# Salmonella



## fluffypanda17 (Aug 23, 2012)

Recently got Salmonella. My friends and family blame my animals. What do you guys think?


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## TortoiseBoy1999 (Aug 23, 2012)

fluffypanda17 said:


> Recently got Salmonella. My friends and family blame my animals. What do you guys think?



Were you washing your hands after handling your animal's?


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## ascott (Aug 23, 2012)

Were you secretly licking your torts/turtles?  Seriously, I am sorry to hear that you had to deal with that, no fun I am sure. Well, if you handle your reptiles and touch their water, their uneaten food, their substrate--them, yes there is that chance you could have been passed the ick from them....however, if you handle dog food, poultry and a few vegetables you can pick it up as well....so, there is really no way to know for certain....


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## chase thorn (Aug 23, 2012)

You are more likely to get it from a counter top, sponge, chicken, tomatoes, and restaurant silverware than your tortoise and reptiles... unless you keep them dirty and do not clean the enclosures often... then that may be the case. But Wash your hands after handling a possible poo covered tort


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## Masin (Aug 23, 2012)

ascott said:


> Were you secretly licking your torts/turtles?


Am I to understand this is frowned upon?! 

There was a huge outbreak of salmonella on the news traced back to cantaloupes, your spell with it can't be linked to that can it?


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## Ruchonnet (Aug 23, 2012)

And dont forget, cookie dough carries it!


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## chase thorn (Aug 23, 2012)

I honestly hate when people relate Reptiles to a sickness... That is on my top 10 of pet peeves... Not every living reptile carries it, but they CAN carry it! So can a tooth brush, yet a lot of people stick those in their mouths everyday! (hopefully)


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## dmmj (Aug 23, 2012)

It is possible, but salmonella is in just about everything, or have access to,it would be very hard to pin it down to a single incident. If you practice basic hygiene, odds are you won't get it, and your family will probably never be convinced of it either way.


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## TortoiseBoy1999 (Aug 23, 2012)

What does Salmonella do to you anyways???


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## dmmj (Aug 23, 2012)

TortoiseBoy1999 said:


> What does Salmonella do to you anyways???



Usually upset stomach, diarrhea, not a fun time.


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## TortoiseBoy1999 (Aug 23, 2012)

dmmj said:


> Usually upset stomach, diarrhea, not a fun time.



Oh ok :&


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## Eweezyfosheezy (Aug 23, 2012)

dmmj said:


> TortoiseBoy1999 said:
> 
> 
> > What does Salmonella do to you anyways???
> ...



I guess that means that I get salmonella every week . 
Or maybe its just all that chipotle I eat.


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## dmmj (Aug 23, 2012)

Eweezyfosheezy said:


> dmmj said:
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> > TortoiseBoy1999 said:
> ...


Not to go to far OT but it could be IBS or Coeliac disease.


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## Eweezyfosheezy (Aug 23, 2012)

dmmj said:


> Eweezyfosheezy said:
> 
> 
> > dmmj said:
> ...



Dont worry I was jk


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## StudentoftheReptile (Aug 24, 2012)

Always wash your hands and don't lick reptile cloacas!


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## dmmj (Aug 24, 2012)

StudentoftheReptile said:


> Always wash your hands and don't lick reptile cloacas!


Must... resist... urge... must .... resist... Oh who am I kidding.


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## fluffypanda17 (Aug 24, 2012)

It could've been from anything I agree. I don't remember if I always washed my hands after doing anything with my tortoises but I wash them every time now! I'm kinda paranoid now. Is it possible for me to do fecal tests on my tortoises to find out if they could've been carriers?


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## Madkins007 (Aug 24, 2012)

Salmonella is also called '24 hour flu' or 'stomach flu'. Diarrhea and nausea are usually Salmonellosis or one of the other common food-related poisonings. Usually nothing to worry about, clears up in a couple days. Biggest common health issue is dehydration especially in younger or older victims. There ARE however many strains of Salmonella and some are very dangerous- mostly the ones you get from stuff from dirty packing houses or processing plants.

You can test your torts, or get yourself tested next time it happens. The strains associated with reptiles are different than the strains associated with food and so on.


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## EricIvins (Aug 24, 2012)

Every Tortoise, Reptile, Human, etc. will shed Salmonella at any point in our lives........Anything living carries up to 12 or more different strains in the GI tract, so you myswell become paranoid about everything you touch, eat, or put in your mouth or other mucous membranes........


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## JacksonR (Aug 24, 2012)

Hey kids, some interesting facts! Animals near you have been found to carry menengitis, leprosy, rabies, plague, etc. There are diseases everywhere on and in everything. Can't be paranoid about everything, though.

Salmonella is no problem.


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## GeoTerraTestudo (Aug 24, 2012)

I've been keeping box turtles and tortoises for years, but the only time I ever got salmonellosis was from eating a hamburger that had been sitting out at room temperature for too long.






Madkins007 said:


> Salmonella is also called '24 hour flu' or 'stomach flu'. Diarrhea and nausea are usually Salmonellosis or one of the other common food-related poisonings. Usually nothing to worry about, clears up in a couple days. Biggest common health issue is dehydration especially in younger or older victims. There ARE however many strains of Salmonella and some are very dangerous- mostly the ones you get from stuff from dirty packing houses or processing plants.



The food poisoning I got did last only a couple days, but before it was diagnosed as salmonellosis, I felt like I was going to die. I had it coming out of both ends for hours on end. It was agony. The doctor prescribed me antibiotics as well as anti-emetics, although many doctors just provide palliative care. Here in the USA, diarrhea is not usually life-threatening. But in other parts of the world, it can be.


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## Madkins007 (Aug 25, 2012)

I cannot find my source for this anymore, but someone said that almost everyone over 13 years old has had Salmonellosis at least once, and most people suffer at least a small bout every couple years. It really DOES matter which strain you have as well as how badly infected you are. 

I'm sorry to hear that you had a really bad bout. My last go-around was really annoying and unpleasant, but about what you would expect with 'stomach flu'.


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