Kissing your Chameleon

[birdlover71]

I remember when I was young that the little green turtles got kids sick. Samonella I believe. Do lizards have the same affect? My kids have to kiss our new baby Ben good night....(Since our grouchy Nelson won't let us near him lol) However I don't want them or him sick....

 

[owowsedthecow]

i believe all reptiles can carry salmonella

 

[ChamomilleCame]

I've seen people here kiss chameleons it's kinda funny. None of them have gotten sick (that I know of). So they probably won't give you salmonella; there is only a small probability.
I kissed my cham the other day but not on the mouth >.< stinky cricket breath, you know

 

[thephotoprincess]

I kiss our melleri all the time. Right on their little noses ...

 

[birdlover71]

It's hard not

to kiss them they are so darn cute. What's a little case of samonella anyways? lol

 

[lilbug]

Samonella is a bacteria in the intestines. People get samonlla by ingesting something that has come in contact with feces. So basically if you keep you chameleons cage clean you are safe cause they only get salmonella on their skin if they are in a dirty cage.

 

[Lizardlover]

The main reason turtles carry salmonella is because as lilbug stated, salmonella is an intestinal bacteria and in captivity turtles swim in their own feces. If chameleons transmitted salmonella via kissing, Jannb would be in big trouble .

 

[Cheyenneohhh]

I kiss my chams all the time.
Right on the mouth.
Never had an issue. Haha.

 

[chamlover98]

My cham actually licks my face.

 

[Hoj]

my panther gizmo will often crawl off my shoulder onto my face and i have not gotten samonila yet

 

[kwilkens14]

My justification is, I've had so many reptiles over the years that I've built of a resistance to salmonella.

So if I randomly come down with it in the next week... I'll know I jinxed myself!

 

[Elizadolots]

I know people do it, but I cannot in good conscience say it's okay to let your kids kiss the chameleon without also saying you should teach them to wash up afterwards. That means hands and face including lips. Anything you get on your lips can and probably will be ingested simply because people lick their lips and the lips are the path to the mouth. The amount of bacteria is probably very small and most adults would probably not react to it, but children are more vulnerable. A third of all salmonella cases in this country are children 4 and younger.

Just make it a lesson in being safe. Explain the danger and teach them how to mitigate it. It could be a very valuable lesson for them: Don't be afraid just because something carries danger. If you're smart you can find ways to remove or lessen the risk.

 

[DekuScrub]

love

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Elizadolots took the words right out of my mouth! Very sound advice that should be followed!

 

[gonecrazynback]

My mom kisses the Chams all the time but she won't kiss the snake! I just let my Jackson sleep in my beard!

 

[Trace]

Am I the only one that doesn't kiss their chameleon? These aren't domesticated animals that enjoy human contact.

 

[BoopDoop]

I kiss my little euigene every time I take him out his cage, I kiss him right on his nose, my mom does too! If you actually clean their cage often, like twice a week, and totally disenfecting twice a month, you won't have to worry about that.

 

[pssh]

I think kissing chameleons is icky.

 

[Dr O]

Salmonella is indeed a bacterium that lives in the intestines and has been cultured in almost every species of reptile that they've looked at. The main danger of salmonellosis is in immunocompromised people (HIV, chemotherapy), the very young and the very old. Most people would have a 24-48 hour case of mild diarrhea and cramps. The thing with the turtles was that they do tend to swim in very dirty water, particularly years ago when there were no filters that were close to strong enough to handle an aquatic turtle tank. And some little kids popped the little turtles in their mouths, thus leading to the 4" rule on turtle sales.

Please realize that of course no matter how fastidious one is regarding cage cleaning, there will be a time when the cham defecated, it catches in a leaf, and he might rub his head on it as he goes by. But as long as you have a healthy immune system and are doing a dry kiss (let's not French kiss our chams, people. Unless you have a cricket in your tonsil and need help getting it out ;-) ), you will probably be ok 99% of the time. But one of a hundred of you may get the runs!!

dr. o-

 

[Elizadolots]

Am I the only one that doesn't kiss their chameleon? These aren't domesticated animals that enjoy human contact.

I barely handle mine and I've never kissed any of them....

But I will not decry those who establish that relationship with them...I do kiss my dogs on the lips and I'm sure that some would find that disgusting.