TUSTIN, Calif.—Authorities say a 3-year-old Orange County boy is in stable condition at a hospital after being bitten by a baby rattlesnake.
Tustin Unified School District spokesman Mark Eliot said Friday that the boy was bitten during a lunch break this week at Ladera Elementary School where he attends preschool.
Eliot says the boy picked up the baby rattlesnake next to a trash can near the playground. He dropped it, reached down to pick it up again and was bitten.
A teacher’s aide saw it happen and threw a trash can over the snake.
Eliot says paramedics took the boy to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo because it had the necessary anti-venom.
He says the boy has a swollen hand but is otherwise doing OK.