EDINBURGH, Scotland, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- A Scottish hiker who almost died of snakebite after picking up two adders says he did not realize there are venomous snakes in Scotland.
Robert McGuire suffered an allergic reaction to the bites and collapsed almost immediately, The Scotsman reported. He was hospitalized for six days.
McGuire of Saltcoats in Ayrshire was walking with his brother and his brother's children on the island of Arran when one of the children spotted a snake. McGuire, thinking it was a harmless grass snake, picked it up so his brother could get a picture with his cell phone.
Seeing a larger snake, McGuire picked that one up as well. He was holding both snakes when they struck.
McGuire passed out as emergency workers began treating him, waking up in a hospital.
"I woke up in hospital, and I kept biting my tongue because it was that big. My lips looked like Mick Jagger's, they were so swollen," he said. "I felt dead weak and all bloated. I was like Hulk Hogan, my arms were really blown up."
