#venomous lizard

[have-you-seen-this-animal]

Gila monster?

Have you seen the Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum)?

I have now

Yes, in photos/videos

Yes, irl

I'm not sure

Voting ended onDec 3, 2024

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Gila Monster

Photographer: Erin Donalson / Getty

[sunfish-exotics]

I love gilas so much!! This was the first time I’ve seen one drink and it was as cute as you’d imagine.

(Riverbanks Zoo)

[kenneturner]

Gila Monster Close-up Gila Monster Close-up -- Image by kenneturner.com "Gila monsters have beaded scales in colorful patterns. Gila monsters are…

[swill182]

Geela Geela, The Gila Monster Pokémon The name is an alternate spelling of Gila pronouncing the G as a G and not an H. Type - Poison Height - 2"4' Weight - 36 lbs. Ability - Liquid Ooze/Corrosive Pokédex Entry - Geela Geela love to eat spicy tamato berries and other hot foods. People believe this is what makes this Pokémon produce its potent venom.

[bucketlistnature-blog]

The Venomous Gila Monster Lizard

Welcome to our post of facts, images and videos about the venomous Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum). Gila Monster Facts The Gila monsters can be found in the Mexican Mojave, Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts as well as the southwestern desert and semi-arid region of the the U.S. They are one of only two known venomous lizard species in the world, the other being the Beaded lizard also found in Mexico and southern Guatemala. A fully grown adult lizard can reach a lenght of 2 feet long and weighing around 5 pounds. The Gila monster use their tails to store fat, which they

[navrez]

work in progress! 

~venomous lizard :D

[obscurezoology]

The Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum) is one of two venomous lizard species in existence (the other being the Mexican Beaded Lizard, H. horridum). Gila Monsters originate in southwestern USA and northwestern Sonora, Mexico.

The name Gila refers to the Gila River Basin in Arizona, where this lizard was once plentiful.

A heavy lizard, the gila monster grows up to 60cm long, and is sluggish in nature. So even though it is venomous, it poses little threat to humans. Despite this, it has a fearsome reputation and is sometimes killed, even in Arizona and Nevada where it is protected by state law.

Gila monsters spend up to 90% of their time underground in rocky shelters or burrows, and are most active in the morning during the dry season, or warm nights. They are most often preyed upon by coyotes and raptors.

Their primary diet is bird and reptile eggs, as well as feeding on small birds, mammals, lizards and frogs, insects and carrion. They hunt with an extremely sensitive sense of smell, and often swallow their prey whole and head-first, even still alive if it's small enough, where it's helped down through powerful muscular contractions and neck flexing. The venom is produced by modified salivary glands in the Gila Monster's lower jaw, unlike snakes who produce venom in their upper jaw. The venom is a neurotoxin, thought to be used more for defense. The venom isn't toxic enough to kill a human, with no reported fatalities after 1939, and prior deaths attributed to primitive medical treatments.