Salmonella: Tiny Turtles

 turtle.jpg

In their mouths?

At least 103 cases have been reported since May 2007, and many of those infected were children under the age of 10, the CDC said.

“Although most reptiles carry salmonella, small turtles are likely to be handled differently than other reptiles,” according to the report. “They thus carry a greater risk of transmitting salmonella to children.”

The report cited children who handled the turtles, kissed them, even putting the reptiles in their mouths.

Apparently even snakes are likely to harbor this same bad bug, so sorry,  no more letting your pet rat snake sleep in the bed between you and hubby anymore.

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fred
fred

Fred First holds masters degrees in Vertebrate Zoology and physical therapy, and has been a biology teacher and physical therapist by profession. He moved to southwest Virginia in 1975 and to Floyd County in 1997. He maintains a daily photo-blog, broadcasts essays on the Roanoke NPR station, and contributes regular columns for the Floyd Press and Roanoke's Star Sentinel. His two non-fiction books, Slow Road Home and his recent What We Hold in Our Hands, celebrate the riches that we possess in our families and communities, our natural bounty, social capital and Appalachian cultures old and new. He has served on the Jacksonville Center Board of Directors and is newly active in the Sustain Floyd organization. He lives in northeastern Floyd County on the headwaters of the Roanoke River.

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  1. For once I’m rooting for the intrustive nanny state here. If ownership of turtles were banned altogether, wouldn’t that be great news for wild turtle populations!

  2. Wow– I thought this was an old problem from when you could get those tiny baby turtles in 5 and dime stores. Don’t most states have minimum size limits on turtles in pet trade these days?

    But I’m with Dave– far better to leave them in the wild.

  4. i have those kind of turtles and i am as healthy as a horse i think it is ok to have htem as long as u dont stick them in your mouth or kiss them if you do that to any animal you are likely to get sick

  5. awwwwwwwwwwww and i wanted a small turtle >.< oh wellz i’ll just get a normal sized one….BUT THE SMALL ONES SOOOOOOOOOOO CUTE ^^

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