What if...

[R0UCHEBAG]

I am sick... I don't want to pass anything on to my cham of course. Should I have someone else get the crickets and dust them and give them to my cham? Or should I be alright as long as I'm not coughin' my sickness all over him? I would like him to know that I am the one who feeds him and what have you so I'll even put a shirt or bandanna or something over my mouth. Just wondering what you all do when you are sick.

Thanks

 

[Olimpia]

It is pretty hard to pass a disease on to another species, so I wouldn't worry about it. I've been sick several times and neither my dog nor my chameleons have ever caught anything from me, or vice versa.

 

[R0UCHEBAG]

It is pretty hard to pass a disease on to another species, so I wouldn't worry about it. I've been sick several times and neither my dog nor my chameleons have ever caught anything from me, or vice versa.

Sweet! Thank ya ma'am. You're always so helpful!

 

[Rockalita]

Agreed, most of the diseases that we get like the cold and flu aren't zoonotic which means that they can't be passed from aminals to humans or visa versa

 

[pssh]

There are very few diseases that are able to pass between species, and especially between reptiles and humans (I'm nor even sure there are any known that can!) Rabies is one well known one that can pass from species to species, but, again, it's very rare.

Parasites are a whole different story though. So if you have a crazy amount of coccidia and hookworms don't go rubbing your fecal matter on your chameleons food! Haha

 

[R0UCHEBAG]

There are very few diseases that are able to pass between species, and especially between reptiles and humans (I'm nor even sure there are any known that can!) Rabies is one well known one that can pass from species to species, but, again, it's very rare.

Parasites are a whole different story though. So if you have a crazy amount of coccidia and hookworms don't go rubbing your fecal matter on your chameleons food! Haha

Hah!! I'll do my best

 

[Amanda1801]

Agreed, most of the diseases that we get like the cold and flu aren't zoonotic which means that they can't be passed from aminals to humans or visa versa

Can however be passed to hamsters!

 

[steelheadchaser]

There are very few diseases that are able to pass between species, and especially between reptiles and humans (I'm nor even sure there are any known that can!)

Salmonella comes quickly to mind. Tuberculosis can be contracted from infected reptiles through a bite or scratch. There are others.

Proper hygiene goes a long way in curtailing disease transmission. I wash my hands with soapy water and then again with an alcohol based sanitizer before handling reptiles, cages or cage furniture and then again after I am done. When having to orally medicate a pet I scrub that much longer and harder.

 

[pssh]

There you go! Those didn't even cross my mind. I forgot reptiles spread salmonella. I am more worried about eggs myself, but whatever!

 

[steelheadchaser]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The CDC estimates 74,000 cases of salmonellosis are transmitted per year from reptiles in the US.

I'll take my chances with the eggs.
[/FONT]

 

[Olimpia]

I don't know, CDC also says that there are about 2.2 million salmonella infected eggs every year! Sounds like you're better off with your reptiles!

 

[pssh]

Seeee, there you go! I winder what the odds of me getting it if I kiss a baby turtle? who doesn't want to kiss a baby turtle?!? I bet that's why it happens so much.

 

[steelheadchaser]

Several million eggs were recalled, but actual cases of [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]salmonellosis[/FONT] were far less. Around 200 for June and July, which the CDC says is 4x the norm.

The statistics seem to paint a fairly clear picture on this one. Daily human-hen's egg contact numbers in the millions. Human-reptile contact in the US likely numbers in the thousands. Yet far more cases of salmonellosis is attributed to pet reptiles.

Again, careful hygiene is critical when handling your pet reptiles.

 

[steelheadchaser]

Seeee, there you go! I winder what the odds of me getting it if I kiss a baby turtle? who doesn't want to kiss a baby turtle?!? I bet that's why it happens so much.

Surprisingly high, actually.

Enough so that in 1975, the sale of turtles under four inches were banned by the FDA due to the high incidence of children being infected. Four inches was used as a minimum size to lessen the likelihood children putting a turtle in their mouths. An estimated 250,000 children in the US were thought to have contracted the disease before the ban was in place. This ban is still law, BTW.

 

[pssh]

Yeah, I know. I think a big part of it is because most kids don't understand the importance of hand washing. I know I would always tell my friends to wash their hands after holding my chameleons and they were always whiney about it!

Do small turtles have a higher likely hood of having salmonella? Or is it just because kids like them more since they are cuter?

 

[Eltortu]

I am sick... I don't want to pass anything on to my cham of course. Should I have someone else get the crickets and dust them and give them to my cham? Or should I be alright as long as I'm not coughin' my sickness all over him? I would like him to know that I am the one who feeds him and what have you so I'll even put a shirt or bandanna or something over my mouth. Just wondering what you all do when you are sick.

Thanks

Just make sure you don't kiss him!

 

[steelheadchaser]

Yeah, I know. I think a big part of it is because most kids don't understand the importance of hand washing. I know I would always tell my friends to wash their hands after holding my chameleons and they were always whiney about it!

Do small turtles have a higher likely hood of having salmonella? Or is it just because kids like them more since they are cuter?

As I recall it was because the smaller turtles were more apt to be played with due to their smaller size as well as cuteness. I had a baby turtle when I was 5 or 6 and my folks were always reminding me to wash my hands after touching it. Little turtles are definitely cool!