worry about getting illnes from tortoise?

[satgo]

hii have 1 baby greek tortoise.she is 6 weeks.i live in apartment and i let her to be free in my room all of the time and give him sun bath and calcium .....but i hear all of them have salamonia and other illness.is she dangrous for me and other people in home???if yes i have to free her in nature but i afraid that animal kill her or....and i dont want to keep her in terarium because its so small and always she is unhappy in there.so what should i do??tnx alot

 

[Lyn W]

hii have 1 baby greek tortoise.she is 6 weeks.i live in apartment and i let her to be free in my room all of the time and give him sun bath and calcium .....but i hear all of them have salamonia and other illness.is she dangrous for me and other people in home???if yes i have to free her in nature but i afraid that animal kill her or....and i dont want to keep her in terarium because its so small and always she is unhappy in theire.so what should i do??tnx alot

Hi I think as long as you wash your hands before and after you handle her the you should be fine. I haven't heard of anyone on the forum becoming ill from their tort.

Weeing and pooping in your apartment may be a problem though if you don't find it especially if you have young children crawling about.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

It is not a good idea to let your tortoise roam freely in your apartment.
Accidents will happen, a while ago a poor tortoise got it's head squashed in a door, the temperatures and humidity will be wrong and eating a paperclip or even a dust bunny could be fatal.
You need to build a large indoor enclosure about 4' by 8' for the tort, if done right it will be happy.
have a look at the enclosures section for ideas, a bookcase with the shelves taken out is one good starting point.
Some torts do carry salmonella and hands should be washed before and after handling the tort, but most people don't do this, in reality and the chances of illness are small, but present.
In an enclosure, you can keep handling to a minimum.

 

[satgo]

It is not a good idea to let your tortoise roam freely in your apartment.
Accidents will happen, a while ago a poor tortoise got it's head squashed in a door, the temperatures and humidity will be wrong and eating a paperclip or even a dust bunny could be fatal.
You need to build a large indoor enclosure about 4' by 8' for the tort, if done right it will be happy.
have a look at the enclosures section for ideas, a bookcase with the shelves taken out is one good starting point.
Some torts do carry salmonella and hands should be washed before and after handling the tort, but most people don't do this, in reality and the chances of illness are small, but present.
In an enclosure, you can keep handling to a minimum.

tnx alot.about dangrous im sure nothing will happen because no one come to my room and most of time im out.and she is alone in my room with close door.about temprture.hear is so hot and i bath him in water every day.but for me isnt possible to make new big terrarium.because of money and lack of space.so if it is okay and no illness i will keep her in my room same past.if not i should free her in nature asap

 

[satgo]

Hi I think as long as you wash your hands before and after you handle her the you should be fine. I haven't heard of anyone on the forum becoming ill from their tort.

Weeing and pooping in your apartment may be a problem though if you don't find it especially if you have young children crawling about.

in fact i dont wash.and as i said in top reply.no dangrous for her in room.im sure.but she poop in room somethimes and touch anywhete so i was worry about illness

 

[Lyn W]

in fact i dont wash.and as i said in top reply.no dangrous for her in room.im sure.but she poop in room somethimes and touch anywhete so i was worry about illness

You have to make sure you clean up well then - but using chemical cleaners on the floor where your tort roams could make your tort ill. As Adam said you need a bigger enclosure to keep him safe.

 

[spud's_mum]

I got my Orr at the age of 5 weeks. A cheap and easy enclosure option would be a table ( make sure it has humid hides or it's covered ) for this you could use an old bookshelf or drawer. An even cheaper option would be a plastic tub. Once again make sure there is at least a humid hide there or even better cover it. Here's my hermanns table ( I'm covering half of it over for humidity soon )

 

[Tom]

It is physically possible for you to get sick from a tortoise. Salmonella is just one of the potential diseases. However this risk is minimal. Many of us have been handling dozens of tortoises for decades and never gotten sick from it. You should be washing your hands after contact with the tortoise and anything it comes in contact with, just like any other animal. Same with dogs and cats.

Letting your tortoise run around loose IS dangerous. We have seen far too many tortoises get injured or killed this way. I can guarantee you that every person whose tortoise ingested some object, got stepped on, chewed by another animal, hit by a door, squashed by something falling, bit a live wire, etc... thought that the practice was perfectly safe and nothing bad would happen. Every one of them was wrong and you are wrong too.

The point is not to argue with you and make you mad. The point is to try and prevent your tortoise from being killed or injured as so many of them are when allowed to free roam in a human habitat. You tortoise belongs in a well designed, safe, dedicated tortoise enclosure. Your tortoise will NOT be miserable living in the correct enclosure. In fact you need TWO enclosures. One inside and one outside for fair weather. If your tortoise's enclosure is too small, the solution is to make it bigger, not put the tortoise at risk with unsafe practices.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Where did you get this baby? Did you buy it? Did you find it? We need to know so we can advise you about letting it go or keeping it. Where do you live? In general we only advise releasing an animal where it was found if it is native. Non-natives, long term captives and captive bred animals should not be released. It can't be released randomly.

Hand washing is necessary and will prevent illness. People with health problems, immunocompromised, the very young and very old, and those who put their hands to their mouths without hand washing are at risk from salmonella. It shouldn't be a worry, just routine.

The floor of your room does not provide humidity. Moisture is critical for health and proper development. There's no place to burrow. The floor can eventually hurt his feet and legs. It's not a proper environment. It may seem to offer no hazards, but it's not safe or good.

Your health isn't at risk.

 

[Lyn W]

Where did you get this baby? Did you buy it? Did you find it? We need to know so we can advise you about letting it go or keeping it. Where do you live? In general we only advise releasing an animal where it was found if it is native. Non-natives, long term captives and captive bred animals should not be released. It can't be released randomly.

Hand washing is necessary and will prevent illness. People with health problems, immunocompromised, the very young and very old, and those who put their hands to their mouths without hand washing are at risk from salmonella. It shouldn't be a worry, just routine.

The floor of your room does not provide humidity. Moisture is critical for health and proper development. There's no place to burrow. The floor can eventually hurt his feet and legs. It's not a proper environment. It may seem to offer no hazards, but it's not safe or good.

Your health isn't at risk.

Sorry to answer for him but I have been worried about him releasing it as well and asked the same things on his food question. Satgo lives in Iran and has a Greek if that helps with your advice.

 

[Yvonne G]

PLEASE DO NOT RELEASE THE TORTOISE TO BE FREE IN NATURE!!

Tortoises that have been kept in captivity cannot live in nature. They will die.

 

[Gillian M]

Hi I think as long as you wash your hands before and after you handle her the you should be fine. I haven't heard of anyone on the forum becoming ill from their tort.

Weeing and pooping in your apartment may be a problem though if you don't find it especially if you have young children crawling about.

That's exactly what I do: wash my hands thoroughly before and after touching my beloved tort.

 

[Gillian M]

PLEASE DO NOT RELEASE THE TORTOISE TO BE FREE IN NATURE!!

Tortoises that have been kept in captivity cannot live in nature. They will die.

Why would a tort die if released? Afer all, it is the wild that they came from. Please do not misunderstand me; I'm not thinking of getting rid of my beloved tort. I'm only asking a question.

 

[Gillian M]

I suggest that you wash your hands before and after touching your tortoise...

'Better be safe than sorry.'