A Gila monster that bit its owner in Lakewood on Feb. 12, leading to the man's death, was returned to Colorado this week and sent to a lab in Greeley on Thursday for testing on the reptile's venom.

FILE – A Gila monster is displayed at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Dec. 14, 2018. A 34-year-old Colorado man has died on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, after being bitten by his pet gila monster in ...

But that's science for you. Eng set about studying the Gila monster's venom and discovered a compound that had never been identified, one he dubbed exendin-4.

For their size, up to 22 inches, Gila monsters travel widely, ranging over an area as big as 100 or more U.S. football fields in pursuit of prey including bird eggs in nests high up in cactuses.

A Gila monster is displayed at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Dec. 14, 2018. A 34-year-old Colorado man died on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, after being bitten by his pet Gila monster in a very rare ...

For their size, up to 22 inches (56 centimeters), Gila monsters travel widely, ranging over an area as big as 100 or more U.S. football fields in pursuit of prey including bird eggs in nests high ...

For their size, up to 22 inches (56 centimeters), Gila monsters travel widely, ranging over an area as big as 100 or more U.S. football fields in pursuit of prey including bird eggs in nests high ...