Some twit in Colorado had two illegal pet gila monsters. The other day, one of them bit him and he died.

From https://www.denverpost.com/2024/02/20/colorado-man-dies-bite-gila-monster-lakewood/

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Ward quickly started showing symptoms and began vomiting, passed out and stopped breathing, the woman told Lakewood Animal Control.

Ward was taken to St. Anthony Hospital and put on life support and later died, according to Lakewood police.


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While Gila monster bites are not usually deadly, there is no antidote for their venom, according to the San Diego Zoo.

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It would be a lot more fun to have a pet porcupine than a gila monster.

That is the quintessential definition of "play stupid games, win stupid prizes"

Sorry for the dude's girl, and family, that had to witness and endure that completely avoidable tragedy.

They have to chew on their prey to inject venom (fangs are in the back of their mouth). You basically have to be stupid to get killed by a gila.

not the venom its the huge bacterial content they have in their mouth

AimToMaim 06 said:

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not the venom its the huge bacterial content they have in their mouth

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You're thinking of the komodo dragon.

I hiked right past one in the Mojave one time. I didn't know how poisonous they were until after the fact. Don't **** around with gila monsters...

This is the one we had in our back yard about 18 months ago. He came right up on the patio and was looking through the glass sliding door to the inside of the kitchen when my wife noticed him. Picture was taken in the un-fenced portion of our back yard.

I hope the picture comes out here, and in high resolution. He really was a beautiful critter.
C

[url=https://ibb.co/VS0xpxM][/url]

How many animals have 'monster' in their name?

Dude wanted a pet monster and thats what he got.

I guess he knew what he was getting into.

One of my favorite animals growing up. My neighbor had a bunch of framed Nocona boots advertisements in his game room and I thought gila monsters were the coolest creatures ever. Hope to see one in the wild one day.

My Dad used to listen to a Cheech & Chong tape in his truck in which there was a skit that mentioned cousin Enrique and his pet gila monster. It always cracked him up. Welp that's about all I know about Gila monsters. Glad I could help.

Crap, now I want to see if I can find me Gila monster skin boots.

WestGalvestonAggie said:

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I hiked right past one in the Mojave one time. I didn't know how poisonous they were until after the fact. Don't **** around with gila monsters...

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That's because they aren't poisonous.

Komodo Dragons have hundreds of different types of bacteria which live in their saliva. That's what kills their prey after a bite.

I once went to a talk given by a wildlife biologist at an auditorium in a sunshiny desert retirement community. There were several hundred 'seasoned' attendees. It was Reptiles and Bugs That Will Bite and Sting You Here. He started by saying: Raise your hand if you've been bitten or stung. Every hand went up. O.K....lower your hand if it's only been a bee or wasp. Only a few dozen remained raised, including the leathery gentleman next to me. Only scorpion? Lost most of the others. Velvet ant? (With his greatest sympathies). Rattlesnake? This reduced the hands to a half dozen. My seat mate now had to support his raised arm with the other...Well, do we lose any of you fellas if I say coral snake? Five hands went down. Now all heads were turned towards us. A few in the back were standing to get a glimpse of The Legend. The speaker walked towards him...Sir, I'm almost afraid to ask. Gila monster? The hand wavered but didn't come down. My brothers bet me I wouldn't feed one a hot dog. And all the others? the biologist asked. Pure bad luck he responded....mostly. And the place erupted with laughter.

One of the craziest things I've run across is the account of some idiot up in Oregon with a pet baby rattlesnake.

To impress his girlfriend, he stuck it in his throat and the rattlesnake bit the back of his throat.

According to news reports at the time his throat swelled shut on the way to the hospital and the ambulance crew had trouble had to reopen it. I assume that they did a tracheotomy, but I don't know how far down the swelling would have been likely.

That twit survived his stupidity.

zooguy96 said:

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They have to chew on their prey to inject venom (fangs are in the back of their mouth). You basically have to be stupid to get killed by a gila.

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I'm told that once they latch on, they may not let go for a little while.

Also, that the bite of a gila monster is one of the most painful of bites.

eric76 said:

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zooguy96 said:

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They have to chew on their prey to inject venom (fangs are in the back of their mouth). You basically have to be stupid to get killed by a gila.

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I'm told that once they latch on, they may not let go for a little while.

Also, that the bite of a gila monster is one of the most painful of bites.

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How fast can they move?

maroon barchetta said:

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eric76 said:

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zooguy96 said:

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They have to chew on their prey to inject venom (fangs are in the back of their mouth). You basically have to be stupid to get killed by a gila.

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I'm told that once they latch on, they may not let go for a little while.

Also, that the bite of a gila monster is one of the most painful of bites.

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How fast can they move?

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Super slow.

zooguy96 said:

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maroon barchetta said:

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eric76 said:

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zooguy96 said:

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They have to chew on their prey to inject venom (fangs are in the back of their mouth). You basically have to be stupid to get killed by a gila.

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I'm told that once they latch on, they may not let go for a little while.

Also, that the bite of a gila monster is one of the most painful of bites.

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How fast can they move?

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Super slow.

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I hear that one common way to get bitten by one is to reach under objects on the ground without looking first.

Furlock Bones said:

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WestGalvestonAggie said:

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I hiked right past one in the Mojave one time. I didn't know how poisonous they were until after the fact. Don't **** around with gila monsters...

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That's because they aren't poisonous.

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Say what???

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/gila-monster#:~:text=Gila%20monster%20venom%20is%20about,no%20antivenin%20for%20Gila%20bites.

Venomous and poisonous are not the same

But, But.....had he had the Covid vaccine?

Venom is injected.

Poison is eaten.

Reminds me of this story.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/11/12/teens-death-ruled-suicide-snakebite/75680504/

AUSTIN A Texas teenager who died in a SUV earlier this year committed suicide by letting a deadly monocle cobra repeatedly bite him, according to the autopsy report obtained by KVUE-TV's Tony Plohetski.

The snake was found dead a few days later on an Interstate 35 frontage road.

B-1 83 said:

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Furlock Bones said:

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WestGalvestonAggie said:

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I hiked right past one in the Mojave one time. I didn't know how poisonous they were until after the fact. Don't **** around with gila monsters...

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That's because they aren't poisonous.

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Say what???

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/gila-monster#:~:text=Gila%20monster%20venom%20is%20about,no%20antivenin%20for%20Gila%20bites.

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Poison = I die if I bite you.
Venom = I die if you bite me.