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Man kisses snake on the head, snake bites man on the face

Many of the world’s greatest visionaries – from Mozart to Bob Dylan – have had some of their best ideas in their youth.

Austin Hatfield is not Mozart or Bob Dylan.

Austin Hatfield is a young man from Hillsborough County, Florida, who was recently inspired to kiss a venomous snake on the head.

Unfortunately, the “pet” water moccasin disagreed with the virtues of Hatfield’s plan and, in a move no one could have seen coming, it bit him on the face.

After: The bite landed the teen in a Tampa hospital with a severely swollen face. Photo: Facebook
After: The bite landed the teen in a Tampa hospital with a severely swollen face. Photo: Facebook

The 18-year-old was keeping the snake – also known as a cottonmouth – as a pet after catching it while swimming.

The bite, which landed the amateur snakehandler in a Tampa hospital, reportedly occurred on Saturday night at the home of Hatfield's girlfriend, where he and his pet of approximately one week also resided.

The New York Daily News reported Hatfield was still in “pretty bad shape” on Wednesday after receiving the bite on Saturday.


A friend told WESH they were at Hatfield’s home when the snake struck.

"We (were) sitting in the kitchen and he ran out of the room saying, “Hospital, hospital, now, now”,” James Belcher said.

Investigators say Hatfield did not have a permit to keep the snake as a pet and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating.

National news break – April 23