Don’t Let A Pet Turtle Give You the Runs

When I was five, I woke up on Christmas morning and found two parakeets in a cage waiting for me and my brother. Santa left them the night before, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I truly believed Santa managed to carry the birds (soon named Jimmy and Peepers) down our chimney.

I’m not sure how common it is to give your kids pets for Christmas. But apparently it happens often enough for the North Carolina Division of Public Health to be concerned. Health officials are warning parents not to give their kiddies pet turtles for Christmas because of the risk of contracting the intestinal infection Salmonellosis, which is caused by the Salmonella bacteria. Turtles have prompted recent outbreaks in children living in Burke, Lincoln, Union and Montgomery counties.

In case you didn’t know (who knew?), Salmonella is a naturally occurring bacteria in turtles and other reptiles and turtles who are contaminated with it don’t appear to be sick, according to a news release health officials sent this morning. Not only that, but technically it’s illegal to buy turtles with shells smaller than four inches in diameter. The Federal Drug Administration banned such transaction in 1975 after Salmonella was linked to the handling of small turtles.

And if you just can’t resist playing with a turtle, health officials advise to always wash your hands afterward. As for my Christmas parakeets, they died not long after we got them. Not sure how, but they both died on the same day. We buried them in the backyard of our Chicago neighborhood.