Doctors: No Hamsters or Exotic Pets for Young Kids

[Hum]

CHICAGO (AP) -- Warning: young children should not keep hedgehogs as pets -- or hamsters, baby chicks, lizards and turtles, for that matter -- because of risks for disease.

That's according to the nation's leading pediatricians' group in a new report about dangers from exotic animals.

Besides evidence that they can carry dangerous and sometimes potentially deadly germs, exotic pets may be more prone than cats and dogs to bite, scratch or claw -- putting children younger than 5 particularly at risk, the report says.

Young children are vulnerable because of developing immune systems plus they often put their hands in their mouths.

That means families with children younger than 5 should avoid owning ''nontraditional'' pets. Also, kids that young should avoid contact with these animals in petting zoos or other public places, according to the report from the American Academy of Pediatrics. The report appears in the October edition of the group's medical journal, Pediatrics.

''Many parents clearly don't understand the risks from various infections'' these animals often carry, said Dr. Larry Pickering, the report's lead author and an infectious disease specialist at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For example, about 11 percent of salmonella illnesses in children are thought to stem from contact with lizards, turtles and other reptiles, Pickering said. Hamsters also can carry this germ, which can cause severe diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps.

Salmonella also has been found in baby chicks, and young children can get it by kissing or touching the animals and then putting their hands in their mouths, he said.

Study co-author Dr. Joseph Bocchini said he recently treated an infant who got salmonella from the family's pet iguana, which was allowed to roam freely in the home. The child was hospitalized for four weeks but has recovered, said Bocchini, head of the academy's infectious diseases committee and pediatrics chairman at Louisiana State University in Shreveport.

Hedgehogs can be dangerous because their quills can penetrate skin and have been known to spread a bacteria germ that can cause fever, stomach pain and a rash, the report said.

With supervision and precautions like hand-washing, contact between children and animals ''is a good thing,'' Bocchini said. But families should wait until children are older before bringing home an exotic pet, he said.

Those who already have these pets should contact their veterinarians about specific risks and possible new homes for the animals, he said.

Data cited in the study indicate that about 4 million U.S. households have pet reptiles. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, all kinds of exotic pets are on the rise, although generally fewer than 2 percent of households own them.

The veterinarian group's Mike Dutton, a Weare, N.H., exotic animal specialist, said the recommendations send an important message to parents who sometimes buy exotic pets on an impulse, ''then they ask questions, sometimes many months later.''

But a spokesman for the International Hedgehog Association said there's no reason to single out hedgehogs or other exotic pets.

''Our recommendation is that no animal should be a pet for kids 5 and under,'' said Z.G. Standing Bear. He runs a rescue operation near Pikes Peak, Colo., for abandoned hedgehogs, which became fad pets about 10 years ago.

source

[Edrick Smith]

If we've had these pets for so many years and only a small case of them are actually that bad what's the point?

[morphen]

Publicity :p

"because of risks for disease"

Well, kids eat sand and dirt, I would say that's a more probable source of disease :p

and; just who the he** keeps hedgehogs as pets?!

[TheElite]

and; just who the he** keeps hedgehogs as pets?!

I can just imagine it now...

:laugh: :rofl:

[einsteinbqat]

Oh for god sake! Doctors should also know that the immune system works by getting in contact with germs. An unexposed immune system is a useless one. I'm not denying the importance of prevention or being careful, but this is getting ridiculous. Soon, we'll have to put babies and kids in some air bubble. :wacko: People are getting germs freaks, and yet I'm sure that if we ask how many times a person washes their hands in a day, we'd be surprised at the low count.

Food and water are also a source of salmonella, and kids eat food and drink water every day...

[Joseph B]

I love ferrets.

I love the way they stink.

I love the way when I take two and rub them against my face they nibble at my earlobes.

I DON'T GIVE A CRAP IF THEY HAVE DISEASES.

LOOK AT THE SOFTNESS. LOOK AT IT, LOOK AT IT!!!

[Shadow Dragon]

Well, kids eat sand and dirt, I would say that's a more probable source of disease :p

If it's just ordinary sand and dirt then no, you have a much higher risk of getting infected with something when "playing" with animals.

Other than that, I don't think there is much cause for alarm, however one should avoid "too" exotic animals because they can indeed be carriers of strange diseases that might not affect adults but could harm children and infants.

[C++]

When I read "Doctors: No Hamsters or Exotic Pets for" I fully expected the sentence to end with "Homosexuals..."

[CapnJack]

Quick, everyone get into your protective bubbles!!

[Roadrunna]

When I read "Doctors: No Hamsters or Exotic Pets for" I fully expected the sentence to end with "Homosexuals..."

?Why? What do they do with them?

[On topic] Also when did Michael Jackson became a inspiration for health and safety zealots?

[Richard Hammond]

This is getting ridiculous now, we cant do anything that might harm us, we cant eat anything that might harm us, we cant keep any pets that might be harmful.

The future generations are going to be in serious trouble if the way things carry on as they are, the whole point in getting sick/diseases is to build up an immune response to them, if we lock all our kids away all it will take is a simple disease and it will wipe out a lot of people.

[CapnJack]

The human race was mysteriously wiped out in 2100 by a case of the sniffles.

[ZombieFly]

I love ferrets.

I love the way they stink.

I love the way when I take two and rub them against my face they nibble at my earlobes.

I DON'T GIVE A CRAP IF THEY HAVE DISEASES.

LOOK AT THE SOFTNESS. LOOK AT IT, LOOK AT IT!!!

while your love of ferrets is admirable, personally i love to rub my face between a pair of wet beavers, i find the results much more satisfactory ;)

When I read "Doctors: No Hamsters or Exotic Pets for" I fully expected the sentence to end with "Homosexuals..."

or ...Richard Gere ;)

[Typhon]

Sounds about right.

[C++]

When I read "Doctors: No Hamsters or Exotic Pets for" I fully expected the sentence to end with "Homosexuals..."

?Why? What do they do with them?

Let's just say that small pets deserve clean, spacious cages, with plenty of light and air to breathe. Not tight, dark areas filled with a bunch of crap and more Carbon Monoxide than oxygen.

[strekship]

?Why? What do they do with them?

[On topic] Also when did Michael Jackson became a inspiration for health and safety zealots?

Read up on the fate of Lemiwinks.