Ever gotten Salmonella from your reptiles?

[WingedWolfPsion]

Those answering yes should be sure that they have a confirmation that the salmonella came from the reptile, and not from some other source. It's easy to make assumptions when one is sick, but it's equally easy to be wrong without actual testing.
I remember a case where a boy got sick with salmonella, and a home inspection found that the family had a green iguana. Subsequent testing revealed that the iguana was innocent--the salmonella had come from the family dog. I subscribed to the FDA alert list, and it looks like salmonella contamination can exist in a remarkable variety of different foods. Right now it's ground pepper and seasonings put out by one company that is contaminated. Sesame seeds, peanut butter, fresh salad greens--the list goes on. People usually think of meat or eggs as the most likely source, but in reality, salmonella can be in just about anything.

[Allysen]

I don't *think* so. I got slightly sick towards the end of last September and it steadily got worse, so we were in and out of the Doctor's office, the usual, oh maybe it's a Vitamin D deficiency, maybe it's Crohn's disease, all that stuff, and it wasn't until the end of January when it got so bad that I had to drop the winter quarter of school that they found out that all along, it had been salmonella.

The Health Department called me and asked a ton of questions, and despite the snakes, birds, goats, rabbits, chinchillas, and rat, they were still pretty convinced it was chicken. Especially when I told him I was attending culinary school, and our final, towards the end of September, was to truss, then fabricate a chicken in under ten minutes. Always good to get a bunch of people together with raw chicken, put their final grade on it, give them a time limit and say "GO!"

BUT the Health Department hasn't gotten back to me with what strain of salmonella it was. It *could* be the snakes, or the birds, etc, but until they call back and say that it was specifically arizonae, I'm going to assume it came from something I ate.

[jimbo4382]

iI once just slightly reheated pizza for breakfast and poisoned me and my girlfriends mate.

I was sick for 5 days and man it felt like i was going to DIE for 4 of them.

Never sick from a pet though.

Jim

[EvesFriend]

I guess they should outlaw eggs as well

[Jeremy78]

I get "food poisoning" fairly regularly (maybe once a month?), so I've probably had salmonella before, but (1) I don't know for sure and (2) even if I did, I wouldn't have a clue as to whether it came from the reptiles or from food.

I let my reptiles crawl on my face if they like (I just close my mouth, hee hee). I don't kiss them, either, though I have been known to eat and handle reptiles at the same time. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen sometimes. I know the threat is there, which is why 99% of the time, I take the appropriate precautions. But if I get salmonella from my reptiles, it's my fault, so I'll just deal with it.

Food poisoning once a month!!! That's insane! Lol who does the cooking in your house? If I were you and had an immune system like that I'd be in a bubble everytime I go anywhere near my snakes.

yea i had it when i was like 8 years old becaus ei would go herping averyday and come home with a new reptile/amphibian avery day so then my mom realized the rashes and stuff and went to doctor got ointment and meds,
salmonella

tall paul

Rashes?

[BallsUnlimited]

nope

[king216]

What are the symptoms of salmonella

[pythontricker]

not a party at all. really ugly sickness. my iguana scratched my face while she had a little poop on her claw. threw up for like a week

[WingedWolfPsion]

Ok. Salmonella bacteria:

Found in the feces of infected animals.

Transferred ORALLY--you have to EAT it. This can happen if you eat food contaminated with the organism, or have the organism on your hands and put them in your mouth, or eat something with the organism on your hands.

The organism reproduces in the intestinal tract, and the result is:
Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, chills, headache, muscle pain, and blood in the stool.

If the salmonella organism enters your bloodstream, such as through a scratch, it may result in bacteremia. Meningitis is the result--NOT vomiting, or other symptoms related to salmonella infection in the intestinal tract. Bacteremia is rare, and many different organisms can cause it.

So--being scratched by an iguana will NOT result in gastroenteritis. If you ate without washing your hands after you handled the iguana, that might do it. If not, then most likely you didn't have salmonella at all, or you got it from something else that you ate.

I think this poll is not valid, because it's clear that folks have no idea what salmonella is, or how you wind up with it.