Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is it true that many places are not allowed by law to sell RES smaller than 4 inches long because of the risk for salmonella? My girlfriend got one at the central park zoo in NYC hat was only one inch long, it is not only about 1 and 1/2 inches. Is this turtle a risk to the people around it or that may handle it?

I recently got a very tiny Chinatown RES and I was worried absolutely to death about Salmonella. Just use caution and a bit of common sense: always always always wash your hands after playing with the turtle, touching him, or even putting your hands in the tank. (I also keep a bottle of Purell next to his tank, which is right on my desk, in case I can't get up and wash my hands.) Try to clean his paraphernalia in the bathroom as opposed to the kitchen. I Lysol the tub and sinks once I'm done cleaning and he's back in his cage.
BTW, this whole Salmonella scare is a bit overrated; my mother told me I couldn't have a turtle when I was younger because I'd get Salmonella, despite the fact that both she and HER mother had turtles and never got sick. It's a bit of a scare tactic, really. It arised out of the legislation in the '70s banning the sale of turtles under 4 inches long, not because these turtles - ours - are at a higher risk per se of carrying the bacteria, but because the government was concerned about little kids putting the turtles in their mouths. That's not a good idea any way you swing it, and I think some little kids did get sick off of that. But you should be fine, provided you're clean and don't, you know, decide to french the turtle. Good luck.

Hi,

I have a couple of little guys also and did some looking into why that law was there; this is what I found. Apparently in the 70's someone, somewhere did a study and found that about 1500 kids had gotten salmonella from baby turtles. From my understanding this was all preventable had the parents been responsible and made the kids wash thier hands or not allowed them to kiss them etc. I'm willing to bet that a simple case of "education" could have solved this problem. However the study also found that it was only young turtles that carried the salmonella bacteria, so in typical knee-jerk reactionism the powers that be decided, we'll ban all turtles under 4".

Now, as to whether or not you'll get sick, likely not, not ALL turtles carry it, they just can. Continue to practice a regimen such as you discribed and you'll be fine. I also keep the hand sanitizer next to the tank and don't worry much about it, at least not anymore than I do about getting it from chicken. Which by the way, you are far more likely to get salmonella from, but yet we eat it every single day....go figure. No logic in govenment...

Good luck with your little one.
KC

Actually any turtle can carry salmonella, but the government decided that hatchlings were the ones that kids put in their mouths, and seeing bigger turtles instead of hatchlings would stop the impluse buyers from buying them.
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Actually -- the youngsters are not necessarily at any higher risk of carrying Salmonella than the older ones. The logic behind the the law is even more ridiculous than that.

The idea was the turtles under 4 inches would fit more easily into the mouths of little children. (you know toddlers who have that "hand to mouth" thing going on).

This is so stupid when you think about it. So what is to stop the toddler from trying to shove a larger turtle into it's mouth?

Either way if the turtle is large or small and carries Salmonella the child would still be exposed to it.

It is a federal law that any turtle under 4 inches cannot be sold for any reason other than for educational use.

However a lot of states will allow them to be kept as pets. NJ being one of them.

As for salmonella, If the enclosure it is kept in is kept clean, and you clean your hands after handling it. there will be no problems. The problems in the 70's were mostly caused by the pet stores selling people the turtles in a little plastic dish with a plastic palm tree in the middle. (seriously dating myself here). They were then told they could change the water once a week. That caused a major buildup of waste which was then re ingested by the turtles, which allowed the salmonella bacteria to flourish.

Keep your tanks clean, and wash your hands (or use the purell hand sanitizer) after handling the little ones or their tanks, and you are very well protected against it.

In short if you care for your turtles properly, there is a very minute chance of ever contracting any salmonella at all. I have dealt with turtles since I was 5 (34 now). And have never had any ill effects. And when I was young I didn't practice good hygiene i.e. I would go out into the ponds near my home and catch and play with Res.'s and Snapping turtles, and painters and then after that sit down and eat my lunch without washing my hands.

If the law makers would sit down and analyze the hard facts they would find that more people get salmonella from handling chicken before cooking it than ever got from any reptile!

I hope this puts your mind at ease, and gives you enough info to explain to other people with the "turtles give you salmonella" mentality. Pass it on. Education is the key to loosening these ridiculous laws against herps that are being passed.