deadly pets

ohh thaks for posting such a valuable information. i also always liked tortoise and wish to have one someday... but not now after reading eye opening facts. yeah you are right one should be very carefull while buying pets...especially when there is children in once home.. one should research first before buying them.

I didn't know they were illegal any where only the small ones can't be sold here. I can tell you though I can atest to not owning one. My daughter wanted one and after I cleaned out the cage I got an itchy rash and had trouble breathing. I did not associate it with cleaning out the turtle cage. The second time I did it it got worse. I could hardly breathe. From that moment on turtles were no longer allowed at our house. Thank you for the warning though it is important to know these things.

Yes, it has been illegal to sell turtles less than 4 inches long in the United States since 1975. All turtles carry samonella, but the hope was that children wouldn't be attracted to larger turtles. Sadly, people have figured out a way around the law. Many 'give' the buyer the turtle and the buyer only has to pay 'shipping.' Others say that the turtle is only being 'sold' for 'scientific research and study.' It is sad that we care more about making a dollar than our children's and elderly's health. Here is a great article about the sale of pet turtles in the US. http://exoticpets.about.com/od/reptilesturtles/a/turtlesales.htm

I am 42 and these cute little water turtles have been banned because of salmanilla. This is nothing new. I would never buy this cutie for my daughter. Kids love animals but all animals are not good for kids. Kids like to pull tails and noses. My mom got a dog, it was a hound, and we raised it with my daughter. My daughter would go over my moms and play with the puppy every day. We would be right there on top of them. One day the puppy did not want me to take Heather home so he grabbed her by her diaper and would not let her leave. The puppy was not being mean she just didn't want to be alone. It was very cute. In this instance my mother and I were right there so that if it did turn bad we could stop it.

wow and I thought it was always cool to have reptiles but now that you put some facts together and I put 2 and 2 together. It means I won't look into any reptiles becuase of all the bad things about them. *cries dearly I always wanted one*.

Salmonella shows up in food, too .. chicken, et cetera ::shrug:: can't avoid it. But I understand wanting to minimize the risk of it, and I'm glad things worked out the way you wanted them to. We have turtles and tortoises, small kids too. They have all learned how to scrub really well after playing with or near the pets ~ their handwashing techniques could rival that of a top surgeon ;) and we get to benefit from having a pet we all love, too!

Salmonella shows up in more things besides tutrles. Like chicken and the food you it. IF you do have a turtle or iguana. You need to make sure you wsh your hands really well after handling them. I have alwaya had some type of lizard or turtle in our house hold. Noone has gotten sick here. Because we take precautions and have taught our children the proper handling a techniques and how important it is to wash their hands.

I think if turtles are illegal to own where you live, then that is definitely a good reason to not have one as a pet. If you're concerned about salmonella, then certainly you have the right to keep those types of animals away from your children. That being said, many people can safely enjoy these types of pets w/out getting sick. I have been around these types of pets my entire life, and have never gotten sick that I know of. I have taken my children to the zoo and allowed them to pet the snakes, etc.. that they have in their petting stations. However, the zoo makes sure that all people wash their hands immediately after. I would have a turtle right now, if I hadn't moved across country a few years back. Our whole family took our two turtles to a sanctuary, where they are much better off. :)

I was given two turtles one time by a coworker. He did not tell me all the details about them. Boy, they are dirty creatures. I used to clean that tank with my hands. Then someone told me. A friend took them. She didnt seem to be bother by the stuff that came along with raising turtles. I would never have them as a pet again.

Thanks for the warning. I get the feeling they might be illegal here in BC too, because I've never seen a pet store that sells them. However, my partner is all for getting a Chinese Water Dragon, so I guess I'll have to do some research into that before he goes ahead and gets one. Thanks for warning us all about this. It's an important thing to think about what germs and bacteria you may be bringing into your home.

Wow. Thank you so much for sharing this info i didn't had any idea of this... Now i will take care before buying some pets hehe.... i've always wanted to have an eguana but never had :P, Another pet i want to have is an furret xD, they look cool... Again, thanks for sharing this important information ^^.

Nice Advice. Thank you