> Can you die from a Gila monster bite?

Can you die from a Gila monster bite?

Posted at: 2014-11-15 
Gila monsters are venomous, but their venom is secreted in very small amounts and works its way into the wound caused by the teeth. So essentially they have to keep chewing on their prey to work enough venom into it to kill it.

You're not likely to die from a single Gila Monster bite. If you let the Gila monster chew on you for awhile, you might, so getting it off you and getting to a hospital is essential if you do get bit. You'll likely get pretty sick, and if left untreated, you may lose a limb or have more serious consequences to face.

It is possible, but not likely. Gila monsters do not inject venom the way venomous snakes do; they just have venomous saliva; and the venom is not very strong. Gila monsters are not aggressive either, so it is not easy to provoke one into biting you.

But if one does become aroused enough to bite, it can be very fast, it may clamp down and not let go. It will be hard to get it off. So if it stays on there long enough, chewing venom into your wound, and then you do not get any medical treatment, and maybe the wound becomes infected, it is possible for the bite to result in death.

The traditional method for making a Gila monster let go is to submerge it completely in water; it will have to let go in order to get some air. I imagine that chilling it with ice would also work, because it would become lethargic as its temperature is lowered.

I would not want to kill a Gila monster; they are not so numerous that we can afford to do that.

If it's a Gila human then yes!

No one has died from a Gila monster bite since 1939, but it does have the potential to be deadly.

Theoretically, yes. It's not a major cause of death by any means, though.