A Colorado man who was placed on life support after he was bitten by his pet Gila monster died of complications from the desert lizard’s venom, an autopsy report obtained by The Associated Press on Friday confirmed.
The report also found that heart and liver problems were significant contributing factors in Christopher Ward’s death.
Ward, 34, was taken to a hospital shortly after being bitten by one of his two pet Gila monsters on Feb. 12. His death less than four days later is believed to be the first from a Gila monster in the U.S. in almost a century.
The autopsy, conducted by the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office on Feb. 18, said Ward was bitten for four minutes and wavered in and out of consciousness for about two hours before seeking medical attention. He suffered multiple seizures and acute respiratory failure at the hospital.
He was likely allergic or had other health complications, nobody has been killed by one of these in nearly 100 years, they really aren’t very dangerous
venom is extremely rare in non serpentes lizards
although some people are arguing that all lizards are TECHNICALLY venomous, which may be true depending on your definition of venom.
Just because it hasn’t happened, doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous. It’s a slow ass lizard, what business do modern humans have getting bitten by it? You almost need to try to make this happen.
Bees kill a number of people every year, yet people keep them in large numbers. Dogs do to, but we keep millions of them. This guy got unlucky with underlying health problems. Gila venom hurts like a son of a bitch, but is otherwise about as medically significant as a black widow bite. People keep those as pets too.
It’s true that just because it hasn’t happened doesn’t mean it isn’t dangerous, however, in this case, it is actually not dangerous, just painful, unless you’re allergic/have extreme health issues.
This is a neurotoxin, so, generally if it’s not paralyzing your cardiovascular system it doesn’t do much to you except hurt!
He should have gone to the hospital immediately, just for observation. He apparently wallowed in pain and symptomatic response for quite a while.
This is America, we don’t do that here.
“Maaaaybe die, or definitely be bankrupt forever. Ehh, let’s try and wait this out a bit longer.”
You can absolutely go sit in the waiting room, for free.