Kissing your Chameleon

[OldChamKeeper]

Why are people kissing their chams in the first place?

The animals sure as heck don't need or want it......

I do understand the connection an owner can have with their pets, I've had my own connections, but kissing the critter?

 

[jannb]

I am a chameleon kisser

First I'd like to say that I keep my chameleons very clean. Poop is picked up the moment it falls and the area it falls on it cleaned, mouths are wiped after eating messy food, have even wiped buts when needed. They get 2 showers (warm mistings) a day and are the cleanest animals I've ever owned.

The topic of salmonella came up years ago and my vet Dr. Alfonso (world known chameleon vet) said that salmonella is very rare in chameleons but it could happen if they are kept dirty and allowed to walk around in the poop. He also said if they happen to get salmonella and you kissed your cham in an area where the contaminated poop had been then it would be possible for you to catch it.

I have kissed animals all my life. Well as long as I can remember because I love them so much. I have been kissing chameleons for 8+ years with no problems. I interact with my chameleons on a daily basic and and my chameleons are use to being kissed all the time and have a couple that will even put the head and nose up for me to kiss.

My advise would be to keep you chameleons very clean if you are kissing them.

 

[coldbloodedAL]

Am I the only one that doesn't kiss their chameleon? These aren't domesticated animals that enjoy human contact.

My thoughts exactly... While I do care for my chams a lot, A LOT... They dont actually care to have interaction with me and I respect that.

And why would Salmonella be the only concern? There are many pathogens that could possibly be transmitted through contact, especially if the chameleon is a WC or been treated for parasites at any point in their life.

Im not trying to offend anyone who displays this affection with their animals by any means. I am of the opinion that people should be more aware of the possibilities though.

 

[BocaJan]

As laid back as Merlin is, I still give him his space. I can picture these big lips approaching him...what if he decides he doesn't like them and decides to "kiss" me back. Lips are soft and he could really hurt. OWWWW

No thanks, I could give him a little snuggle or pet, but no kissie on the lipsie.

 

[lilbug]

The reason why kids under the age of 4 get salmonella is cause they put their hands in their mouth all the time. thats why most parents continue wiping their bums and make them wash their hands right away. kids that age stick their hands everywhere, it has nothing to do with animals. i find it funny how people are concerned with reptiles but will let their kids handle rodents ( hamsters) without a second thought and they carry lots of dieases.

 

[Captive Creations]

I am borderline on this topic I think that with the proper percautions ie. keeping a very clean enclosure and very clean pet and proper hand and in this case "lip" washing I think that there isn't anything to worry about. I am guilty of kissing my chameleons from time to time cause I love them. but I also know how clean they are and take the precautions.

With that being said. my daughter has VERY low immune system so we have to be very clean here. but that also means my daughter isn't allowed to kiss them and has to wash her hands right after any handling (which doesn't happen too often) and we have hand sanitizers ALL OVER our house. We have never had any problems to date.


@ OP :great post

 

[Elizadolots]

The reason why kids under the age of 4 get salmonella is cause they put their hands in their mouth all the time. thats why most parents continue wiping their bums and make them wash their hands right away. kids that age stick their hands everywhere, it has nothing to do with animals. i find it funny how people are concerned with reptiles but will let their kids handle rodents ( hamsters) without a second thought and they carry lots of dieases.

I would argue that you want to teach a child to wash his/her hands after petting any pet--dog, cat, bird, snake-- and his/her face after any "kissing" , but the question was about chameleons so the answers are about chameleons.

However, the idea that children are only more vulnerable because of their habits completely misses the point that they are smaller and their immune systems are not fully developed which makes them more vulnerable. Elderly people are more at risk as well because they have lost body mass and their immune systems are weakened by age.

 

[okiroo]

I kiss mine

mine arnt mean and the only time i touch them is for takeing outside and inspection (super rare and only if i see something wrong) i hardly touch them anyways to be honest. but when i do if i want a kiss ima get it, but still. they dont care. only good happens when they get touched (outdoors) so they dont associate it with bad.

 

[okiroo]

As laid back as Merlin is, I still give him his space. I can picture these big lips approaching him...what if he decides he doesn't like them and decides to "kiss" me back. Lips are soft and he could really hurt. OWWWW

No thanks, I could give him a little snuggle or pet, but no kissie on the lipsie.

I used to kiss my iguana and the first time he tore my lip up XD! he was mean so idk why, cant help it witht hat cute ltitle faceE he became a total sweetheart tho. used to give me kisses back by licking be and nap around my neck. go on dog walks anyd everything. makes me want another one

 

[DekuScrub]

I used to kiss my iguana and the first time he tore my lip up XD! he was mean so idk why, cant help it witht hat cute ltitle faceE he became a total sweetheart tho. used to give me kisses back by licking be and nap around my neck. go on dog walks anyd everything. makes me want another one

i used to sleep with my savannah monitor when he got old and sick.

got a female for him and poor dude picked up some sort of neurologically degenerative disease.

id lay him across my torso so if he moved i could feel it and know which way to avoid rolling over. he would stay in my bed pretty much all night.

and lol, walks. the neighbors thought i had an alligator. he escaped once luckily his tail left a line in the grass to where he was a few yards over.

