Quote Originally Posted by ev477 View Post
Well still you got to think, would parents who have never owned an exotic animal think to put a lock on the cage or anything?
I had a tree frog when I was too young to be responsible enough to own one, my brother and sister and I always got it out and played with it. My sister did kiss it and get salmonella, it wasn't that bad, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't call my parents incompetent though.

Kids will be kids, but I really don't think they should be owning exotics unless the adult is really committed as much as if not more than the kid. The pet could die since some animals don't do well with handling, if a parent doesn't know information on pets, it's likely that they will receive husbandry techniques from a petsmart employee
You nailed it.

My parents got me a lizard when I was about 6 or 7. I don't know what type it was, the pet store called it a "jeweled lizard". I hope to god it wasn't a jeweled lacerta baby. It was in a critter keeper with no lights and a heat rock, and ate meal worms. I remember when it died, and now I'm sure that it died prematurely. All I really understood as a kid was that it was my pretty pet lizard.

Most people don't know crap about herps, including my parents, and maybe that's our main problem. BUT, the article should instead just say, "make sure to tell your kids not to kiss your pet lizard, and make sure they wash their hands afterwards." Instead of just saying, no exotic pets for kids period.