These deadly little vipers have been migrating further North over the years and now are found in Oklahoma. My son killed one about 6 years ago on his place at Ada. Today a family rushed into the emergency room carrying their little daughter and yelled; "She's been snake bit, a copper head got her."
We got her in a treatment room and when I had a chance later, I took a look at the snake. The guy had brought it inside a little play sand-bucket and it's head had almost been severed. I told him it did not look like a copperhead to me, but I just couldn't say for sure.
The snake wasn't but about 10" long and had markings just like a copperhead, but the pattern was odd. Then I got busy with a different patient and never seen the snake again. We called a bird and they Medi-Flighted this kid to Tulsa. We don't keep snake anti-venom, its way too expensive for our little small hospital.
Later one of the other nurses found the snake on the internet, it was a pygmy rattler. Dangerous little devils. Anyway, say a prayer for this precious little girl, she's gonna need it and she's in for a rough old night tonight. Her little fingers (she was bitten on the hand) were already turning black and her hand had tripled in size during the half hour we had her.
