A man's finger was reportedly left looking like an eggplant after he was bitten by a 'baby' rattlesnake.
Austin McGee was attacked by the reptile when he was picking up some metal in woods in Franklin, Tennessee, US, reports say.
Austin said he felt a sting but dismissed it as it was not particularly painful, however within days his finger had ballooned in size.
He told Fox17 : "It was just kind of a freak accident. I heard something, it sounded like a faint little rattle.
"[I thought it] must just be a bug or something because it wasn’t that loud.
"I honestly never thought that a rattlesnake bike wasn’t that big of a deal.
"It progressively kept getting worse and then they popped it and it went back down and then the skin around it kept coming off.
"It was like a throbbing, it was beating with my heart every time."
Medics think Austin was targeted by a baby timber rattlesnake, according to the Metro .
Doctors drained his finger of excess blood and he is now expected to make a full recovery.
Austin said he was relieved when doctors told him he would keep the finger.
He is now urged urging to take precautions to avoid falling victim to snake attacks.
Austin said: "Just watch out, watch your step, and don’t pick stuff up unless you kick around it and look around it."
Rattlesnake bites are venomous but the vast majority of victims recover after taking an antivenom within hours of the attack.