 

[Goldenarcher1328]

All my life, ( not that long by the way ((Roughly 20 years), but the entire time i can remember) people have been saying how terrible fish, and reptiles and wild caught anything would give me that dreaded disease. Well. not once have i even became mildly sick from handling them, and i'm not one of the hand sanitizer obsessed, germ paranoid masses that we have today.

I've snacked before and after handling wild caught fish and turtles and whatnot, after working in the fishtanks for hours, and after handling chams.

The only time i do use the sanitizer stuff is if i have been handling other peoples reptiles and plan on handling my own, or vise versa.

Personally, i would say what does get people sick, is the paranoia, that is now creating healthier diseases, not healthier people.

Anywho, i could stay on that subject for days, so i'll stop.

But i kiss my male on the casque every now and then and we're both fine, and i kiss my tegu's right on the snout haha, never been bit, never been sick from it.

 

[Dr O]

The topic of salmonella came up years ago and my vet Dr. Alfonso (world known chameleon vet) said that salmonella is very rare in chameleons but it could happen if they are kept dirty and allowed to walk around in the poop.

Key point there is "years ago". newer studies are finding Salmonella in most reptile species that are tested, including chams.

dr. o-

 

[Dr O]

The reason why kids under the age of 4 get salmonella is cause they put their hands in their mouth all the time. thats why most parents continue wiping their bums and make them wash their hands right away. kids that age stick their hands everywhere, it has nothing to do with animals.

i'm not sure how the child's age under 4 is involved here, but the no sale of 4" or less turtles came from a now-ridiculed study that said that a child's mouth is typically 4" wide and could not accomodate larger turtles. of course that does nothing to help a child stroking a large spur-thigh and then licking his fingers.

luckily, smarter minds have prevailed and most places now allow the sale of baby turtles......"for educational purposes".

dr. o-

 

[patrickfraser]

I tried to kiss mine today and he opened his mouth. I wasn't into any tongue action and pulled away. We settled on an eskimo kiss which went without incident.

 

[jannb]

Key point there is "years ago". newer studies are finding Salmonella in most reptile species that are tested, including chams.

dr. o-

By years ago I just meant two years. If you have any new studies, I would be very interested in reading them.

 

[Dr O]

By years ago I just meant two years. If you have any new studies, I would be very interested in reading them.

dr. mark mitchell (my mentor) did the studies. they're available for purchase online, but i should have it stuffed away somewhere. i'll post it as soon as i can find it.

 

[Dr O]

and please don't misunderstand me---i've met ivan alfonso before and he is a magnificent vet!!

 

[jannb]

and please don't misunderstand me---i've met ivan alfonso before and he is a magnificent vet!!

Yes, Ivan's awesome. He was here on a house call checking out my guys yesterday and if I'd known about these new studies I would have ask for the Salmonella test on their fecals. I ask him before because I give out dozens of kisses to my guys and in the past he's not recommended the test because it's so rare. Not that I'd be so worried about me getting it, I'd want to know if my guys had Salmonella or anything else.

 

[Olimpia]

One of my panthers once tested positive for E-coli in his SALIVA. Not his fecal matter, but his saliva! It could have come from a batch of dirty crickets or from his time at the breeder's before he came to me, but the fact is that he had it in his mouth.

Although, I kiss my dogs on the nose all the time and they probably have the same or worse. But there's something about the texture of chameleons that isn't kiss-encouraging! They are covered in spikes or rostrals or horns, it's not as nice as giving your dog a peck on the forehead!

 

[Dr O]

Yes, Ivan's awesome. He was here on a house call checking out my guys yesterday and if I'd known about these new studies I would have ask for the Salmonella test on their fecals. I ask him before because I give out dozens of kisses to my guys and in the past he's not recommended the test because it's so rare. Not that I'd be so worried about me getting it, I'd want to know if my guys had Salmonella or anything else.

That is something I really don't recommend nor do I think you have to worry about. The gist of the studies were that while most reptiles harbored salmonella in their GI tract, many were intermittent shedders (which is one of the reasons it was missed on the earlier studies), and it can be virtually impossible to eradicate anyway, no matter what antibiotics are given or for how long. And even if that does happen, just one bacterium comes along and repopulates the entire GI tract again. Dr. Mitchell worked really hard with iguana farms in Costa Rica to see if they could raise them without Salm., but it was a trying and fruitless exercise for the most part. And again, since 99% of the population does not have to worry about a bug that seems to be part of reptilian normal intestinal flora, and the other 1% can avoid any issues with common sense, it would be foolish to try and even eradicate it. Maybe even dangerous for the animals themselves.

dr. o-