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“I have never been called to attend a case of Gila monster bite, and I don’t want to be. I think a man who is fool enough to get bitten by a Gila monster ought to die. The creature is so sluggish and slow of movement that the victim of its bite is compelled to help largely in order to get bitten.”
—Dr. Ward, Arizona Graphic, September 23, 1899
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The Gila monster produces venom in modified salivary glands at the end of its lower jaws, unlike snakes, whose venom is produced in glands behind the eyes.[32] The Gila monster lacks strong musculature in glands above the eyes; instead, in Heloderma, the venom is propelled from the gland via a tubing to the base of the lower teeth and then by capillary forces into two grooves of the tooth and then chewed into the victim.[3][29] The teeth are tightly anchored to the jaw (pleurodont). Broken and regular replacement teeth have to wait every time to go into position in a determinate “wavelike” sequence. They change/replace their teeth during their entire life.[33][34] The Gila monster’s bright colors might be suitable to teach predators not to bother this “painful” creature. Because the Gila monster’s prey consists mainly of eggs, small animals, and otherwise “helpless” prey, the Gila monster’s venom is thought to have evolved for defensive rather than for hunting use.[13]
The venom of a Gila monster is normally not fatal to healthy adult humans.[31] One fatality has been confirmed since 1930, on February 16, 2024,[35] and the rare fatalities recorded before 1930 occurred in adults who were intoxicated by alcohol or had mismanaged the treatment of the bite.[36] The Gila monster can bite quickly and may not release the victim without intervention. If bitten, the victim may attempt to fully submerge the lizard in water, pry the jaws open with a knife or stick, or physically yank the lizard free. While pulling the lizard directly increases risk of severe lacerations from the lizard’s sharp teeth, it may also mitigate envenomation. Symptoms of the bite include excruciating pain, edema, and weakness associated with a rapid drop in blood pressure
More than a dozen peptides and other substances have been isolated from the Gila monster’s venom, including hyaluronidase, serotonin, phospholipase A2, and several kallikrein-like glycoproteins responsible for the pain and edema caused by a bite, without producing a compartment syndrome. Four potentially lethal toxins have been isolated from the Gila monster’s venom, which cause hemorrhage in internal organs and exophthalmos (bulging of the eyes),[38] and helothermine, which causes lethargy, partial paralysis of the limbs, and hypothermia in rats. Some are similar in action of the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), which relaxes smooth muscle and regulates water and electrolyte secretion between the small and large intestines. These bioactive peptides are able to bind to VIP receptors in many different human tissues. One of these, helodermin, has been shown to inhibit the growth of lung cancer.[39][40] In February 2024, a Colorado man died after sustaining a 4 minute long bite from a pet Gila monster. Autopsy reports determined cause of death to come from the animal bite/venom.[41]
