10-Year-Old Texas Boy in Recovery After Being Bitten by a Poisonous Snake

On Sunday, 10-year-old Michael Lohman was chasing a lizard on the sidelines of a soccer field in Longview, Texas, when a poisonous water moccasin struck out and bit him on the middle finger. Lohman spoke to KLTV and wanted them to know that it wasn’t just any lizard he was after. He wanted a closer look at, “a rainbow lizard that I’d never seen before,” he told the news. Sadly, the boy didn’t see the lizard nor the snake in time, and a fang lodged right into his finger. Amazingly, he knew what to do from watching Coyote Peterson’s YouTube channel called Brave Wilderness.

Since Lohman knew not to suck the venom out and that he needed anti-venom, he rushed over to his parents who were playing soccer and he was rushed to the hospital. CBS 19 writes that he was treated with morphine and anti-venom while his arm swelled up. Happily, he was released on Thursday and will be back in school on Monday.

Live Science says that bites from water moccasins are rare but can have serious consequences. Their venom can lead to “…hemorrhaging throughout the circulatory system wherever the venom has spread…” so medical attention must be sought as quickly as possible.