Venomous rattlesnake spotted in the surf on Myrtle Beach

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — A wild sight on a South Carolina beach caught a woman’s attention: a rattlesnake was wriggling on the sand in the surf.

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Michelle Robert shared video of the snake on Facebook, saying in the caption that she had been looking for sea glass when the snake caught her eye. She said, “I think he liked it! Waves were tossing him around and he kept going back in!”

Robert told The Sun News that despite living in Myrtle Beach for nearly 20 years, she had never seen a snake in the surf. Despite the shocking sight, she said she’ll be swimming again.

“Even after this encounter, I wouldn’t be afraid to get back in the ocean,” Robert told The Sun News.

Park officials called Russell Cavendar, who owns reptile control business Snake Chaser, to remove and relocate the animal, UPI reported.

Cavendar told WPDE that the snake was a canebrake (timber) rattlesnake.

Timber rattlesnakes can reach lengths of up to 7 feet long and can be found across the eastern half of the United States, according to the Smithsonian National Zoo.

“You’re going to start feeling pain immediately,” said Cavendar, describing the effect of a timber rattlesnake bite to WPDE. “It’s the worst pain you’ll ever experience. I reckon it’s like taking fireworks, firecrackers and sticking them underneath your flesh, and them going off every single heartbeat.”

Cavendar said the timber rattlesnake has venom containing both neurotoxins and hemotoxins, which damage nerve and blood (and other) cells, respectively.

The snake was released in a swampy, rural area of Horry County, Cavendar told UPI.

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