New Gila Monster and info

Well figured it was time to let this guy have his own thread that I can update and folks can ask questions on. After talking with my wife, and consulting with folks who maintain our collection when we travel, we made the decision to add one of my bucket list reptiles to the group! Gila Monsters are lazy lizards that is sometimes confused with being docile in nature. Truth be told, they rarely bite unless highly molested, but when they do bite tragedy can occur. Drop for drop the Gila Venom is as potent (LD50) as a Western Diamondbacks. The fortunate side of that story, however, is their bite is rarely capable of delivering the needed amount of venom to cause systemic issues aside from standard issues surrounding what most consider a dry to low yield bite from a venomous snake. In our bite protocol study on the species, 80% of victims who were envenomated (60% of bite victim cases reported) were seen with localized pain and swelling. As we add symptoms the affected percentages drop tremendously. Things such as: increased heart rate, nausea, diarrhea, shock.

Because their is no antivenin presently made for Gila Monsters, treatment usually only involves treating the systemic symptoms as they arise. The largest threat to life when dealing with Gila Monster bites is the risk of anaphylactic reactions. Not a single fatality can be attributed directly to the result of a Gila Bite, and most bites were caused by captive specimens or of course individuals handling wild specimens. Further, roughly 60% of the cases studied showed alcohol to be present.

Without further reading, allow me the pleasure of introducing our newest family member: Chomper (named so from the character in the land before time).
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Head shot.

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And of course, a bow since this was a gift from my wife to me for early Christmas.

Working on building him a desert burrow habitat, so will keep this posted as it progresses :) any questions, let me know!


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Thanks for the great info.

In the 60's Gila Monsters seemed to be a big thing. They were scripted into a lot of movies and TV. As I remember, a bite would ensue instant death all of time. :D

He is just charming.
Very inspiring for beading.

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Originally Posted by Reinz

Thanks for the great info.

In the 60's Gila Monsters seemed to be a big thing. They were scripted into a lot of movies and TV. As I remember, a bite would ensue instant death all of time. :D

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They could also spit venom at you and their breath was toxic enough to kill 50 men.

Fun fact: the Latin name suspectum comes from the Latin meaning of suspect. This was due to the namer suspecting it was venomous. Heloderma means bony skin. Which is what the beads are - bones.


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Love these guys, would love to own one. Unfortunately they are illegal here:(((


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Yeah Gila have a lot of regulations around the US.


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Very cool. I always thought their patterns looked like Indian or Incan art/hieroglyphics. I am sure if you look close enough you'll find Kokopelli in there somewhere. Congrats on your new addition and I hope you are getting something equally awesome for the misses.

Amazing animal.

I kept a few of these and I need to get back to it for sure.

With careful handling, they get super docile in time.

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Originally Posted by Najakeeper

Amazing animal.

I kept a few of these and I need to get back to it for sure.

With careful handling, they get super docile in time.

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Docility not to be mistaken with lazy... He's already incredibly calm once out of his enclosure. He only hisses when I startle him inside. But the risk is always there, albeit at a lot lower risk IMO than even a copperhead. But a risk not justified but always using engineering controls (gloves) and respect.


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Originally Posted by rlditmars

Very cool. I always thought their patterns looked like Indian or Incan art/hieroglyphics. I am sure if you look close enough you'll find Kokopelli in there somewhere. Congrats on your new addition and I hope you are getting something equally awesome for the misses.

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Hah! Yeah she is. I think she'll be quite happy on Christmas Day. I already caved and let her keep one of the foster cats as an early Christmas present, so even if I did nothing else she'd still be happy!


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Originally Posted by reptileexperts

Docility not to be mistaken with lazy... He's already incredibly calm once out of his enclosure. He only hisses when I startle him inside. But the risk is always there, albeit at a lot lower risk IMO than even a copperhead. But a risk not justified but always using engineering controls (gloves) and respect.


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A risk is a risk, I understand that but I have never put Heloderma in the same bucket with venomous snakes. I was quite *relaxed with mine...

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*Do not try this at home kids. A certain amount of stupidity was a part of this selfie.



I do miss my babies though...

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That looks like how one of the bite reports from a national park started when the guy put a Gila on his shoulder because he said it wanted to be hugged... Ours is incredibly calm but again it poses a great risk.


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These are risk I no longer take having grown up and all lol... Do not **DO NOT** take this as endorsement for free handling or show casing it should be done. These were two special circumstances with wild animals taken at a great risk. . .

