ORANGE CITY, Fla. — A 19-year-old University High School student is recovering after a coral snake bit him when he picked it up on the school's campus.
School officials say the student picked up the snake and brought it to the courtyard where the reptile struck him in the knuckle yesterday.
Fortunately, the student is OK.
Experts said warmer weather has drawn snakes out from hiding.
They tend to feed at night, but Lake Mary resident Jesi Marin said she spotted a Florida cottonmouth in front of her door during the day.
"It was hissing and there was a smell coming out of it," she said. You can just smell it in the air. It was like really rotten garbage."
Bob Cross, who owns Critter Capture Services, said business has been good lately.
"As the weather warms up, my phone has started ringing more now," he said.
Cross said the snake he captured for Marin hid well.
"It was very concealed," he said. "It tucked itself underneath a small bush right against the house."
Cross warns against sticking arms or legs in any covered places, because that's where snakes often prefer to hide.
"You have to see where your hands and feet are," he said.
Marin said she'll keep a more watchful eye around her home.
"Now, when my kids do play, I make sure, like, if the basketball goes in the bushes, (they) come get us and we'll take it out," she said. "They never know what they're going to get into."
Cox Media Group
