Can I handle my lizard while I'm pregnant?
Congratulations, after researching this post, I'm officially a nerd.
Reptiles include turtles, iguanas, snakes, geckos, toads and chameleons.
Once again salmonella is the culprit here.
The stats were all over the place with this one, but it seems that 85% of all turtles, 77% of lizards, and 92% of snakes carry salmonella. It doesn't cause any illness in reptiles, but it can make you pretty "ew".
For Salmonella to spread from reptiles to humans, the bacteria must be ingested. This most often occurs when humans place their hands on the reptile or objects that have been in contact with the stool of reptiles; then they place their hands in their mouths, or on objects or food they put in their mouths, and can become infected.
I didn't find a whole heck of a lot on pregnant women being at danger but it was a different story when it came to children under five. Yikes. I'm surprised there aren't "Ban the Turtle" signs in Baby Gap. Salmonella is usually not serious in healthy adults, but children, the elderly, and people with weak immune systems like those with HIV and AIDS or who are undergoing chemotherapy are more likely to develop severe infections.
That said, salmonella is everywhere. I think they pick on reptiles more than, let's say raw eggs, because the probability of one being a carrier is much higher and is, therefore, considered a greater risk. The Center for Disease Control recommends washing your hands after handling a reptile, not letting it wander around your home freely (that would be so awesome – rogue iguana) and not allowing them into the kitchen or on surfaces used for food preparation – gee, ya think? Just when I was going to let the boa constrictor empty the dishwasher.
Man, the way some of the sites got hysterical about it, I think I'm going to carry around a little baggie of turtle feces in my purse as protection from potential attackers. I'll scream "back off, I've got turtle shit and I'm not afraid to use it!". I figure the attacker will either be scared and run away or just figure I'm crazy and not worth killing. Either way, win win.
search: reptiles and salmonella, lizards carry salmonella, salmonella and pregnancy
6 Comments
Reader Comments (6)
When I was pregnant with my 1st, my fiance was worried about me taking care of my anoles; especially since the female was a mean little b*tch who liked to bite. I wasn't going to let them go my whole pregnancy with a dirty cage :P
Someone had to clean it & it surely wasn't going to be my fiance. Imagine: a grown man afriad of tiny little anoles....hahaha! But in all actuality, he doesn't want anything to do with ANY reptile, which is why my daughter & I still don't have the snake we want.....(isn't it supposed to be the other way around?)
Anyways, I cleaned the cage & as expected, she attacked & bit me. Did I get sick? No. I was fine & so was my daughter.
I swear, as soon as women get pregnant, they should be strapped to a bed & fed through a tube under strict supervision....."just in case." Of course they'd probably come up with some reason why that shouldn't be done either....[sigh] when will it end?
lol @ turtle shit.
I often think when I'm walking my dogs about using their poop to ward off attackers...glad we're on the same wavelength!! Keep up the great work!
Omg this is so great I am so happy to know all this! Maybe my man will stop completely freaking out ! And bonus I felt super prego special to get my very own entry lol. My man is laughing at my special moment .. Ass. Oh side note I am going to be more careful seeing how I do have that "rogue turtles" you mentioned... Always freaks out the plumber! Lmfao. Thanks again , Ariel
The turtle shit comment still has me cracked up...Me & my husband have a larger collection of reptiles...leopard geckos, bearded dragon, blue tongue skink, iguana, & ball pythons. How blind some people are when it comes to the care of these animals & hand washing is scary. I do all the feeding & cage cleaning, I was even bit by one of the leopard geckos while pregnant. I have a scared finger & our daughter is just fine.
Nice post..really loved reading each and every word..Keep up the good work..Cheers!! Caverta