Selfie with rattlesnake makes US man pay $150,000 hospital bill

A US man who was bitten by a rattlesnake while taking a selfie with the deadly serpent, has incurred a hefty hospital bill of over $150,000.

Todd Fassler's entire arm went purple after he pulled the rattlesnake from a bush and as he was composing the perfect shot for a selfie, it bit him.

"My whole body was shaking and gyrating. It literally paralysed my whole body," said Fassler from San Diego in California.

"My tongue was like out of my mouth, my eyes were off to the side," he said.

Fassler had to empty two hospitals of their anti-venom supply and have the horrific wound repaired, ABC's 10 News reported.

However, when his treatment finished he was slapped with a bill of $153,161.

Fassler's insurance company is in negotiations with the hospital and it is as yet unknown if he will have to contribute.

Fassler had a pet rattlesnake for a year but after the attack on July 4 by the other serpent, he has released it into the wild.

According to Dr Richard Clark, director of University of California, San Diego's Poison Control Centre, there are about 100 rattlesnake bites in California each year, and 10 to 12 in San Diego County.