The Jefferson County coroner has confirmed that a 34-year-old Colorado man died this month, days after being bitten by one of his two pet Gila monsters.
“I think this case highlights that any venomous animals should be respected,” said Dr. Nick Brandehoff, a medical toxicologist and reptile expert with the Asclepius Snakebite Foundation, who was consulted on the Lakewood Gila monster case.
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.
“The vast majority of bites cause local swelling and bleeding,” said Brandehoff, who said the bites can cause intense localized pain and can cause victims to pass out. But deaths are exceedingly rare.
“The last case I have been able to find,” said Brandehoff, “was 1930 and that was not even a medical journal case.”