A poisonous rattlesnake hidden among leafy plants in the garden section of US retail giant Wal-Mart sprung out and bit a man who was shopping there.
A company spokeswoman said yesterday that the man was hospitalised after the 30cm pygmy rattlesnake bit him on the right hand while he was perusing the plants at the store in Pembroke Pines, Florida, about 50km north of Miami.
'This is an isolated incident and we're taking precautions to make sure that it doesn't happen again,' Wal-Mart spokeswoman Ashley Hardie said.
'To ensure the well-being of our customers, we immediately closed the garden centre to enable animal control to do a thorough search of the area. The garden centre was reopened once we were convinced it was safe to do so,' she added.
The Miami Herald newspaper reported that the man received intravenous anti-venom treatment at Miramar Hospital and was expected to make a full recovery.
The pygmy rattlesnake's poisonous bite could be fatal for an elderly person or small child, medics said.
