EL CAJON (CBS 8) - An El Cajon man has quite a story to tell after he was bit by a rattlesnake not once, but twice.
It happened Tuesday inside Edwin Nutting's garage, and he says the sighting itself is becoming more common in his area.
"Something about one bite is something, but two bites," he said.
Edwin never saw the 20-inch rattlesnake coming.
"It was on me. It was a done deal," he said.
The snake bit him inside his El Cajon garage as he walked in from the kitchen to work on his art.
"As I stepped forward, I felt as if I'd hit a guide wire and I got an electrical shock. It's sort of like 25 bee stings, like all at once," Edwin said.
Not knowing what had happened, Edwin looked down and saw the snake. He yelled at his wife Karen to grab his rifle, which was equipped with a small-lead cartridge called snake-shot.
"I popped off a shot and it turns out I got him," he said.
Not only did Edwin kill the snake, but he still has it inside his freezer.
"You're not going to get bit by a snake and leave it in your yard for the rest of the neighborhood," he said.
This isn't the first time Edwin has seen a rattlesnake on his property. Every year, it happens one time. But this year, it's happened three times. He's kept remnants of every one.
He and his wife Karen believe the hot weather and drought, as well as the fact their home is at the base of so-called "Rattlesnake Mountain" is what's contributing to the increased sightings. In this most recent incident, he thinks the young rattler was escaping Tuesday's storm, as it happened just as the microburst hit.
"It's uncommon for one of those fellows to be where it was," he said.
As for Edwin's injuries, he was bit once in each foot. He was transported by ambulance to Grossmont hospital, where he stayed for 18 hours.
"It's funny because whatever you learn from stepping on a snake, I've learned. I'm just not quite sure what that is," he said. "I hope that everybody is more aware now. People that know me are searching everything."
Edwin says he is extremely grateful, saying it could have been a lot worse, but thankfully he did not get the full venom.
He does want people to be aware that more rattlesnakes have been out.