Man bitten while using barbecue tongs to remove rattlesnake

A Southern California man is recovering after he was bitten by a rattlesnake when he tried to pick up the poisonous reptile using barbecue tongs, authorities said. The man spotted the snake Saturday evening near his home in the Sycamore Creek Creek community of Corona and was worried about it coming into contact with children, according to a statement from Riverside County Animal Services. When he tried to remove the rattler using the tongs, the snake struck and bit him on the hand, Animal Services spokesman John Welsh said. The man, who was not identified, was treated at a hospital and later released. “He told me that he was feeling remarkably well,” Welsh said Tuesday. “He said he definitely felt that he had dodged a bullet.” Rattlesnake bites are painful and in rare cases can be fatal...MORE