Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I apparently did get a Salmonella infection from my red-eared slider Helen. Yes, I wash hands, but of course you touch things before washing them, then touch them after washing. No big deal, though, the human body leanrns to target pathogens, and I was fine in a couple ways.

When I got that eastern box turtle that I called T. Herman I got a gi problem too, and I am not sure whey since they supposedly do not carry salmonella.

My twin nephews have a gecko, and my sister and brother-in-law worry about the baby they have since they are supposedly more prone to infections. I told my sister I thought I had salmonella, and she wasn't eveen sure what the symptoms were. No, I didn't vomit--the illness affects the other end of the g.i. system.

Doesn't E. coli supposely cause bleeding? I don't think Salmonella does though.

"When I got that eastern box turtle that I called T. Herman I got a gi problem too, and I am not sure whey since they supposedly do not carry salmonella."

My understanding is that the safe assumption is that all reptiles may carry salmonella. Different herp vets, wildlife vets, rehabbers, biologists, etc. have all made statements to that effect to me.
So while there may not exist solid documentation on T.c.c. transmitting salmonella to humans, they probably can because they probably are carriers.

yeah, now that you say that, I remember people saying that before in this group (sometimes I am a bit slow ). But if this is so, why do mostly-aquatic turtles have a 4" regulation and boxies not?

>>yeah, now that you say that, I remember people saying that before in this group (sometimes I am a bit slow ). But if this is so, why do mostly-aquatic turtles have a 4" regulation and boxies not?

All turtles & tortoises have the 4" regulation. it's not limited to just aquatics. the problem is people become confused because so many who sell turtles choose to blatantly ignore the federal law and sell undersized turtles.
-----
_____

PHWyvern

The 4" rule applies to all turtles and tortoises (except sea turtles), so box turtles ARE included.
Link

Thanks for the link.

Why can folks on the kingsnake turtle classifieds sell box turtles under 4 inches? When I talked at my local pet store about the fact that I had a baby box, they said the regulation only applies to mostly-aquatics, that's also why I thought what I thought. What are the consequences if caught selling under-sized turtles? Did I do something wrong by buying a baby box online?

>>Why can folks on the kingsnake turtle classifieds sell box turtles under 4 inches? When I talked at my local pet store about the fact that I had a baby box, they said the regulation only applies to mostly-aquatics, that's also why I thought what I thought. What are the consequences if caught selling under-sized turtles? Did I do something wrong by buying a baby box online?

The 4' law is federal law that applies to all turtles and tortoises but there are many legal loopholes to that law.
Babies are sold legally all around the country depending on what loophole they've fallen into.
Each state does have it's own regulations on reptile sales that apply to the seller. Sellers generally have permits of some sort from their state, or sometimes the USDA.
No telling what the seller you bought a baby from has as far as permits go.
You did nothing wrong by purchasing a baby.
Don't worry about it.
-----
PHRatz

I've always assumed it wasn't that uncommon for people to get it, not from pets, but from food. I know I've had many cases of the "stomach flu" that was obviously food related. Never anything that could be traced back to a reptile and I spent most of my childhood catching whatever herps I could find, playing in nasty water after tadpoles, and NOT washing my hands.

>>When I got that eastern box turtle that I called T. Herman I got a gi problem too, and I am not sure whey since they supposedly do not carry salmonella.
>>

just about any land dwelling animal has salmonella. your pet bird, pet cat, pet dog, pet rabbit, pet duck, pet snake, pet turtle, pet frog, your sibling, whatever. It's a part of the natural gut flora of animals and humans. There are hundreds of strains of salmonella. Many strains you already have adapted to when you were young or if you become exposed to a new strain it will not cause any major problems, but there are a few that can be quite dangerous. If you are exposed to a strain you have never been exposed to before your body is going to react. If it happens to be one of the more virulent strains, then you've got problems and likely a stay at the hospital. Typhoid is one of the worst strains to catch lol.

I've never had problems working with turtles ..they just never made me sick. I guess because I've been exposed to turtles since I was a little kid. I've had coworkers who never worked with turtles before get sick within a couple weeks of being around them for the first time but then stopped being sick once their bodies adapted to the strain of salmonella they carried. I do remember several years ago I had a case of salmonella I got from a Merlin falcon that made me want to just curl up and die for about 2 weeks...the pain was that bad. Bird salmonella is horrible.
-----
_____

PHWyvern

I'd hesistate to say I was infected with Salmonella without a diagnosis from a Dr.
The main symptom for most Salmonella infections would be diarrhea.
I've never caught anything from an animal & I have spent a lot of years getting a daily dose of one or more of the 3 Ps on me(the 3 Ps: pee, poop & puke)
but I've been horribly sick before from other causes. Restaurants are a much bigger threat to our GI health than live animals are IMO.
-----
PHRatz