LAKE MARY, Fla. — A venomous cottonmouth water moccasin snake came within inches of a 3-year-old Seminole County boy on Wednesday.
Wendy Villa Gomez and her son Cohen were out pulling weeds by the pool deck at their Lake Mary home when little Cohen noticed something close by.
"And he just started screaming 'there is a snake, there is a snake,'” Gomez said. “And of course I just thought it was a worm or something and I came over to take a look.
But what she found was a baby cottonmouth water moccasin.
They are not sure how the snake managed to get into the screened-in area or how long it had been there.
They watched as the snake managed to burrow itself into the rocks near the pool.
Bob Cross, who owns Critter Capture Services, was called in and captured the snake.
Cross said cottonmouth snakes are common throughout the area because they like the swamps and the nearby Wekiva River. He said if Cohen had been bitten, he'd be fighting for his life.
Wendy said she taught her kids to be careful when it comes to the wildlife around her home.
“Fortunately he recognized it was a snake, he backed right away, he called for me,” Wendy said. “So thank goodness, he really could have been hurt.”
Cross said cottonmouths are not aggressive and only attack when cornered.
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