salmonilla?
- Thread starter EmiGlio
- Start date
Frank Castle
New Member
I beleive all reptiles have the potential at anytime of carrying salmonilla. The best thing to do is wash your hands before and after handling.
Frank
Frank
Will Hayward
New Member
Cats have just as much potential to spread samonella, if not more. Not to mention, you're probably more likely to contract it in the kitchen with meat than your reptile.
Point is, wash before you handle your reptile to protect them, wash after you handle your reptile to protect you. Should be standard proceedure anyways, not only for reptiles, but for ALL pets. People don't wash nearly as much as they should.
Keep a bottle of instant hand sanitiser in yoru reptile room. Better yet, keep them in several rooms in your home. I try and santize everytime I walk by one.
Point is, wash before you handle your reptile to protect them, wash after you handle your reptile to protect you. Should be standard proceedure anyways, not only for reptiles, but for ALL pets. People don't wash nearly as much as they should.
Keep a bottle of instant hand sanitiser in yoru reptile room. Better yet, keep them in several rooms in your home. I try and santize everytime I walk by one.
I didn't know you could get salmonella from a cat...toxoplasmosis, I knew cats carried. I had a nice long conversation about salmonella with a nurse from my county health dept. a few weeks ago, because I came up with a positive culture, and we were trying to figure out where I got it. The reptiles and amphibians were the first suspects, but we have always been very careful about washing before and after handling (as Will said). What I did learn is that my guinea pigs and hamster can carry salmonella, as well as other coliform bacteria; so, even though I also make a habit of washing hands after handling these guys or cleaning cages, there is now a bottle of Purell next to their cage.
Heika
New Member
I like my chameleons just as much as the next person, but salmonella in reptiles is not a subject that should be quickly dismissed. Reptiles commonly carry forms of salmonella that don't cause them any ill effects, but spread to humans easily. In fact, almost all reptiles have some form of salmonella in their gut.
The people at the highest risk of contracting salmonella are infants, young children, and people with poor immune systems. Personally, I don't think it is cause for alarm, but if I had high risk people living in my home, I would definately be very cautious about exposing them to anything that had been in contact with a reptile. Here are a few articles about salmonella and reptiles:
http://www.arav.org/SalmonellaOwner.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5249a3.htm
http://www.anapsid.org/salmprec.html
http://www.drgreene.com/21_271.html
The people at the highest risk of contracting salmonella are infants, young children, and people with poor immune systems. Personally, I don't think it is cause for alarm, but if I had high risk people living in my home, I would definately be very cautious about exposing them to anything that had been in contact with a reptile. Here are a few articles about salmonella and reptiles:
http://www.arav.org/SalmonellaOwner.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5249a3.htm
http://www.anapsid.org/salmprec.html
http://www.drgreene.com/21_271.html
Dave Weldon
Avid Member
Howdy Heika,
Thanks for the reminders on Salmonella. I'm a big believer in latex gloves, not only to keep from contaminating myself with the bacteria "du jure" but also to keep from cross-contaminating one critter's microbes with another's. I also like to sanitize things with either Nolvasan (or a Nolvasan-like product) or I go all the way with diluted bleach soakings. Things like fake vines or wood items etc. need to be soaked in a bucket of diluted bleach if you want to have a chance at controlling microbes. Salmonella is one of those bacteria that can still be a danger many-many days after it contaminates a surface or soil. (A good reason for not having soil substrate!) The chances may be low that we end up getting it but the illness (especially to infants) warrants us taking the matter seriously at all times.
Thanks for the reminders on Salmonella. I'm a big believer in latex gloves, not only to keep from contaminating myself with the bacteria "du jure" but also to keep from cross-contaminating one critter's microbes with another's. I also like to sanitize things with either Nolvasan (or a Nolvasan-like product) or I go all the way with diluted bleach soakings. Things like fake vines or wood items etc. need to be soaked in a bucket of diluted bleach if you want to have a chance at controlling microbes. Salmonella is one of those bacteria that can still be a danger many-many days after it contaminates a surface or soil. (A good reason for not having soil substrate!) The chances may be low that we end up getting it but the illness (especially to infants) warrants us taking the matter seriously at all times.
