Man dies from pet gila monster bite

[Pogo]

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.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/colorado-man-bitten-pet-gila-202312258.html

I don't understand the desire for a pet like a snake or lizard.

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[GimpyPaw]

Didn't this happen a few months ago? If I remember correctly there were several "Darwin" level events here.

- He thought it would let go and was only play biting
- Then he got his girlfriend to help get it off, but he didn't want her to hurt it, so it took about 5 minutes (during which time the venomous reptile was likely doing what venomous things do during a bite)
- Then he told her it would be OK, not a big deal, ect.

That's the end of his Darwin level stupid, with one exception. He seems to have chosen the one person on the planet dumber than himself for a life partner.

She waited a ridiculous amount of time before calling 911. I want to say it was either 2 hours or as much as 4. Let's go with 2 hours. Why didn't he call 911 himself? Because he was passed out on the floor, having seizures. Nothing says love like watching somebody passed out and foaming at the mouth from a bite instead of calling for medical services.

[4thIDvet]

Damn Gimpy you have me on the floor at 05:00 laughing my ass off. Yup how did Gumper say it? "Stupid is as stupid does". Old Winston did the world a favor cause that frigging mo-ron that claimed to be his owner may have been around to reproduce and have sprogs as dumb as him.
Hundreds of different domesticated pets and this A hole gets a frigging Gila monster? Thank you Winston..

[Sanders]

Pup was playing with a lizard in the front yard, they other day. I went out to see what she was so interested in, because I thought it might be a snake. I've never seen the type of lizard the pup had. I knew it wasn't a Gila Monster - from teasing them with sticks to get them out of the road when I lived in Arizona. It was fat, and round. I picked it up and the bastard bit me on the tip of my little finger. I've caught a lot of lizards in my years, but never had one turn and bite me like that. It was just a pinch, but it was surprising. I put on my leather work glove and caught him again and put him down a gopher hole. Figured if maybe he was going to be an asshole, he could go down a hole and eat some baby gophers for me.

Okay, I looked him up. It was an adult Great Plains Skink. - https://birdwatchinghq.com/skinks-in-new-mexico/

[4thIDvet]

Most Florida lizards are not venomous or fatal to cats or dogs, but eating them carries risks. Lizards frequently host harmful parasites (like liver flukes) and bacteria (like salmonella). While casual play is usually fine, consuming lizards can cause your cat or dog to develop stomach issues, infections, or intestinal blockages.

Unique Lizards of Florida: An ID Guide

"Skink" we call em Skanks are bad for cats down here. Kind of short circuits them somehow if they eat one and they act like they had a stroke..

[rto]

My wife's cat lived to be 17 years old but used up 4 of her cat lives eating those big skinks here. When we saw her lethargic, falling down and walking into walls we looked for the skink remains to verify and then took her to the vet. Dumb calico cat never learned not to eat them.

[Solid Snake]

When I was a kid, I had a guinea pig as a pet. That's as exotic of a pet as I'd like.

[Johnny]

We all love our pets. My dogs are spoiled rotten. If we get to wrestling and somebody nips me and draws blood, worst case I'm gonna require some neosporin and a bandaid. I'm not going to die.

[FloridaAKM]

My feral rescue cat like to catch & eat the skinks unless I get it away from her quickly. The skinks are all over the place out here in N Florida & I prefer them alive to eat anything they want as most of their food is not friendly to me.

If eating the skinks kills her, the party foul is on her for eating them, there is plenty of cat food that doesn't require being chased down.

Having a snake or lizard that is poisonous for a pet is stupid IMHO!