Told to get rid of dragons! NO WAY!!!

[mickeysmomma]

I will try and keep this short, and to the point.

A friend/neighbor called to tell me her son ( who has not been here in MONTHS) has salmonella from my beardies.

She said her dr told her it has to be from my kids being near her kids, and that it's from my kids holding the beardies. :evil:

She told me that I need to get rid of the dragons, and bleach my house for 90 days! :shock:

NOBODY else that has ever been near my beardies is sick, or ever gotten sick from them. My one year old niece loves to pet them.

I bleach everything! Every time they take a bath, the tank is bleached ( and this is DAILY!)..they poop, and the whole tank is cleaned, including all logs/water dishes, etc.

Every food dish is bleached daily.

Hands are CONSTANTLY being washed.

Just had two of them in for fecal tests....came back clean !! YAY

Sorry for rambling. I am just furious. Who's to say that her son didn't eat some undercooked chicken?? Or touched a grocery cart that was infected??

THERE IS NO WAY I AM GETTING RID OF MY BABIES!!!!!

It's hard that we live right across the street from each other, and our kids like to play together. Her son has a low immune system, so that is why has never been able to play here, and I was considerate of that.

I guess I just need some advice/reassurance from other beardie lovers!

How would you handle this? I am sure she is spreading the word to everyone, and I shouldn't care what others think, I know that. But, nobody wants a reputation of having a dirty, diseased home!~

 

[GoFast]

I would laugh at her and tell her that their is absolutely no way that I am getting rid of my animals. First, there is no way for the Salmonella to be traced back to your beardies. Second, if you, your kids, or anybody else is getting sick, it's pretty safe to say that the dragons are not the problem. Third, I would inform her that her kids are no longer welcomed in your house. If she has a problem with it, tell her to call the cops and they will tell her that there is nothing that they can do.

 

[pscaulkins]

I also have a very low immune system. I have three beardies and have not gotten anything from mine. I don't bleach their tanks, I steam them. First of all, I don't think anyone can tell someone else they have to get rid of their pets unless it's a dog that bites and they have to go through the right channels. The worst your neighbor could do is keep her kids from coming to your house.

 

[jeritta]

I agree to just laugh at her. Unless she is your landlord and she isn't there is nothing she can do. I have a very low immune system and I have not caught anything
from either of my dragons. Tell her and her kids they are not welcome in your house and if the kids want to play together they have to play outside or at her house.
You and your family have not gotten sick so your beardies are fine.

 

[ChinelleKitten]

I would be furious if someone said this about my beardie. I've had people ask me if they can get it from touching him. I have to say that i don't even use bleach and lots of people have handled my beardie and no one has gotten sick. I'm sure your beardie stuff is sparkling clean . Like you said, it's far more likely her kid got it from being elsewhere, or a counter top that wasn't cleaned fully, etc, etc.

Keep your chin up. Sometimes there's just nothing you can do about these people. They just don't understand.

 

[squirell]

Sounds like she is trying to pass the blame because of her horrible cooking skills. HAHA

 

[Freeie]

My grandbaby has played with our beardies(5) everyday when he lived here with us (8 months) since he was 5 months to over a yr old. Not one person has ever been sick. You clean 100x more than i do. I clean the vivs and dishes once a week unless one gets pooped on. I clean up the poop with tp and then use a baby wipe in the area. Thats it. I wash my hands after. My vivs never smell. My grandbaby is well known for climing into the bottom viv with the beardies. Hes never been ill. Heck i dont even use bleach i just use soap and water its antibacteral(sp) gets the smell gone, if any is there. My grandbabys health nurse told us only time to not let him touch the beardies is if he has a cold other than that he can kiss and hug them all he wants.(hes a fail to thrive baby so we do take extra steps) He does kiss them heck we all do. Some people are just looking for someone to blame. She prob didnt clean up right after preparing chicken. I wouldnt pay her any mind. She can keep her kids at her house if shes that worried. I feel bad for the kids

 

[articwolfgirl]

Oh I would be beyond mad if that happened to me. I love my baby and no one can take him from meh.

 

[lizardman95]

well to me it sounds like the lady needs to tell her own children what to do not you and i would tell her straight to her face that im not getting rid of my bredies becausenof her childs illness that has not been proven to come from your beadies.haha

 

[sara24354]

Some people............... I have 2 beardies and have never used bleach to clean their tanks. When they are bathing I use vinegar and water or window cleaner with ammonia,clean vivs extremely well,let them air out well before putting beardies back in and...........we have never been sick and we've had beardies for close to 2 years. Oh yeah wait a second........I did use bleach when Alf had pinworms. DAILY cleaning of viv with bleach while she bathed,viv aired out before she was put back in,I almost forgo that.Other than that I clean as stated and wipe up poops with either a wet paper towel or TP.Sounds like this lady has a problem. Also did you not say you just had you beardies to the vet or at least a fecal and it was clear? Sounds like someone trying to cause trouble.

 

[hcozart]

That is the craziest thing I have ever heard. First of all, I work at a hospital. Do you know how hard it is to track down the source of that! Damn near impossible, that kind of investigation takes weeks of stool samples from patients, and cross matches from samples take of potienal causes, and even then they have a hard time telling what the source was.

She is just looking for someone to blame. Here is the deal, kids get sick, people get sick, and sometimes no matter how we try to prevent it, they still get sick. She needs to grow up. I agree that I feel sorry for the kids that are going to suffer from not being able to play at your house anymore. It seems that it is always an adults stupidity, that ruins childhood realtionships now a days.

 

[mickeysmomma]

THANK YOU!!! I needed the encouragement/back up! My hubby and I both feel the same as everyone else on here.

Funny part...I bought a BEWARE OF BEARDED DRAGON sign, and posted it on my door about an hour before she called. :mrgreen:

 

[amylee159]

Funny part...I bought a BEWARE OF BEARDED DRAGON sign, and posted it on my door about an hour before she called. :mrgreen:

HAHAHAH!!!! nice!!! :mrgreen:

 

[Frito]

THANK YOU!!! I needed the encouragement/back up! My hubby and I both feel the same as everyone else on here.

Funny part...I bought a BEWARE OF BEARDED DRAGON sign, and posted it on my door about an hour before she called. :mrgreen:

well now at least you can say they have been warned :twisted:

i've had many iguana's when i was a young teenager till i was an adult and now have 2 beardies and 1 iguana an live in a house with my sister her husband and two young kids, none of us have ever gotten salmonella ever. i'd say its more likely her kid got it from uncooked food or somewhere else.

the way i understand it the only way to get salmonella from a reptile is from their stool or a bite possibly, handling them and touching them is near impossible to get it that way and they also have to be carriers of salmonella for it to even be a possibility. i read somewhere that some vets can actually check your herp to see if it is a carrier

 

[lizardman95]

Thats hilarious