Turtles and Salmonella - 2020 update-Stop the Madness

Turtles and Salmonella – 2020 update-Stop the Madness

Here is a statistic that will get your attention, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that each year there are over 1.35 million cases of Salmonella in the United States. Let’s pause for a minute and let that sink in…

1.35 MILLION cases each year, with over 26,000 hospitalizations. These scary statistics would easily make salmonella cases one of the most common bacterial infections in the Nation. To be fair, salmonella can be a serious issue for some older people and some of the very young, and though the mass majority of people affected recover within a short time with no medical assistance, there are situations where hospital stays and doctor’s intervention are required. So where exactly do all these 1.35 MILLION people get exposure to this bacterial scourge you may ask? Well, the anti-pet trade people would surely scream “Pet Turtles!!” the animal rights crowd would certainly join in the banter, along with half a dozen assorted environmental groups screaming “down with turtles!!” I mean, we read articles about turtles and salmonella all the time! They must be the reason…

These folks would love to have you think that all this yearly devastation was caused by the cute little turtle swimming happily in your aquarium. They would want you to believe that despite this little monster’s pretty face and inoffensive demeanor, he secretly wields a biological weapon of mass destruction equal to anything we thought Sandam Hussein had stashed away. Most certainly we should list all turtles as domestic terrorists and lock them up.

But seriously, is this really the truth? Could such a (relatively) small animal population of pet turtles really be responsible for making 1.35 MILLION people sick every year with the dreaded salmonella? Based on all the hype you hear, you would certainly think so. But thankfully, says the CDC, the answer is no.

Based on the numbers compiled by the CDC over many years, pet turtles are clearly not the domestic terrorist some would like you to believe. But if pet turtles are really not responsible for this yearly epidemic of salmonella, who is the culprit making all these 1.35 Million people sick every year? Well, according to the expert doctors at the CDC, the most common source of infection is by far the very food we eat every day. Yep, the common grocery food stuffs: Meats, diary, and especially leafy greens, fruits, and nuts. Even processed foods like cat and dog foods & treats are a part of this major bacterial assault upon us.

But what about Pet Turtles? The little biological weapons lurking in our very own homes. What says the CDC about them? surely they must account for some of the mass destruction! Once again, based on all the propaganda, you would certainly think so. But here are the facts directly from the CDC: By November of this year (2020) the CDC reports 35 cases of transference of Salmonella bacteria from Pet Turtles to humans, and although they report 35, only 16 of the infected people actually reported coming in direct contact with a pet turtle. The CDC also reported 14 cases of transference from Bearded Dragons to humans, and on an interesting side note, pet Hedgehogs accounted for another 32 cases (almost as many as pet turtles!) The total cases year to date related to reptile sources are a mere 49, and for pet turtles only 35, and of them only 16 actual contacts with a turtle.

35 cases credited to a pet turtle, out of 1.35 MILLION cases reported every year. Doesn’t seem like much. But maybe we just got lucky in 2020? So let’s take a quick look at the last 5 years of salmonella cases connected with pet turtles, as chronicled by the CDC:

2020 (as of November) 35 total cases

2019 26 total cases

2018 No Reported Cases by the CDC

2017 76 total cases

2016 No Reported Cases by the CDCPer CDC Reporting: Total cases last 5 years: 137

Only 137 cases total from pet turtles? – over 5 years of 1.35 MILLION reported cases each year? That’s 6.8 MILLION cases with only 137 associated with pet turtles. Sure doesn’t sound like our little shelled monsters are doing a very good job at spreading disease and pestilence. We’ve already heard from the CDC that the big offender in all this are our food sources, not pet turtles. But if we were looking for other sources of the dreaded salmonella, there are plenty of other family pets more likely to give us a salmonella infection then a pet turtle. Pet Chickens, ducks, and other fowl are classic examples of common pets that are famous for spreading nasty little pathogens to their human caregivers, especially salmonella. In fact, the CDC reports that so far in 2020, chickens are responsible for 1,346 confirmed cases of salmonella transferred to humans, that’s almost 40 times more cases than Pet Turtles. Funny, we don’t see a national ban on baby chickens, even though through that same 5-year period that turtles were responsible for 137 cases, Pet Chickens were responsible for almost 5,000 confirmed cases. And what about exotic birds? parakeets, cockatiels, parrots? all known carriers of psittacosis, coccidia, and e-coli. No ban on them. And we’re not even going to talk about the treasure trove of transferable diseases in pet pigs or monkeys. Hmm, at this point, pet turtles certainly don’t seem so bad.

The truth is, most all animals kept in close contact with humans have some little biological shot they can take at us, this year people were shocked and appalled to hear their little dog fluffy could be an active carrier of the COVID 19 coronavirus- NO, NOT FLUFFY!? And what about the bacteria and parasites kept lovingly at home with us in our kitty litter box? We could go on and on, but you get the point.

So, what we’ve really learned here is that all pets have some drawback to having them in our homes and around our families. What we have to decide is what realistic risk they actually present, and if the enjoyment, companionship, and yes – LOVE they give us, is worth that risk. To pet enthusiast worldwide the answer is an obvious yes. Buts lets be very clear after adding some much needed perspective, is there some risk of salmonella associated with pet turtles? absolutely, as with most reptiles.

And even though the risk is miniscule compared to many other pet choices, is it important to pay extra attention to provide a clean, well-maintained environment for our turtles? Of course. And yes, we should definitely take care to wash hands after handling any pet reptile, turtles included (not to mention keeping our kids from putting their pets in their mouths). Most certainly, we all know that the key to reducing the risk of disease transferal from any pet to its human caregiver is cleanliness and good animal husbandry. Any pet can be a carrier of multiple bacteria’s, parasites, viruses, and other assorted pathogens. We’ve just looked at plenty of examples of that. So, the million-dollar question really is:

In fair relation to all the pet species kept by Americans (many of them far more adapt at giving us diseases) do pet turtles really deserve to be the “poster child” for salmonella? Based on real CDC numbers, do pet turtles really deserve that terrible stigma? Let’s end our discussion with some realities we have learned from the CDC information: 1- you’re a thousand times more likely to catch salmonella from the local grocery store then any pet you may own. 2- compared to the many pet choices you have (including pet chickens-God forbid) reptiles as a whole, and pet turtles specifically, definitely seem like the lesser of the evils. And 3- Out of the 1.35 MILLION cases of salmonella estimated to occur this year by the CDC, as of November only 16 of them had any real connection with pet turtles at all. 16 out of 1.35 MILLION …

So, is the constant hype we hear about the evil connection with pet turtles and salmonella really warranted, logical, and in that case deserved? Or is a little more perspective needed here?

You decide...