July 08, 2008
A venomous rattlesnake hidden among leafy plants in the garden section of a Walmart store in Florida sprung out and bit a man who was shopping, a company spokeswoman said today.
The man was hospitalised after the 30-centimetre pygmy rattlesnake bit him in the right hand while he was looking at the plants at the store in Pembroke Pines, Florida, about 50 kilometres north of Miami.
"This is an isolated incident and we're taking precautions to make sure that it doesn't happen again," said Walmart spokeswoman Ashley Hardie.
"To ensure the wellbeing of our customers, we immediately closed the garden centre to enable animal control to do a thorough search of the area. The garden centre was re-opened once we were convinced it was safe to do so."
The Miami Herald newspaper reported that the man received intravenous anti-venom treatment at Miramar Hospital and was expected to make a full recovery.
The pygmy rattlesnake's poisonous bite could be fatal for an elderly person or small child, medics said.
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