Man Gets Bitten After Putting Snake in Mouth

Snake collector Matt Wilkinson of Portland grabbed a 20-inch rattler from a nearby highway and stuck the serpent in his mouth to impress his ex-girlfriend.

Wilkinson was soon near death with a swollen tongue that blocked his throat and trauma doctors had to get to work so save his life.

Now speaking about the incident he tells a local paper: "You can assume alcohol was involved." And not just beer, he said it was a "mixture of stupid stuff."

Wilkinson said it happened at a barbecue with friends. He had just gotten a few drinks in him when his ex-girlfriend asked him for a beer. So he handed her one, not realizing the snake was also in his hand.

Wilkinson says: "She said, 'Get that thing out of my face,'. I told her it was a nice snake. 'Nothing can happen. Watch.'"

So he stuck the snake in his mouth.

"It got a hold of my tongue".

Suddenly he was having trouble breathing when his ex-girlfriend drove him to the hospital.

Doctors couldn't get a breathing tube down his swollen throat so they cut a hole in his neck to insert the breathing tube.

The local Poison Control Center says they see about 50 people a year with snake bites, but not many who stick a snake in their mouth.

He says everytime he talks to a co-workers they ask him: "'What the heck were you thinking?'".

The answer? "It's my own stupidity." At least he's honest.

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