Man Kills Snake After Reptile Hiding Under Couch Bites Him

A man from Nicholas County, West Virginia, killed a snake after the reptile, which was hiding under the couch at his home, bit him.

In a Facebook post Monday, the West Virginia Natural Resources Police said two officers met the unnamed man after he “wished to speak with them about a snake he had killed in his house.” The man met the officers with a plastic bag in his hand. He was also carrying a shed snakeskin and leather gloves.

He told the officers that “about two weeks prior, he was bitten while reaching under the couch at his residence.” The man “became very ill for three or four days with a high fever, vomiting and swelling around the bite site.”

After speaking to the officers, the man opened the plastic bag he was carrying. The officers took out the dead reptile and identified it as a copperhead snake.

“Although the male stated he was feeling better, he was advised to seek medical attention,” the post read.

In a similar incident in South Florida in May, a python bit a man after slithering out of a toilet. Police said the unnamed man lifted the toilet seat and the snake emerged out of nowhere and bit him. The snake did not belong to the victim and officials believe it might have belonged to the previous resident. Officials reached the home and treated the man before taking the snake to a veterinarian's office where it was treated for a scale infection.

“It’s everybody’s worst nightmare. But it’s in an apartment plumbing system, so there are many possibilities,” an official said.