General Care Discussion :: salmonella testing

[joelson101]

Is there any way that you can get your res tested for salmonella? Im pretty sure that salmonella is a they either have it or dont have it sorta thing. i want to be able to handle them knowing that they wont get me sick.

[megcornell]

I am not sure, but I'd say the majority of hatchlings have salmonella. They "shed" it.
That being said, with proper hygiene and a functioning immune system salmonella poses very little threat to you. So long as you wash your hands before and after handling your turtle you'll be fine. Also, turtles are not a hands on pet, so only handle them when needed- like if you're moving them to clean their tank or let them enjoy some natural sunlight.

[joelson101]

what about letting them outside the tank? i have brought them outside and they love it but what about inside?

[megcornell]

Again, I'd just use better judgment. I think of my turtles as raw chicken. Any place you wouldn't want raw meat, don't let your turtles there (aka kitchen tables, keyboards, things that can't be sanitized easily). I don't really see any merit in letting turtles run in a living room anyways. Letting them outdoors for fresh air is one thing, but I don't know how much the average turtle enjoys being loose indoors (mine certainly hate it). Also, if you have any young children or small dogs who crawl on the same carpets, I'd think twice about letting the turtle out.

[imderanged]

Yeah, when I first got Slyar I use to let him on the carpet, but he just runs for cover. He just gets covered in hair. I don't really do it anymore except maybe if i need to get a quick picture of his shell or something, cause he doesn't really seem to like it.

[joelson101]

ok. thanks for the tips but my main question was about getting them tested and if it could be done

[TheComputerGremlin]

Yes, you can take your turtle water into the vet and have it tested. It will cost who knows how much. However, just because your turtle's water tests clean on Monday doesn't mean that by Friday he hasn't become stressed and shed some Salmonella into the water. Basically you'd be paying to test your water daily ...

Ultimately safe washing practices are the best defense. As long as you aren't under 14ish or over 65ish, or you are immune compromised, you'll be fine.

[steve]

My male RES had a salmonella test done (it cost $100 and it wasn't something I asked for and it wasn't something they told me they were doing). If I remember correctly, they took a swab at the cloaca and that was it. It came back negative, but I felt those vets were a bit incompetent...

[BullDog]

As Jax said, since turtles shed the salmonella in their poop, one day the test could come back negative, then next day positive, and the next day negative again!

They don't shed it all the time. And as Steve said, it also depends on the competency of your vet.
I recently just looked into salmonella myself, and I found a story about a guy who sent in an identical sample to two different vets, one came back positive and one came back negative.

[joelson101]

ok, thanks guys