On Saturday, a Florida teen who had a deadly wild snake in his bedroom as a pet was bitten on the mouth and was taken to the hospital. He used to brag about how many times he'd kissed the snake.

Austin Hatfield, 18, got the venomous water moccasin, also known as a cottonmouth, near his Wimauma home previous week. He kept the snake in a pillowcase when it escaped over the weekend.

Hatfield's best friend Jason Belcher told Bay News 9 said that they were sitting in the kitchen, when suddenly Hatfield ran out of the room saying hospital, hospital, now. He was rushed to a Tampa hospital in critical condition.

Bites from the cottonmouth caused extreme swelling and can result into death. But leading up to the incident, Belcher said that Hatfield wasn't concerned at all.

Belcher said, “Alright he's kissed it 12 times. The 13 wasn't a lucky one. He kisses it right on the head. Right on the mouth. He's not afraid of death”.

Tampa Tribune reported that, on Saturday night, the snake had escaped from its pillow case and slipped across Hatfield's stomach and off his bed. The fatal bite came when Hatfield tried to capture the snake again.

Hatfield is lucky, as anti-venom does exist in the case of cottonmouths.

A spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Gary Morse said that the worst has come and gone for Hatfield. Morse said that his condition has shown improvement today and will recover hopefully.

Morse said that Hatfield possessed the snake illegally, as in Florida a permit is required in order to lawfully keep a venomous pet.

Morse has urged others not to make the same mistake as Hatfield. He said that the snake had to be captured and euthanized for the proper identification.