(Image via answeringenesis.org)
Staff Writer: Rena Danho
Email: rdanho@umassd.edu
When you first think of a pet someone would generally have in their house, you typically think of a dog, cat, bird, lizard, or maybe even a rat, not a Gila monster. Usually, when you hear Gila monster, you think of a giant lizard found in a zoo.
If you want to see one, visit the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, MA.
If you heard that a Colorado man died after getting bit by his pet, Gila, you might start to wonder if these animals are even suitable to have as pets.
Christopher Ward owned two Gila monsters in Colorado that he was keeping illegally. In Colorado, the law states that you must have a permit to own a Gila monster, which Ward did not have.
On February 12th, one of Ward’s Gila monsters, Winston, bit down on Ward’s hands. Not long after, Ward was experiencing symptoms from the venom that Winston transferred into Ward’s system from the bite. Ward’s girlfriend found him and proceeded to call 911, where Ward was rushed to the hospital, put on life support, and sadly passed away on February 16th.
Gila monsters are known to be venomous and are the only lizard native to the United States that is venomous. To humans, Gila bites are painful but rarely cause death. Due to the low fatality rate, drug companies don’t want to make an antivenom when there is no demand for it.
Despite being illegal to own in Colorado, Ward got his two Gila monsters, Winston and Potato, from a reptile exhibition in Denver and a breeder in Arizona.
In twenty-seven of the fifty states in the US, Gila monsters are legal to own with a permit. However, in twelve of fifty states, it is illegal to own one. The remaining twelve states reside in a legal/unclear/legal with a condition area.
When things like this happen, it makes you think about what animals are legal to have in some states and if they really should be legal to own.
The Gila monster in Colorado isn’t the first case of an animal like this being a pet. Years ago, in New York City, there was the instance of a 425-pound tiger that was kept in an apartment in Harlem.
The tiger was brought in as a cub and grew up in an apartment in Harlem. There were complaints of the tiger’s urine smelling, and residents did complain, but from 2001-2003, the tiger was a Harlem resident.
Ultimately, the owner, Mr. Yates, was arrested for illegally owning this animal.
Many states have dangerous animals like alligators, crocodiles, leopards, and others listed as illegal, which may seem like an intelligent decision after this case and others.
Dogs, cats, and smaller non-venomous reptiles seem ideal pets, mainly because they won’t kill you, and it’s very easy to learn how to care for these animals.
Animals like, say, a Gila monster are maybe not meant to be kept as pets, and we should probably leave it to professionals to keep these pets in reservations, zoos, or aquariums.