We shouldnt have chams!?

[dsfdandan]

My dad has raised iguanas for 20 years...nothing has happened to him...

 

[davthevieled]

To those involved,

I'll be honest, although owning reptiles does not cause any sort of true risk with the proper hygiene I do believe there are risks in owning a reptile. Actually I think Chameleons are the worst out of any species when it comes to the greatest risk of all, and that would be addiction. I will not admit that I have an addiction myself, but I do believe others do. I don't believe that my signature is growing exponentially after getting my own appartment and being allowed to have as many reptiles that I want. I believe that they have just found their way into my home. I think this should be addressed, as Chameleons show signs of being Gateway Reptiles. Due to their colorful personality and attitude, people want more.. crave the next extreme.

This is why we should not have chameleons.

 

[camimom]

To those involved,

I'll be honest, although owning reptiles does not cause any sort of true risk with the proper hygiene I do believe there are risks in owning a reptile. Actually I think Chameleons are the worst out of any species when it comes to the greatest risk of all, and that would be addiction. I will not admit that I have an addiction myself, but I do believe others do. I don't believe that my signature is growing exponentially after getting my own appartment and being allowed to have as many reptiles that I want. I believe that they have just found their way into my home. I think this should be addressed, as Chameleons show signs of being Gateway Reptiles. Due to their colorful personality and attitude, people want more.. crave the next extreme.

This is why we should not have chameleons.

The first stage in addiction is denial. You are in denial that you have an addiction. I totally agree with your statement thoguh.

 

[Trin]

To those involved,

I'll be honest, although owning reptiles does not cause any sort of true risk with the proper hygiene I do believe there are risks in owning a reptile. Actually I think Chameleons are the worst out of any species when it comes to the greatest risk of all, and that would be addiction. I will not admit that I have an addiction myself, but I do believe others do. I don't believe that my signature is growing exponentially after getting my own appartment and being allowed to have as many reptiles that I want. I believe that they have just found their way into my home. I think this should be addressed, as Chameleons show signs of being Gateway Reptiles. Due to their colorful personality and attitude, people want more.. crave the next extreme.

This is why we should not have chameleons.

Keep dreaming on that part Love, it's not that big of an apartment!!

... but if we can get that poor jacksons female... we are totally doing it, not that I'm getting addicted too or anything, really!

 

[Ekaj13]

Disregard-

 

[chameleoman]

my sister told me not to be putting mine in my fave because her coworkers sone ended up in the hospital from playing with his anole and then the service people or house inspectors went over there and they said he was in the hospital because of salamenala and then they took his anole away and did something with it
now my mom makes me wash my hand after everytime i handle me little babies

but..... i still play with them

 

[TOMMYBOY72]

The most common (in the U.S.) type of salmonella causes gastro-intestinal problems. Usually diarhhea and possibly even vomiting. This type of gastro-intestinal problem is very closely related to E. coli. The easiest way to avoid it is to wash with warm soap and water and be sure to scrub your hands in between the fingers and fingernails very well (like singing the alphabet song in your head TWICE) while washing, before rinsing.

C-diff..........which is another gastro-intestinal infection is another that CAN be dangerous if precautions are not taken to avoid further spread. I work in the health care field and this is most common in either pediatric or geriatric patients (ie/ children and older adults). Typically, these are the age groups that have either under-developed (pediatric) or supressed (geriatric) immune systems. Most of US, unless we have a immune system disease that causes our bodies natural ability to fight disease of any type will have very minor problems with minimum exposure. That being said, WHY take the chance, especially if we or our reptiles are handled or live with children or the elderly. Again, it can be controlled and NOT allowed to be spread by simple and thorough HAND WASHING.

Now.........I'm gonna let you in on a little secret that for some reason hasn't gotten out to the "general public". MOST EVERY soap, of ANY kind has anti-bacterial tendencies. This means that when WE fork out the bigger bucks for the marketed "anti-bacterial" soaps, that the manufacturers laugh all the way to the bank. We learned this in Micro-Biology and actually had a project that showed the effeciency (or lack of) in soaps in general.

While some various strains of salmonella, C-diff and E. coli have MUCH more serious consequences than the "most common" strains and ANY and ALL of each should be taken seriously. The general public usually is unaware that one of the simplest things (thorough hand washing with soap and water) IS effective in stopping this in it's tracks.............the alcohol based "sanitizers" that are also commonly found in everyones home is INEFFECTIVE with gastro-intestinal issues.

Again...........DO NOT take the chance.........just wash your hands regularly and thoroughly and it won't be a problem.

I'm going on memory here, and it has been some time since my Micro-Biology class.............but these are the main points that I want to put out there. We have four grandchildren and they regularly handle our chameleon. The other thing that they ALWAYS do after handling him and BEFORE allowing them to touch their faces is...............thorough hand washing.

