Feeding Habits & Body Dimensions
Gila Monsters eat a variety of foods. Foods can include lizards mice and other rodents, along with small birds and their eggs. They can also act as scavengers and eat frogs and lizards. When it feeds, it can eat up to one third of it's body mass. Prey can be crushed to death if large or eaten alive. If small, they are swallowed head-first and swallowed down by muscular contractions and neck flexing. After food has been swallowed, the Gila monster immediately searches for more food, The Gila Monster is heavy, slow-moving and can be up to 60 cm (2.0 ft) long, This is the only venomous lizard native to the United States. They have a "forked tongue" and they use it to detect the scents from other animals. They also store fat in their tails for the winter when they hibernate.