A Pet Tortoise Who Will Outlive Us All

It’s humbling to care for an animal that reminds you, each day, of your own imminent death.

Beware of Cold-Blooded Americans

AMERICANS are predatory. They invade other countries, prey on native populations and exploit their resources. They are typically voracious, opportunistic and highly adaptive. It is said they are filthy; they can tolerate living in polluted areas and can carry diseases to which locals have no immunity. As we speak, they are causing global ecological damage.

Cleanliness Is Next to Godliness

As a child I was fascinated by turtles; it was just a part of my DNA. Like many other children growing up in the late ‘fifties or early ‘sixties, I had pet turtles, namely baby red-eared sliders.

Pet Frogs Transmit Salmonella

Amphibians and reptiles can carry salmonella bacteria without appearing sick, says Patricia Griffin, a physician and chief of the enteric diseases epidemiology branch at CDC.

Prevalence of Salmonella spp. in pet turtles and their environment

The association between salmonellosis and pet turtles motivated a 1975 federal ban on the sale of turtles with a carapace of <10.2 cm (4 inches) in the United States.

Salmonella from Pet Turtles: Just How High is the Risk for Your Kid?

FDA investigations showed that most who became ill had recently been exposed to a pet turtle by touching it, feeding it, cleaning its habitat or changing the water in its tank.

Salmonella traced to pet turtles is spreading once again

Reptiles and amphibians carry the bacteria in their guts. Their feces can be laced with the stuff. So their skin, or shells, in the case of turtles, can be coated in salmonella. Anyone handling turtles — holding them, cleaning out their tanks, preparing food on a counter across which a turtle has roamed — can become infected with salmonella if they don’t clean the sink or counter thoroughly and wash their hands carefully afterward.

The Illegal Teeny Turtle Trade

Despite the ban, human infections of the strain of Salmonella associated with turtles seem to be on the rise, says Janell Routh at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Tiny Pet Turtles Return; Salmonella Does, Too

Salmonella causes stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea and fever. The infections are usually mild but can be serious in infants and people with weakened immunity.