Sneaky snake bites Wal-Mart shopper

Pemgroke Pines, Fla -- A Florida man survived being bitten by a poisonous pygmy rattlesnake while browsing the garden department at Wal-Mart, rescuers say.

The man was injected with an antidote at Memorial Hospital Miramar after being taken from the Pembroke Pines shopping center, The Miami Herald reported Monday.

Officials said the man was bitten on his right hand by the foot-long snake.

''(The bite) wouldn't have been been fatal with an adult male. But you could lose a finger,'' Miami-Dade County Fire/Rescue Capt. Ernie Jillson said, adding that the bite could kill a senior citizen or child.

Jillson said the bitten man is expected to make a full recovery.

Wal-Mart employees said they called for emergency help quickly after the man was struck and are cooperating with officials who are looking into the incident.

''This is clearly an isolated situation. Customer safety is always a priority,'' Wal-Mart spokeswoman Daphne Moore told the Herald.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.