Samonella

Question
QUESTION: Do you know if water turtles have more samonela then land turtles?

ANSWER: They sure do, but even so, Salmonella is is more commonly picked up from a person's kitchen than from the pets.

With ANY pets that come in contact with their own wastes, it is a good idea to wash your hands after handling them or working in the cages.

Turtles got a bad rap because of the little kids putting them in their mouths, kissing them, etc. at a time when most of the turtles were being caught from human waste treatment ponds, then being kept in small bowls with no filtration, etc.

Now, turtles do not generally harbor anywhere near as much Salmonella and many that are tested are 100% clean.

In either case, no matter HOW you get it, Salmonella is generally a pretty mild problem. The victim gets the 'stomach flu' or the '24 hour bug'- a bout of diarrhea and nausea/vomiting that usually goes away after about a day. Most of us have had it and the biggest risks are dehydration or being immune-compromised. The risks are higher for the very young or very old.

Something like 60% of coins, 80% of cash, nearly 100% of cooked, room temp eggs and chicken, almost all uncooked meat (and the juices), and most doorknobs, light switches, and phone handles test positive for Salmonella- as do about 10% of land turtles or about 60% of water turtles (both more likely the dirtier the cage is.) Many other reptiles and small caged animals run at about 10-30% as well.

Bottom line- the same handwashing and clean-up policy you use for everything else should apply to pets as well.

This is NOT a big deal, just a basic safety thing.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: About how old would you consider being old and about how young is being young? Do you suggest land turtles because they don't have as much samonella as water turtles?
ANSWER: Young- under 1, old over 70.

I don't think Salmonella makes enough of a difference to worry about.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Do you know the chances of getting samonella if you sanitize your hands with hand sanitizer before and after you touch the turtle and you wash your hands before you eat anything? If you don't know then you can estimate.

Answer
Your chance for Salmonella from any source even with no hand washing is only about 25-40%. With good sanitation, it plummets to about 5%.

Salmonella is common- your odds are about the same with or without turtles in the house- so it should not really be a big part of your planning.