# Gila monster (*Heloderma suspectum*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/gila-monster  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The gila monster (Heloderma suspectum) is a lizard in the family Helodermatidae, within the order Squamata of the class Reptilia. It is a small reptile, with an adult body mass of 554.5 g (from 553.4 to 555.5 g in our sources) and a body length of 29.5 cm. Its egg incubation period is 240 days, with 5.3 young or eggs per clutch and 1 clutch per year, and it reaches sexual maturity at 3 years. The IUCN Red List lists the gila monster as Near Threatened, which is not an IUCN threatened category; its lifespan is 20 years, with up to 28.9 years reported.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 554.5 g |
| Length | 30 cm |
| Lifespan | 20 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 48 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | desert, shrubland |
| Egg incubation | 240 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 5 – 13 |
| Age at maturity | 2.83 years – 3 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 0.5 – 1 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Active | Day and night (cathemeral) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Near Threatened (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Reptilia
- order: Squamata
- family: Helodermatidae
- genus: Heloderma
- species: *Heloderma suspectum* Cope, 1869

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the gila monster?

The gila monster is a lizard, a reptile in the family Helodermatidae and the order Squamata.

### How heavy is a gila monster?

An adult Gila monster weighs 554.5 g, with values from 553.4 to 555.5 g reported by our sources. Its body length is 29.5 cm.

### Is the gila monster endangered?

No. The gila monster is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, which is not an IUCN threatened category.

### How long does a gila monster live?

The gila monster has a lifespan of 20 years, with up to 28.9 years reported by our sources.

### How long do Gila monster eggs take to hatch?

Gila monster eggs have an incubation period of 240 days. There are 5.3 young or eggs per clutch and 1 clutch per year.

### What is the scientific name of the gila monster?

The scientific name of the gila monster is Heloderma suspectum, named by Cope, 1869.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4), CC BY 4.0, v1-2. Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4
- [SquamBase 1.0 - a dataset of squamate species traits](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b), CC0 1.0, 1.0-dryad-v5. Meiri, S. (2024) SquamBase - a database of squamate (Reptilia: Squamata) traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(4): e13812. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13812. Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/gila-monster