General Care Discussion :: salmonella concerns

[cprcheetah]

excuse my keyboard...it's not letting me put in capitals. anyways, my mil is concerned about what we are going to do when we have kids with the turtle with salmonella. she won't say it to my face but told my hubby instead...right now we are living with her and she's not a big animal fan, she is bound and determined that my cats are going to give me toxoplasmosis, i have worked for a veterinarian for over 15 years and have never seen a case of cat transmitted toxoplasmosis. so my question is how many turtle keepers out there have actually ever contracted salmonella from your turtles what about any of your children. thanks in advance for any and all advice. don't worry my turtle isn't going anywhere and my vet has already agreed to test him for it should the need arise.

[Andrew7769]

you or your future children cant contract it from just being around the turts, you will be fine as long as you wash your hands...........also tell your mother in law that if she dosent want the children being around the turt she maybe should put a ban on chicken as well lol you have more chance of getting samonella from handling raw poultry then having a turtle.

[SpotsMama]

Had my turtle for three years - not me, my husband, or visiting relatives including kids have ever had salmonella.

[cprcheetah]

Roflmao! Thanks- I will try that one. She's paranoid. She went to a seminar and they put the fear into her about cats and pregnant women....good thing I can have my cats tested and it's not like I'm going to play/roll/eat their feces....Good grief! My husband said I have a 80% chance of catching salmonella from my MIL's food....if it weren't from the salt content of the food she cooks killing the bacteria.....LOL! She's a saltaholic. She also thinks bulging cans from 1990 are still good....but heck....watch out for the turtle. It's not like my kids won't know the proper handling techniques for the turtle. I plan on raising them well...they may not always listen but I am going to do my best...or my hubby will put the fear of ... into them!!!! LOL. He demands respect...but not in a bad way.

[CountryGirl68]

As long as you follow proper hygiene with all your pets you have nothing to worry about. Doctors recommend that mothers to be who have never had cats stay away from them during the pregnancy. Those who have had cats are most often immune to toxoplasmosis than not.

If your MIL is that worried, you can tell her that, once your pregnant, she can help by cleaning out the cat litter and turtle tank so you don't have to. LOL!!

[z-chic]

Mother in laws....ya gotta love 'em. LMAO

[scripta_elegans]

Hey! I've had this discussion with my mom and MIL too! Salmonella is very rarely transmitted by reptiles. I have never seen a case of it actually, and I work at a hospital. I have, however, seen it transmitted by undercooked eggs and poultry. I'm going to be a doctor soon, and I have turtles, and I plan to have at least one human baby. I am not terribly concerned about this. I will be very careful about handwashing and I will not let my kid(s) hold the turtles until they are about 5, but I think it is possible to have turtles and kids without insurmountable threat to either. There are so many things to worry about with kids, why worry about something that has little chance of happening? If she needs to fret, perhaps she could be concerned about the current resurgence of pertusis (whooping cough) thanks to people not vaccinating their kids. That scares the hell out of me. Granted, as babies they are at a higher risk of contracting salmonella, but once they hit 5, they have about the same chance as an adult. And not to give the wrong idea about the need for proper handwashing, but most of us can fight off a little salmonella. The handwashing is a great precaution and invaluable for preventing the spread of disease, but the probability of getting salmonella from your turt vs. a foodbourne strain is astronomical. I have seen quite a few cases of food poisoning, and most are uncomfortable, but no real danger in the long run. None came from reptiles. Cans from 1990 bulging? Hmmmm..
botchulism, the lovely bacteria in the bulging can, can and does kill people. Adults. Healthy ones. So which is the bigger threat?

[flutterby]

I don't see it as an issue, if you have the turtles before you have children you have the time to teach them the propper ways to wash their hands etc. Besides its not like you're going to let your kids put the turtles in their mouths, I think that would only be the only way they would get it.

Its nice she cares but I can't stand it when people are that paranoid.

[BullDog]

I've had Ralph since I was about 8, and no one in my family has ever contracted salmonella. But, as everyone has already touched on, as long as you wash your hands with soap and warm water every time you're dealing with the turtle, you'll have no problems

[CountryGirl68]

Not all turtles actually carry the salmonella germ. But the concern is that all reptiles have the ability to carry it and since salmonella doesn't affect them, you can never know. That is why, unless you are willing to spend the money to have the turtle checked for salmonella, the best advise is hygiene.

There was this show on TV yesterday called "Kitchen Crimes" in which a group of college students had a filthy kitchen. In the kitchen was a tank with a yellow stripped turtle. The show's host did a test on several surfaces in the kitchen, including the turtle's head. Results came back that the turtle did not have salmonella.