNWOOD, Texas – A man who claims he was bitten by a rattlesnake in a Wal-Mart says he wants the store to pay his medical bills but does not plan to seek more money. Douglas Hatchett, 31, a self-employed carpenter and painter who lives in Bangs, went to Wal-Mart in nearby Brownwood on Monday. He said he reached for a pair of shoes in a box on a shelf when the Western diamondback rattler, estimated at 14-16 inches long, bit him in...

BROWNWOOD, Texas -- Police say a man was bitten by a rattlesnake while shopping for shoes in a Wal-Mart store in Texas. Douglas Hatchett of Brownwood was examing shoes on a rack when a rattlesnake concealed behind a shoebox bit him yesterday. The snake fell to the floor, where Hatchett stomped it to death. Police, fire and emergency medical crews were called to the scene. The 31-year-old shopper and the dead snake were hustled to Brownwood Regional Medical Center. There, the snake was confirmed as a rattler, and Hatchett was treated and released. Wal-Mart officials say the matter's being investigated...

<p>THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — President Bush yesterday called on Congress to spend billions upgrading America's national parks because "we want the toilets to flush."</p> <p>"We've got to get a commitment from the appropriators in Congress to spend enough money to maintain our parks," he said during a hike through Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. "And so I'm calling on Congress to spend $5 billion over the next five years."</p>

Enzi, Thomas praise president's speech Associated Press Sens. Mike Enzi and Craig Thomas, both R-Wyo., praised President Bush's call Thursday for United Nations resolutions that seek a return of weapons inspectors to Iraq. Thomas called Saddam Hussein "a rattlesnake in your backyard." Enzi, a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Operations and Terrorism, attended the speech. Bush appointed Enzi and Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., as the only two congressional delegates to the U.N. The designation carries full diplomatic rank and privileges. "The President presented a strong indictment of Saddam Hussein and issued a meaningful challenge to...

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX SUNDAY SEPT 01, 2002 08:43:27 ET XXXXX U.S. Navy Revives Old Rattlesnake Flag, 'Don't Tread On Me,' To Fly On All Vessels The U.S. Navy is ordering its fleet to fly the defiant "Don't Tread on Me" rattlesnake flag aboard all its vessels to emphasize America's determination in the war on terror, reports TIME magazine on Monday. MORE Navy Secretary Gordon England's directive said the resurrected flag "represents an historic reminder of the nation's and Navy's origin and will to persevere and triumph."