Most of the amphibians and reptiles that are kept in terrariums carry salmonella.
Frogs, newts, toads, salamanders, snakes, turtles, iguanas, geckos, chameleons, bearded dragons, and water dragons are affected.
Salmonella, which colonizes the intestines and is excreted with the faeces, are not a problem for the animals. They do not become ill themselves.
The undiscovered sub-tenants can be dangerous for the two-legged residents and visitors of the house.
Because through direct contact with the terrarium inhabitant and indirectly through contact with objects or cleaning rags that are with theIf the animal’s faeces come into contact, the salmonella can be transmitted to humans.
There, the bacteria often cause severe diarrheal diseases six to 72 hours after being infected.
The patients suffer from severe, sometimes even bloody, diarrhoea and abdominal pain.
Also, there may be fever and vomiting. Salmonella disease becomes dangerous, among other things, due to the high loss of fluid and salt.
In the worst case, salmonella diseases can lead to life-threatening blood poisoning and meningitis.
Young children, pregnant women, the elderly and other people with weak immune systems are particularly susceptible.
Doctors, therefore, often advise against keeping amphibians or reptiles in households in which people from one of the risk groups live.
Children younger than 5 years old and other endangered persons should not have closer contact with the terrarium animals.
And people who work in food processing should also get other pets because of the high risk of infection.
In any case, one should take some precautionary measures to minimize the risk of salmonella as much as possible.
You should wash your hands thoroughly after every contact with the terrarium animals and clean the terrarium.
Wearing gloves provides additional protection.
The terrarium should not be in the kitchen or any other place where food is prepared or eaten.
Of course, it is also important that amphibians and reptiles are not allowed to move freely in the house or apartment and that the terrarium is cleaned thoroughly regularly.
The latter reduces the risk of infection for humans and is also important for the terrarium inhabitants’ health and well-being.
