I knew it was caused by a bacteria, and that turtles under 3 inches in carapace length, could not be sold, except for educational purposes, because it was thought that small children would put them in their mouths, and thereby possibly get salmonella.
So here are some facts that you probably didn't know. First, the bacteria was named after an American Scientist, Dr. Salmon. Approximately four hundred people a year die, from salmonella. Probably thousands of people have undiagnosed salmonella in some form every year. Young children, older people, and those with compromised immune systems are most at risk. Samonella can have lasting effects, in the form of severe arthritis.
We usually call salmonella "food poisoning" as it seems to happen after we've eaten something that may have been compromised. But it can also come from contact with animals, and waste water. The most obvious symptoms are cramps and diarrhea. Severe dehydration can go hand-in-hand with the diarrhea.
We've had salmonella around here, most likely due to food choices at restaurants, though not bad enough to require hospitalization, or even a trip to the doctor. We did have one incidence that we caused ourselves, when (Dennis was) syphoning some water from the croc enclosure, and in trying to get the syphon running, inhaled some of the water. Big lesson learned here!
But in keeping reptiles for over 50 years (yes, that's a long, long time) that was the only incidence we can contribute directly to the animals. So what do we do different than other people? We wash our hands a lot! We are lucky to have two, actually three, sinks in our reptile building. We also keep sanitizer on hand. We encourage anyone who comes to visit, that they wash their hand continually, and/or use the sanitizer. But we also encourge them to do that because if they have mouse or rat scent on their hands, and want to hold an animal...well, you get the picture!
Do we worry about salmonella? Nope! Do we warn new herp owners? Yep! Or rather we counsel them on what to expect, and how to properly take care of their animals. Think about it. It's all hygiene. As the old saying goes "Cleanliness is next to Godliness", and if you don't want to meet God any time soon, you'll keep your animals and yourself clean, and hopefully salmonella-free!
So here are some facts that you probably didn't know. First, the bacteria was named after an American Scientist, Dr. Salmon. Approximately four hundred people a year die, from salmonella. Probably thousands of people have undiagnosed salmonella in some form every year. Young children, older people, and those with compromised immune systems are most at risk. Samonella can have lasting effects, in the form of severe arthritis.
We usually call salmonella "food poisoning" as it seems to happen after we've eaten something that may have been compromised. But it can also come from contact with animals, and waste water. The most obvious symptoms are cramps and diarrhea. Severe dehydration can go hand-in-hand with the diarrhea.
We've had salmonella around here, most likely due to food choices at restaurants, though not bad enough to require hospitalization, or even a trip to the doctor. We did have one incidence that we caused ourselves, when (Dennis was) syphoning some water from the croc enclosure, and in trying to get the syphon running, inhaled some of the water. Big lesson learned here!
But in keeping reptiles for over 50 years (yes, that's a long, long time) that was the only incidence we can contribute directly to the animals. So what do we do different than other people? We wash our hands a lot! We are lucky to have two, actually three, sinks in our reptile building. We also keep sanitizer on hand. We encourage anyone who comes to visit, that they wash their hand continually, and/or use the sanitizer. But we also encourge them to do that because if they have mouse or rat scent on their hands, and want to hold an animal...well, you get the picture!
Do we worry about salmonella? Nope! Do we warn new herp owners? Yep! Or rather we counsel them on what to expect, and how to properly take care of their animals. Think about it. It's all hygiene. As the old saying goes "Cleanliness is next to Godliness", and if you don't want to meet God any time soon, you'll keep your animals and yourself clean, and hopefully salmonella-free!
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