Large rattlesnake found lurking in children’s toys in Calabasas

A Calabasas family got a terrifying wake-up call on Friday when a venomous intruder was discovered lurking right where their children play.

Hugo Will, a Los Angeles-based cinematographer, who has collaborated with industry legends like director Ted Kotcheff, editor Thom Noble, director James Fargo, made the chilling discovery in his yard. 

The rattlesnake was hiding among his children’s scattered toys. Will thanked the stars that the kids were not home while the reptile strayed into their play area.

“Imagining finding a rattlesnake in your kid’s backyard among all the toys that kids interact with? Still in shock. Luckily the kids weren’t home.

“Everything could have turned a very bad way. Stay alert,” Will wrote in the video’s caption that he posted on Instagram. 

Los Angeles County firefighters responded to the scene around 6 p.m., where dramatic footage shows them expertly capturing the snake with a grabber.

Earlier this year in May, a Northern California hospital had run out of anti-venom in a desperate attempt to save the life of a father of three bitten twice by a deadly rattlesnake.

Christopher Howarth from Idaho was visiting his parents’ home in Lake Oroville in May when he ventured into their backyard to check a leaking pipeline.

Moving through the shadows, he stepped on what he thought was a plant — but it was a rattlesnake.

“I got bit twice, and one of the bites, where it was, was kind of shallow, but the other one got my vein,” Howarth had told SFGate.

The Oroville Hospital administered 54 vials of anti-venom to Howarth before running out of the antidote and transferring him to Stanford Hospital where he received a different anti-venom that helped alleviate his symptoms.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) advises people to stay alert while outdoors and avoid tall grass, weeds and heavy brush. California is home to seven different species of rattlesnakes and golden staters must check rocks, stumps and logs before sitting down in brushy areas. 

The agency outlines that pets are at an increased risk when they go around sniffing near bushes and they must be kept on leashes. Even if a snake appears dead, it can still inject venom.