How bad is getting bitten by a Gila monster?

[Anonymous]

I'm from Arizona and managed to successfully catch a couple of these on different occasions without it ever biting me, placed it on a tank, feeding it, keeping it as a pet. I like them even though they're venomous but not fatal. They're actually one of my favorite animals.

Let's say it were to eventually catch me by surprise and bite me one day (even though I'm too fast for it), I know you don't die from it but on a scale of 1-10, how bad is it to get bitten by it?

Updates

+1 y

To me it's not a monster. I actually see it as a beautiful lizard, nice coloration.

[Pterodon]

Not much of a threat. The thing with them is they strike with a sideways head movement that is very fast unlike venomous snakes that strike head on. Their venom isn’t that powerful but they’re still considered a “hot” in herptology circles and do require special caging to be legal. Their care is expensive because they require UVB lighting and very high temperatures for them to prosper

[Pterodon]

These are not a beginner reptile at all

[Pterodon]

I’m an amateur herptologist. Reptiles are my faves. I own a bullsnake and am a member of my city’s herptoloy club. I suggest you join one. You can learn a lot

[Asker]

Great. Thank you for the suggestion.

[Pterodon]

I’ll talk reptiles with you all day. You can DM me anytime about the subject

[Ben487]

I live in Arizona, I would never in life attempt to do what you've done lol. That's so insane. You should watch what happened to Coyote Peterson on youtube when he got too close to a Gila monster.

[BrookeAZ90]

I live in Arizona and I've only once or twice even really seen one. I don't think they even need to bite you, just lick you even but I've heard people say they got a lot of swelling and ended up throwing up and needed some antibiotics. Nothing major.

[Anonymous]

I couldn’t really tell you how bad it is because I don’t know. But why would you take a wild animal from its natural habitat and put it in an enclosure? That just makes me sad.