17-month-old baby escapes death by biting one of world’s most deadly vipers

 A 17-month-old tot averted a potentially fatal snake attack by biting one of the world's most deadly vipers.

The terrified mother of the little boy rushed him to hospital after finding him with the rattlesnake in his mouth.

Fearing the worst, medics checked the youngster for puncture wounds but could find no sign of injury.

The child had bitten the viper holding it between his teeth because he believed it was a toy.

Police said the lucky tot had clasped the snake just below its head so it was unable to sink its fangs into him.

The incident happened in Mostardas, on the coast of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul where the pit viper is often seen.

It is highly poisonous and is responsible for more human deaths in the Americas than any other group of venomous snakes.

It can grow as long as six and a half feet.

The boy, called Lorenzo, was playing on his patio, according to the local radio station Gaúcha.

His mother Jaine said she went outside when she became concerned because he had been quiet for a long time and found him with the snake between his teeth.

"He was treating it like one of his toys," she said.

Doctors at the hospital Sao Luiz took a photo of the snake so experts could identify it.

Victims often suffer organ failure and go into shock after suffering a pit viper bite.