Colorado man dies after bite from pet Gila monster

A 34-year-old Colorado man died after being bitten by his pet Gila monster lizard last week, according to the Lakewood Police Department.

Christopher Ward was bitten by one of his two pet Gila monsters at his home in the 100 block of Holland Street the night of Feb. 12, a Lakewood animal control officer wrote in an incident report.

Ward’s girlfriend called 911 after finding Ward in a room with the venomous lizard latched onto his hand. The woman had been in the other room when she heard Ward say something and it “didn’t sound right,” according to the report.

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.

The animal control officer informed Ward’s girlfriend it is illegal to own Gila monsters in Lakewood and the woman requested officers remove the lizards from the home as soon as possible.

The lizard who bit Ward was named Winston, and Ward purchased him at a reptile exhibition in Denver in October when he was around 1 year old, according to the report.

The second Gila monster, Potato, was bought as a hatchling from a breeder in Arizona in November.

The Lakewood animal control officer, along with Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Department of Natural Resources officials, removed the lizards from the home on Wednesday and planned to relocate them to Reptile Gardens in South Dakota.

Gila monsters are the largest lizards in the United States and can measure up to 22 inches long, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

Their venom is as toxic as that of a western diamondback rattlesnake and while they can hold on for more than 10 minutes, they produce a “relatively small amount of venom” when they bite, according to the organization.

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

The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office could not be reached for comment on the case. Coroner’s officials declined to tell the Associated Press if Ward died as a result of the venom or another medical condition.