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Colorado man dies after bite from Gila monster he illegally kept as a pet

NDallasRuss

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Dec 5, 2002
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Seems like the expected outcome.

"A Colorado man has died after a bite from a large venomous lizard, called a Gila monster, that he illegally kept as a pet, according to Lakewood city officials.

Christopher Ward, 34, owned two of the reptiles and became ill after being bitten on the hand by one of the animals, an incident report from the Lakewood Police Department shows. Lakewood is a suburb of Denver.

Ward’s girlfriend called 911 just before midnight February 12 after she entered the room where the reptiles were kept and found that one of them had “latched onto Ward’s hand,” LPD Animal Control officer Leesha Crookston wrote in the report. Ward immediately started showing symptoms, vomiting several times before he passed out, and his breathing stopped, the report said.

Ward’s girlfriend told Crookston that she did not know exactly what led to the bite because she was in a different room at the time but said she heard Ward say something that “didn’t sound right,” according to the report.

Ward was taken to a local hospital, where he was put on life support and was later “declared brain dead,” according to the report. He died February 16, LPD Public Information Officer John Romero told CNN on Wednesday. The cause of death has not been released."


 
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So he didn't have type 2 diabetes. Google says Gila Monster bites aren't fatal. Why did he die?
Oh you can die alright. Depends on how much venom gets into you, and some folks have predisposition to autoimmune or hyperreactive immune systems when envenomated etc. Who also knows what other co-morbidity factors the poor guy had? The same snake can kill a person and mildly incapacitate another. All depends.

To add, lizards like the Gila monster, Komodo Dragon etc, have shit tons of bacteria in their saliva, mostly anaerobes, things like Clostridia, which love to get into dying flesh on the bite victim. This causes gangrene, septic shock, systemic infections and death. Anaerobes are a bitch to treat. Think of tetanus and botulism. That's why we have vaccines against the former and good food practices for the latter.
 
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Oh you can die alright. Depends on how much venom gets into you, and some folks have predisposition to autoimmune or hyperreactive immune systems when envenomated etc. Who also knows what other co-morbidity factors the poor guy had? The same snake can kill a person and mildly incapacitate another. All depends.

To add, lizards like the Gila monster, Komodo Dragon etc, have shit tons of bacteria in their saliva, mostly anaerobes, things like Clostridia, which love to get into dying flesh on the bite victim. This causes gangrene, septic shock, systemic infections and death. Anaerobes are a bitch to treat. Think of tetanus and botulism. That's why we have vaccines against the former and good food practices for the latter.
Yeah Komodo Dragons are assholes. They will bite bigger animals and follow them around waiting for the bacteria to finish the job.
 
Came across these occasionally as a kid growing up in the SW. We learned at an early to never get close enough for them to touch/bite you. The vast majority of things with bright colors on them are no-gos.
 
Gila monsters are venomous reptiles found in the southwestern United States. While their bites can be painful, they are normally not fatal to humans. Experts say that the last report of a human dying from a Gila monster bite was in 1930.
https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/gila-monster-bites-kills-colorado-pet-owner-lakewood-man-rare/

A 34-year-old man from Lakewood, Colorado died recently after being bitten by one of his pet Gila monsters, which he owned illegally. This incident is particularly notable because, prior to this, there were no confirmed fatalities from Gila monster bites after 1930.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottt...angers-of-gila-monster-venom/?sh=4cf40ee34019
 
Seems like the expected outcome.

"A Colorado man has died after a bite from a large venomous lizard, called a Gila monster, that he illegally kept as a pet, according to Lakewood city officials.

Christopher Ward, 34, owned two of the reptiles and became ill after being bitten on the hand by one of the animals, an incident report from the Lakewood Police Department shows. Lakewood is a suburb of Denver.

Ward’s girlfriend called 911 just before midnight February 12 after she entered the room where the reptiles were kept and found that one of them had “latched onto Ward’s hand,” LPD Animal Control officer Leesha Crookston wrote in the report. Ward immediately started showing symptoms, vomiting several times before he passed out, and his breathing stopped, the report said.

Ward’s girlfriend told Crookston that she did not know exactly what led to the bite because she was in a different room at the time but said she heard Ward say something that “didn’t sound right,” according to the report.

Ward was taken to a local hospital, where he was put on life support and was later “declared brain dead,” according to the report. He died February 16, LPD Public Information Officer John Romero told CNN on Wednesday. The cause of death has not been released."





The other venomous lizard is the beaded lizard.
 
"I have never been called to attend a case of Gila monster bite, and I don't want to be. I think a man who is fool enough to get bitten by a Gila monster ought to die. The creature is so sluggish and slow of movement that the victim of its bite is compelled to help largely in order to get bitten."

—Dr. Ward, Arizona Graphic, September 23, 1899
 
Oh you can die alright. Depends on how much venom gets into you, and some folks have predisposition to autoimmune or hyperreactive immune systems when envenomated etc. Who also knows what other co-morbidity factors the poor guy had? The same snake can kill a person and mildly incapacitate another. All depends.

To add, lizards like the Gila monster, Komodo Dragon etc, have shit tons of bacteria in their saliva, mostly anaerobes, things like Clostridia, which love to get into dying flesh on the bite victim. This causes gangrene, septic shock, systemic infections and death. Anaerobes are a bitch to treat. Think of tetanus and botulism. That's why we have vaccines against the former and good food practices for the latter.
you are a smart scientist
 
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