General Care Discussion

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 5:30 pm **Can my turtle catch the flu from me?**

Im sick with the flu

and im worried because i heard that humans can get animals sick :shock:

,is this true? Im trying to stay away from my turtles and i even boosted up the water temperature to 82 degrees just in case they catch something.

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 5:43 pm

Sorry to hear that you are sick!!! That sucks. Feel better soon.

Keep your hands away from your face, and if you must handle/feed the turtles, I would wash my hands with antibacterial soap before you touch them or their water to be on the safe side.

While there are no formal reports about turtles catching illnesses from humans, with all the viruses out there mutating all the time, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Great question, BTW.

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 5:46 pm

thats not possible. just to cut the sciency answer: we have different DNA from turtles so the virus would have to addapt to the turtles which takes a very long time. in other words, ur turtles are very safe from it. you can lower the water temp because if it is hot and they are no sick, they will soon be if you dont lower it

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 5:48 pm

Ferd wrote:thats not possible. just to cut the sciency answer: we have different DNA from turtles so the virus would have to addapt to the turtles which takes a very long time. in other words, ur turtles are very safe from it. you can lower the water temp because if it is hot and they are no sick, they will soon be if you dont lower it

Just curious,how can they get sick if the water temperature is at 82 degrees?

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 5:50 pm

The higher water temp won't make them sick but it can cause excess shedding, among other things. Put it back down to the regular temp :-)

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 6:21 pm

Though our DNAs betwen turtles are very different, I think at least a few strands (or codons) may be closely related to turtle DNA, and while the effect of a foreign virus/bacteria may be minimal or different from what we would experience, it may have a negative impact on your turtle's health. I agree that you should wash your hands before handling and have less contact with your turtles while you are sick.

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 7:09 pm

Hey xsaturdaysavingsx, sorry to hear you're feeling bad. The flu is no fun at all. Drink lots of orange juice and get plenty of rest!

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 8:38 pm

Hope you're feeling better soon. I really don't think your turtle is going to catch the flu from you---they're cold blooded and you're not. The germ needs a certain temp to incubate. Washing your hands is good practice though--it's good to wash your hands before handling your turtle even if you're well (and of course after handling as well).

Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 12:21 am

Sorry your not feeling better, hope you do! I don't think they can.. ANd definetely put your water back to 78.

General Care Discussion :: Can my turtle catch the flu from me?

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