Colorado man dies after his pet Gila monster bites him

A Colorado man died after being bitten by his pet Gila monster, in what would be a rare death by one of the desert lizards if the creature’s venom is found to be the cause.

Christopher Ward, 34, was taken to a hospital shortly after being bitten by one of his two pet Gila monsters on February 12. They soon placed him on life support and he died Friday, Lakewood Police Department spokesman John Romero said Tuesday.

Jefferson County coroner’s officials on Tuesday declined to comment on the death, even though tests still showed whether Ward died from the pet’s poison or some other medical condition.

Ward’s girlfriend turned over the lizard named Winston and another named Potato to Lakewood Animal Control Officer Leesha Crookston and other officers the day after the bite.

Ward’s girlfriend told police she heard something that “didn’t sound right” and walked into a room to see Winston clinging to Ward’s hand, according to Crookston’s report.

She told officers that Ward “immediately began exhibiting symptoms, vomited several times and eventually passed out and stopped breathing,” according to the report.

Ward was placed on life support at a hospital. A few days later, doctors declared him brain dead.

Ward’s girlfriend reportedly told officers they purchased Winston at a reptile show in Denver in October and Potato from a breeder in Arizona in November, according to the animal control officer’s report. When she was told that Gila monsters were illegal in Lakewood, the woman told officers that she wanted them out of her home as soon as possible, according to the report.

Officers working with the Colorado Department of Natural Resources sent the lizards to Reptile Gardens outside Rapid City, South Dakota. Twenty-six spiders of different species were also taken from the house to a nearby animal shelter.

Gila monsters are venomous reptiles that naturally inhabit parts of the southwestern United States and neighboring areas of Mexico. Their stings can cause severe pain and cause their victims to faint, but are usually not fatal.