A Colorado man has 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\u2019s venom turns out to have been the cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christopher Ward, 34, was taken to a hospital shortly after being bitten by one of his two pet Gila monsters on Feb. 12. He was soon placed on life support and died Friday, Lakewood Police Department spokesman John Romero said Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jefferson County coroner\u2019s officials declined Tuesday to comment on the death, including if tests showed yet whether Ward died from the pet\u2019s venom or from some other medical condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ward\u2019s girlfriend handed over the lizard named Winston and another named Potato to Lakewood animal control officer Leesha Crookston and other officers the day after the bite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ward\u2019s girlfriend told police she had heard something that \u201cdidn\u2019t sound right\u201d and entered a room to see Winston latched onto Ward\u2019s hand, according to Crookston\u2019s report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She told officers Ward \u201cimmediately began exhibiting symptoms, vomiting several times and eventually passing out and ceasing to breathe,\u201d according to the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ward was placed on life support in a hospital. Within days, doctors had declared him brain dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ward\u2019s girlfriend reportedly told officers they bought Winston at a reptile exhibition in Denver in October and Potato from a breeder in Arizona in November, according to the animal control officer\u2019s report. Told that Gila monsters were illegal in Lakewood, the woman told officers she wanted them out of her house as soon as possible, the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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 also were taken from the home to a nearby animal shelter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gila monsters are venomous reptiles that naturally inhabit parts of the southwestern U.S. and neighboring areas of Mexico. Their bites can cause intense pain and make their victims pass out but normally aren\u2019t deadly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n