I hope this will clear up this issue for the concerns that people that own reptiles have.

What about white vinegar it kills bacteria?

 

[NORChameleons]

The treath of salmonella in reptiles is a statement that anti-reptile organizations use all the time as their biggest "weapon".

The threat of salmonella from reptiles is present, but maninly is aquatic species like turtles. The threat of salmonella from chameleons I would say is very slim, due to the fact that chameleons produce a capsulated feceas that is dropped to the floor and quickly dries out in a bare bottom tank where it almost never comes in contact with the reptile itself. Aquatic turtles on the other hand produce the feceas directly in the water and are exposed to the feceas directly.

Salmonella is natural present in the digestive system of all reptiles, but the kinds present in reptiles are considered low risk of producing deaseses in humans.
There are over 2500 types of salmonella, and only some 2% are humanpathogen (Can casue deases at humans). In Sweeden with 9,4 million people in 2005 only 1% of all documented salmonella cases came from pets, and here all cases came from other household pets like cats and dogs, with no case of salmonella beeing given by reptiles.

 

[Bradypod]

I have repeatedly been warned about salmonella; yet I have been handling reptiles here in South Africa for many years and have never had the slightest problem. (no washing of hands)

 

[carol5208]

so we all die happy then! lol!!

 

[Bradypod]

my sister told me not to be putting mine in my fave because her coworkers sone ended up in the hospital from playing with his anole and then the service people or house inspectors went over there and they said he was in the hospital because of salamenala and then they took his anole away and did something with it
now my mom makes me wash my hand after everytime i handle me little babies

but..... i still play with them

My mom told me that if I play with my Anole, I'll go blind!

 

[laurie]

and also children, and old farts are the most subseptible..like others have said..just wash yer damned hands!!

So are you saying at my age (we won't even talk about how old I am) I am going to die? I also have asthma, but I did think I would live forever. I just can't imagine my life with out me alive.

Wash your hands is the best advise you can get. And not just after handling your chameleon either - but also after touching money, bank machines, door knobs, escaltor rails, etc etc etc

Best advice given on this thread.
At one point I had soft hands, now I wash them so often, they feel like crab claws, but no salmonella, or colds from little kids who seem sick a lot.

 

[Olimpia]

Frankly, I'm more worried about what my dog gets in her mouth. My chameleons stay in their clean little cages and don't really access their own poop. But my dog on the other hand goes to dog parks, forests, and public places where she can eat/lick anything off the ground. But I still let her lick my hands and face when we're home, so I don't honestly care very much. And I took microbiology, so I know more than the usual person how easy it is to transfer stuff! But it still doesn't worry me much.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

 

[Carlton]

i was reading an article today about certain types of pets that we shouldnt keep.
this is what it said.

Iguanas and Lizards


Iguanas and lizards pose a very real danger — 90 percent have Salmonella and shed it in their feces. (This is actually true of all reptiles).

In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 93,000 people are sickened by Salmonella each year caused by exposure to reptiles.


So my chams are going to kill me are they?

While the CDC article is technically correct about salmonella, they are playing the public panic media game about your chances. If they don't say reptiles pose a threat, they'll be lashed by some spooked parent who is dumb enough to let their toddler put a turtle in their mouth. If they do say reptiles can be a threat they can't be blamed. But they also like to push people's buttons because they spend their careers steeped in bad events. Anyone who owns a reptile and gets sick didn't necessarily end up with salmonella. Is there a slightly higher chance that was the cause of their illness? Sure...but just add the herp to the daily list of potential germs that cause problems.

I can't begin to count the number of reptiles and amphibians I've handled over my lifetime, including all those wild lizards I caught as a kid and didn't go scouring my hands afterward. Someone is more likely to pick up salmonella from an aquatic turtle or frog with a wet skin that also lives where it eats and poops. Do I put my fingers in my mouth after handling a herp pet? Of course not! Do I sterilize my hands every time I handle a cham or its cage? No, but I also keep my cages clean which lessens the chance to pick up any pathogen. I let my neighborhood kids hold my snakes, but I also make them wash their hands before they leave and also calmly I tell them why.

Got to put some sort of limit on the list of things to worry about in life. This isn't one of them as it is so easy to prevent.

 

[kinyonga]

Bradypod said..."My mom told me that if I play with my Anole, I'll go blind!"...I was told if I played with toads I'd get warts!

 

[Meow Kitty]

I always wash my hands after handling and cleaning cages....actually I have liquid hand sanitizer in the cham room. I also sanitize between handling different chams. Seems simple enough since I sanitize my hands every time I walk in and again when I walk out of treatment rooms all day. Just a habit now!

yeah their dirty wash your hands