Gila Monster.Photo:Getty
Getty
The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office said the man’s cause of death is pending, according toNBC affiliate KUSA.
PEOPLE has reached out to the Lakewood Police Department for comment. The coroner’s office declined to comment.
Ward’s girlfriend told police she entered a room in the home after hearing something that “didn’t sound right” and spotted one pet Gila monster named Winston latched on his hand, according to the AP andThe Denver Post.
The girlfriend said Ward “immediately began exhibiting symptoms, vomiting several times and eventually passing out and ceasing to breathe,” according to Lakewood animal control officer Leesha Crookston’s report, per the AP.
Ward was taken to St. Anthony Hospital, put on life support and eventually died,The Denver Postreported.
Ward’s girlfriend told investigators that the couple bought Winston at a reptile exhibit in October and their other Gila monster from a breeder in Arizona, per the AP, citing the report.
According to KUSA, it’s illegal to own Gila monsters in Colorado without a permit. It remains unclear if the pair had the permits in place.
When told that the lizards were illegal in Lakewood, the AP reported that the girlfriend told officers she wanted the pets out of her house as soon as possible.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The lizards have now been sent to Reptile Gardens in South Dakota, according to the AP andThe Denver Post.
The desert reptiles naturally inhabit parts of the southwestern U.S. and neighboring areas of Mexico, the AP noted. And while their painful bites cause victims to pass out, they usually do not cause death, per the news agency.
“When they bite, they have strong closing muscles so they can hold on like a bulldog,” Dr. Stephen Mackessy, a professor of biology at the University of Northern Colorado, toldFox affiliate KDVR.
source: people.com
