Snake experts say lots of baby copperhead snakes are looking for their first meals after the warm weather prompted the venomous snakes to mate early this year.
Doctors at Texas Health Harris Medical Center in Fort Worth have already seen nine snake-bite victims this year -- four in the past two weeks.
The hospital saw only13 snake-bite victims during all of last year.
Grandview resident Toni Wiley said she was bitten on her heel while she was walking in her back yard with flip-flop sandals on to let her dogs out for the night.
"As soon as I walked outside onto the walkway, (I felt) a sharp pain," she said. "I don't know how to describe it -- like someone is stabbing with a needle really fast."
The pain was so intense, Wiley couldn't put any weight on her foot. She went to the hospital.
"I was just thinking, 'Venom 911!' from Animal Planet. My flesh is going to start peeling,'" Wiley said.
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Snake experts say snakes come out during the summer and can hide in tall grass, flower beds and gardens and under bushes.
Doctors said copperhead venom is not deadly, but causes excruciating pain and can be very dangerous.
"It will affect the clotting function in the blood, so people can bleed elsewhere, because it's like they've been given a powerful anticoagulant," Dr. David Smith said.
Snake experts at snakeencounters.com recommend people wear boots if they walk into a grassy areas to avoid snake bites.
