Tortoise and Salmonella

More than lkely, he's fine. If you've had the tortoise since he was a hatchling and keep his habitat reasonably clean, I wouldn't worry.

I found this at www.tortoiseforum.org
I see this question a lot, so I thought it would make it simpler to have a reference to it. Here is my answer.

Yes, tortoises CAN carry salmonella. However, so does your toothbrush, the dirt in your back yard, dog feces, cat feces, bird droppings, your kitchen counters and computer keyboard, and all kinds of things that you come into contact with on a daily basis. There are over 2,000 strains of salmonella. The chances of getting an infection from a tortoise is very, very VERY slim. As long as you keep your tortoise pen clean and wash your hands after handling your tortoise, there really is nothing to be concerned about.

Back in the 70's there was a trend of selling baby Red Eared slider turtles along with these tiny kidney shaped bowls with a plastic palm tree in it for them to live in. Since sliders can grow to be as big as a dinner plate, the enclosures were way too small, and also they were unfiltered, and therefore too dirty to keep the turtles healthy. Because the water was so dirty and the turtles were unhealthy, the situation caused the turtle's immune system to weaken and allowed the salmonella bacteria in the turtle's intestine to multiply like crazy. Because the intestine would become overloaded with the bacteria, they would shed high concentrations of the bacteria in their feces, which then entered the already dirty water. Inevitably, small children would put their hands or the sick little turtle in their mouth, and get a salmonella infection. It caused a pretty big stereotype about turtles and tortoises carrying salmonella and making people sick, and led to the outlawing of sales of turtles/tortoises under 4" as pets. As long as you practice good hygiene and take good care of your pet, there should not be any problems.

He will probably be fine. Just call the dr. and ask what they recommend. When I was little, before we knew about turtles and salmonella, we touched turtles all the time, and put our fingers all over the place. Nothing ever happened.

You can get salmonella not just from the poop but from touching the animal. Turtles do carry salmonella (and other stuff you don't want), but at this point the deed is done. I would ensure that you know the incubation period for salmonella (from a few hours to as long as 72 hours after exposure, possibly a little longer in some people) and the symptoms of salmonella in a young child; go to the Mayo Clinic web site and the Centers for Disease Control web site to get reliable details. At the first sign of any symptom, get your son tested for it so if he is positive he can be treated earlier, not later. If an early test is negative but he is still ill -- push to have him tested again. It's very possible nothing will happen, but be armed with the information just in case.

With young children, salmonella can be more serious, so getting him fast treatment if he does have it is key. At least you caught him at it and know that he had this possible exposure; if he started being ill and you didn't know he'd done this, it might take longer to get a diagnosis.

I would reconsider having any reptile as a pet with a child that young in the house, just because young kids can't be relied on to keep hands clean or to refrain from touching no matter how careful the adults are -- and it sounds as if you have been very careful indeed, but your son still managed to get to the tortoise. Others likely will post, "My kids handle our reptile all the time and are fine," but for me, that would not be a convincing argument to have a reptile as a pet for any young kid of my own.

Call the doctor and ask what they recommend. Chances are pretty good that he'll be ok. Is the turtle an adult? There is a much better chance that turtles under 4 inches will have salmonella.

I wouldn't think of calling a doc, what do they know about pet stuff?

I'd call the local vet or vet college that deals with turtles.

My son did the same thing, except it was our ball python we had in a tub. It sounds like you keep the turtle clean. So I wouldn't worry to much.

I work in public health and, YES, turtles are natural "reservoirs" for salmonella. Saying that, I'll admit I own a water turtle (had him before I had a kid) and also try to keep him (and his tank) clean. We rarely take him out, but I do let my daughter handle him a little--we wash our hands any any surface he or his water comes in contact with. Even though I've had him for about 11 years there's a good chance he still harbors the bacteria. Hmm... makes me think... maybe I should collect a sample and test it here at work...
Anyways, I don't think prophilactic antibiotics are the answer. Just know the symptoms & incubation times (like someone said, check out the CDC website for Salmonellosis) and keep an eye on your son. If he starts showing symptoms, take him to the doctor asap and let them know of this incident.
In the last few years we've had local oubreaks associated with pet frogs and the seasonal baby chicks ("but it's Easter, and they're so cute!") and children getting very sick! So, be more careful next time and really teach your kid that hand washing is so important (yeah, right, my girl is almost 5 and she still puts stuff and her hands in her mouth)!
Good luck mama!

I used to work with reptiles. I second Old Grey Mare's answer. Spot on. 99% chance your son will be just fine.

Preemptive antibiotics won't work. Most docs won't give antibiotics for salmonella. My son had it when he was in kinder and it was just awful. He was SO sick. It continued to dog him for 6 months while it worked its way out of his system. High fevers, sleeping for hours on end, bloody stools that looked like strawberry preserves (sorry for the TMI.) Blood in the urine from me not being able to keep him awake enough to hydrate him enough. It took a YEAR for him to gain back the weight he lost, too.

I will just say flat out that you should get rid of the tortoise. Having gone through salmonella makes me say that. I know, I know, your son loves that critter. You might too until your son gets sick. At least my son was older. I'd be scared to death for a 21 month old to get it. I'm really not meaning to be snarky. Honest.

I really hope you have dodged a bullet here. Good luck.