Avoid Turtlish Behavior And Practice Cleanliness With Reptiles

When someone in the family is allergic to the fur on normal family pets like cats and dogs, chances are that reptiles become the family pet in the home. And why not? Reptiles can be cool as pets and include lizards, snakes and turtles. And because they all need regular care, it is a great way to teach kids responsibility. There is just one problem with turtles and other great reptiles – they harbor salmonella bacteria!

Salmonella bacteria causes an illness called salmonellosis which presents itself as diarrhea, fever, stomach cramps and even vomiting. This bacterium infects the intestinal tract, thereby causing intestinal illness. Even the cleanest reptile cages cannot keep the animals from harboring salmonella on their skin, claws or anywhere they crawl or slither for that matter.

The problem with salmonella is that these reptilian pets can all seem perfectly healthy and yet pass along the bacteria to you. Therefore, because salmonella is a problem, the Center for Disease Control suggests that no children under age five should have reptiles anywhere, even if they understand about germs. The reason is that young children are more susceptible to intestinal germs and could become severely dehydrated because of them. Plus their immune systems are not mature enough to handle some types of infection.

Pet ownership, regardless of whether it is a dog, cat or turtle, will always carry some element of risk. Dogs could bite and cats could transmit toxoplasmosis or cat scratch disease to its owners. However, with reptiles, there is added risk because the salmonella could be anywhere. It is transmitted via the reptile’s feces and since they usually walk in it, the bacteria can be transported via any number of methods. And because children in particular like showing love to their pets via kissing, that makes them that much more susceptible to illness.

While salmonella is troublesome, there are rarely any complications. However, you can be infected over and over again. That is why hygiene should be practiced often anytime you or your children are even in the vicinity of a reptilian pet. Always wash your hands after handling your turtle, snake or other reptile pet. Use warm water and soap and lather up for about a minute. Rinse with warm water.

Other hygienic practices include cleaning the reptile’s cages often. In addition, disinfect the outside of the cage as well as the table, desk or other hard surface the cages rests on. In addition, disinfect any surfaces that the reptile has crawled or slithered on as they can shed salmonella in that fashion as well.

Of course, salmonella is not strictly an infection you get from reptiles. You can also contract it by consuming raw dairy products like eggs and unpasteurized milk. Raw meats have also been known to cause salmonellosis. In addition, you will want to clean and disinfect any surface like the counters and cutting boards in which raw dairy or raw meat has touched.

The bottom line is that you should just get into the habit of washing your hands immediately after handling your pet iguana or little boa. Not only will this prevent salmonella infection but also likely a host of other problems as well.

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