A man in Denver, Colorado has died after being bitten by his pet Gila monster, according to Lakewood City officials.
Thirty-four-year-old Christopher Ward owned two Gila monsters (Heloderma suspectum) named Winston and Potato despite the lizards being illegal in the state of Colorado, according to a police report .
On February 12, Winston bit Ward and latched onto his hand. Ward soon began exhibiting symptoms including vomiting, before he passed out and stopped breathing. Ward’s girlfriend dialed 911 and he was rushed to hospital, where he was placed on life support. On February 16, he was .
Gila monsters, which can grow to up to around 56 centimeters () in length, are one of very few venomous lizards on Earth. When threatened, they can bite in order to immobilize their prey. Venom is delivered not through hollow fangs, as in , but through grooved teeth.
To deliver more venom, the lizards can clamp their jaws down on potential attackers for over 10 minutes.
“Two types of helodermatid bites produce distinct clinical pictures,” one . “The chewing bite potentially causes more envenomation than the slashing bite. The venom contains a number of protein and nonprotein components including serotonin, a bradykinin-releasing substance, protease, hyaluronidase, helodermin, and gilatoxin. The clinical presentation of a helodermatid bite can include pain, edema, hypotension, nausea, vomiting, weakness, and diaphoresis.”
has been developed to the bites, though generally they are not fatal to humans. The animals, illegal to own as pets in Colorado but , have reportedly now been taken into care by Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Department of Natural Resources, with plans to rehome them in an animal park in South Dakota.
First, however, they will head to the University of Northern Colorado, where researchers will in order to Ward’s death. The Jefferson County coroner’s office has not yet confirmed the cause of death, and is awaiting further toxicology reports.
[H/T: ]