Father of three, Alex Gomez, 36, was bitten by a 4-foot rattlesnake as he tried to pose for a photograph. He was badly hurt when the reptile bit him on the hand.
In a sad twist of event, Alex Gomez's mother, Deborah, told KCBS that her son might lose his hand because of the bite wound to the extremity.
The man's hand swelled up after the bite, and he was taken to a local hospital and treated with anti-venom, according to the station.
The skin on his hand and arm is now rotting, Mrs Gomez said.
"I'm shocked that he would have that thing around his neck," she told the station.
"It could've bit his neck, and that would have been it. That's just being a fool."
A friend that was with Gomez at the time said the snake had about 10 rattlers and was 'angry' when Gomez approached it.
Gomez has three children.
His mother said she decided to share his story in order to embarrass him.
"I told him the news people had been calling, and he said 'Mom, you better not' and I said 'I’m going to,'" she said.
"I’m going to teach him a real good lesson when he gets home. No mercy for him."