gila monster bites?

[Thunder Kat]

just curious, if you get bit by a gila monster how does the venom effect you? is there an anti venom? i've seen a lot of them in the pet trade, i have no interest what so ever of owning one but like i said just curious.

[chimpkin]

There is an account of a Mexican Beaded Lizard Bite on Applegate Reptiles website. Gila's and Beaded Lizard's are both Helodermas so I would assume the venom of the two are similar.

Here is the link:
http://applegatereptiles.com/articles/beadedbite.html

[MarkS]

I've never heard of a death or a permanent disability from a gila monster bite and I don't think there is an antivenin, but I understand that the pain is excruciating. I've been toying with the idea of picking one up for several years now and try to read as much as I can about them.

[jdmls88]

all i know is i dont want to be bitten by something with those teeth even if it wasnt poisonous

[Patrick Long]

http://www.skullsite.co.uk/Gila/gila_lat.jpg

look at that

[jdmls88]

makes me want to get a Gila massage... NOT!

[daniel1983]

Gilas are very cool lizards. They are on my wish list, but I will probably never get any. Not due to the venom issue, but more because of their specific husbandry.

Like Mark said, I have read that the bites are very painful and usually results in tissue damage due to the venom.

Here is a good site with lots of info:
http://www.drseward.com/

[Reediculous]

all i know is i dont want to be bitten by something with those teeth even if it wasnt poisonous

That would make a nice tattoo!

[Colin Vestrand]

there in fact has been gila deaths... i dont think they are overtly aggressive like most hots though.
i talked to a longterm gila keeper and he made them sound like they're easy to keep as long as you can get them to take rodents.

[amon]

Did anyone see the show on Animal Planet about some guy who is a wildlife animal catcher once bitten by a Gila an he was allergic to the venum. He almost died. He had delt with venumius snakes all the time and was bitten by snakes with no long term effect. He was just allergic to Gila. He won't dare walk near one now, cuz the doc said if he gets one more bite, he will be gone.