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Western Cottonmouth (captured to relocate 30 minutes prior - this was at the release site)

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Western Diamondback (caught the day before)


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Yeah, I would never do that with CB pitvipers, let alone wild ones.

Lizards are an entire different story compared to venomous snakes. They are a lot less impulsive when it comes to defense and quite reluctant to bite.

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Originally Posted by Najakeeper

Yeah, I would never do that with CB pitvipers, let alone wild ones.

Lizards are an entire different story compared to venomous snakes. They are a lot less impulsive when it comes to defense and quite reluctant to bite.

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Thoughts of reluctances can lead to complacency and ignored risks. While it is less likely a Gila will bite given their typical behaviors even in the wild, the risk will always be there. While we have handled the Gila without aid of gloves here lately since he's stopped hissing even when approached in his enclosure, for any moving / prolonged handling gloves are still the go-to. . . all in all, agreed that they are a very special species to work with!

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Feeding night last night for him. Made him run around for it and expend some energy. :)


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Better image.


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Going into shed

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Got moved into his permanent cage today. Temporary substrate style till I get the rocks and things ready for him. Shallow long water bowl for soaking which he loves at the moment.

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And a quick selfie in my new Heloderma shirt thanks to the wife as she made my Christmas today all about the monsters!




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More adorable Noms


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Originally Posted by reptileexperts

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/12...4069b887d5.jpg
Got moved into his permanent cage today. Temporary substrate style till I get the rocks and things ready for him. Shallow long water bowl for soaking which he loves at the moment.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/12...3f28747955.jpg
And a quick selfie in my new Heloderma shirt thanks to the wife as she made my Christmas today all about the monsters!




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There you go :)

Man I miss these.

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He sleeps... A lot


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Today's Noms. He's getting chunky so we cut his food intake back dramatically.


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Chomper got his nails trimmed yesterday. Thankfully the missing front right leg makes this an easier task than normal lol.

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Just a nice shot of him from the other day. Currently the cover photo for the Helodermids group on Facebook :)

And since I'm addicted to Helodermids right now...

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Just finished the last of the paperwork to get this little one on a plane here on Saturday! Will update when it arrives :)


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Meet ducky! Best guess female, via comparison of neck and head structure among the others in its clutch

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Ducky has a pretty perfect grumpy face on her head!! It even has a nose! Beautiful animals :)


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He looks happy and grumpy at the same time XD
He is a cool animal. I love his head patterns. That face XD

Yeah the grumpy face on the head was a bonus :) she's settling well, refused food last night but she is still new. Two piles of feces show me all is in working order though.


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Gila selfie ;). Ducky is finally taking food well. She's been a stubborn eater since her arrival but is finally taking a pink without issue


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Fantastic additions to your collection both the male and female heloderma. Congrats. Were they from the collection of Steve and Karen Osborne in California?

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Originally Posted by Albert Clark

Fantastic additions to your collection both the male and female heloderma. Congrats. Were they from the collection of Steve and Karen Osborne in California?

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Ducky came from breeders that were originally produced by Steve if I recall correctly. Chomper my adult male came from colorado if I recall correctly but was purchased as an adult from a friend who has a breeding colony


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https://vimeo.com/159650608
Ducky exploring her habitat. Added humid hide that has digging material for her tonight as well as did the same for our big male chomper.


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Ducky enjoying her humid hide!


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Might as well keep this train going! Chomper when I interrupted his dig time for a photo


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Ducky is growing like a weed!


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Wow! Such beauties! I would love to have a gila but I worry about my wanting to hold them. I had the honor of meeting a couple at an expo. Snake master had one on his show and I instantly fell in love.

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They are pretty good about being held. Using a lot of safety precautions can go a long ways with them. I use a hook to get under their hides and one gloved hand to do the capturing. From there I can hold them bare handed. Even ducky now as she's gotten even bigger and her confidence is high. They are such fascinating species and a joy to work with.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by reptileexperts

They are pretty good about being held. Using a lot of safety precautions can go a long ways with them. I use a hook to get under their hides and one gloved hand to do the capturing. From there I can hold them bare handed. Even ducky now as she's gotten even bigger and her confidence is high. They are such fascinating species and a joy to work with.


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That is so good to know! Mayve someday I will be able to have one :)

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https://vimeo.com/182795783
Up to hoppers. She was shy so I had to put her back in the enclosure to finish.


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