how often can you get salmonella poisoning from domesticated reptiles?

Question

Holy shyztnazzzz, I have been eating the same fruit that I feed my iguana when I hand feed him. I was not aware that you could get salmonella from domesticated reptiles. I also let him climb all over my body and have scratches because I didnt cut his nails at the time. Do you think I might have contracteed salmonella?

Answer 1

1. "Dry" reptiles are not as likely to carry Salmonella as "wet" reptiles because of the fecal matter in the water.

2. Getting Salmonellosis (the actual disease the germ gives you) is easy, and you are a lot more likely to get it from badly cooked meat, contaminated foods, etc.

3. You obviously do not know what Samonellosis really is. You've probably had it before. It is just a rather mild food-poisoning that takes about 6-36 hours to develop, and lasts for about 24-48 hours.

The symptoms are diarrhea, nausea, vomiting. You MIGHT become dehydrated (the major risk of the disease), and varey rarely will other complications develop.

There are about 3,000 kinds of Salmonella germs, including Typhoid. Of these, the two that most commonly affect people at home are pretty mild. A couple of more rare germs can cause a far more severe illness, but they are usually found in food processing plants (the big news media scares you hear about involve these strains).

Plain Salmonellosis is usually called 'stomach flu' or '24 hour bug'. (No flu or cold causes both vomiting and diarrhea).

Almost everyone over the age of 13 has had at least one bout of Salmonellosis- it really is not a big deal. We should avoid it, of course, but not to the point of nervous paranoia!

Answer 2

Actually, it's not very common. Although many reptiles have salmonella in their digestive tract, the salmonella bacteria doesn't live long outside of its host.

You are more likely to get salmonella poisoning from a reptile that spends time in their waste such as a turtle, and if you practice poor hygiene. And although snakes can carry salmonella, I've never heard of an incident in which someone was infected with salmonella from a snake.

Here's an interesting article on salmonella in reptiles:
http://www.tortoise.org/general/salmon1.html

Answer 3

There is no cure for salmonella so reptiles (yes even domesticated ones) are carriers of this disease. Always wash your hands after feeding, cleaning, or generally handling the iguana. You could definatly have salmonella from cuts or eating after it so I would imediatly visit your doctor.

Answer 4

All reptiles carry diseases. You just need to wash your hands up to your elbows with a good anti-bacterial soap. Before and After doing ANYTHING inside of an enclosure. Even if you are just feeding. Just watering the plants. Whatever you are doing you must always have clean hands. A hand sanitizer doesn't hurt either. But if you keep clean and washed then your risk of salmonella is very slim.

Answer 5

From the foods they eat. The foods may contain salmonella and pass onto the critter's when their body contacts an infected item. In addition, the food grows bad bacteria if left to rot in the cage, especially in a high humidity. That's why you need to keep a clean environment, clean water, and take out food that isn't eaten in a day. The rule: always wash your hands with an antibacterial soap after handling your reptile.

Answer 6

use common sense when handeling and feeding your iggy, and you will be just fine. i have lots of friends that keep reptiles for many years, and i myself have kept them for a fair few years, and salmonella has never cropped up!

Answer 7

well its posible but the odds are about 1 in a 5000 or less