Courtney, 40, fell down the manhole in southwest Houston and was finally rescued this week.
[Ads /]
"I came to the realization, you know, this is where I'm going to die," he said.
He's now in a lot of pain with a severe leg injury but wants to thank his rescuers who heard his cries for help.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Man rescued from manhole after claiming he was trapped for 9 days
Man spends 9 days trapped in manohle
Being trapped that long, he said he lost track of time.
"Blows my mind. You see, I thought it was six days. Apparently, I went into shock or something, because it was actually nine days," he said.
Courtney described eating a snake and drinking dirty sewer water.
[Ads /]
"I caught a snake. I had my pocket knife. I cut the skin off, scraped off the poop area and ate it," he said.
He said there were always at least a few inches of water on the ground, but it sometimes rose to his neck.
"Every time I was like, 'I'm about to drown,'" he said.
Amazingly, Courtney said tips from survival videos helped him stay alive.
"Watching those survival videos, I said, 'I'd never do that.' But I was in that situation and I did it," Courtney said. "I chose to survive."
Courtney does not have insurance and he is unable to work after his injuries. His family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with his expenses.
Report a typo to the ABC13 staff