# Viruses/Diseases they carry



## Diablo (Mar 26, 2013)

So I know most of you are close with your tegus and even let them around your house or keep them with you a lot during the day. Only today have I had Yoshi with me as I walked around the house. I tried giving him a bath in the sink...but it seems he absolutely hates water. Which worries me because I have never really seen him drink. That's not the point of this topic though. I was wondering what precautions do you guys take when handling your tegus. I know they can carry diseases like all reptiles but it seems like a lot of people are kind of relaxed with having them around all the time. So do you always wash your hands after, do you wash down the sinks of bath tubs you give them baths in after, do you never have them around your dinner table or even the kitchen or around anything you eat? I'm new at this you can tell, I want to be able to have Yoshi around me as much as possible but I also would like to not get sick.

Also the reason I thought of this is because I have him with me and he is sleeping on my lap. I want to keep him with me and not put him back in his cage but I am REALLY hungry and don't think I should have him with me when I eat. I'm going to assume that is a definite no but I could be wrong which is why I asked.


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## Dubya (Mar 26, 2013)

I would not have him on my lap when I ate mainly because he could become aggressive about the food. I am very lax about eating my food after touching my animals and I have never gotten sick.


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## Bubblz Calhoun (Mar 26, 2013)

_ Natsuki spends more time out now days than in his enclosure. With any animals and most viruses or diseases (zoonotical or not) proper hygiene personal and domestic takes care of most. For the rest I would say common sense but not everyones sense is common. 

I look at it as I don‘t want to be the first to come down with some new or incurable disease / virus that could have easily been prevented. _


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## Dubya (Mar 26, 2013)

Maybe I better check my poo for worms.


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## Diablo (Mar 26, 2013)

Yeah that makes more sense. I'll just take normal simple precautions but still keep him around me as much as possible. 

Sent from my DROID RAZR


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## TeguBuzz (Mar 26, 2013)

Rule of thumb, always wash your hands after handling any sort of reptile - or animal at that. In the several years I kept tegus, I never once disinfected a sink or bathtub after having them in either, unless they took a crap in it. I think you're safe with the whole sink thing, unless you're licking the walls of your sink, lol. 

Generally, I never really had my tegus out while I was eating - but they always roamed through the kitchen during free roam time. I never once got sick from them and haven't really heard of anyone getting sick either. Common sense, as Bubblz said, plays a huge role in safety.


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## BatGirl1 (Mar 26, 2013)

I'm horrible with this because yes I wash my hands, clean up after my pets etc. But on the other hand I'm often smooching my snakes and lizards on the 'lips ' and in the past have smooched bats on the head. I suppose luck or good fortune has left me disease (and worm) free... ;p


...although I'm not sure why I foam at the mouth sometimes. Heh heh. Jk


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## Dubya (Mar 26, 2013)

Ok, my poo is moving. Time for a Fleet's Phospho-Soda martini. Batgirl1, that is a shaker of Fleets with 2 shots of vodka, and a tablespoon of Frank's Red Hot Extra Hot. I'll fix you one on Saturday.


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## BatGirl1 (Mar 26, 2013)

Oh good lord dubya :/


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## laurarfl (Mar 26, 2013)

I used to smooch reptiles on the lips until a box turtle grabbed my lip. I swear I freaked out and just knew I was going to have a big triangle taken out of my upper lip. Man that hurt! Know I smooch them on top of the head if they serve a smooch.


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## BatGirl1 (Mar 26, 2013)

Haha no kidding huh laura? Yeah the bats got head kisses cuz a baby got me. Haha. My snakes though i like to freak people out and go "om nom nom " to their whole head.  only the ball python and corn snake... haha. When i get the carpet python maybe just top of head smoochies


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## chelvis (Mar 26, 2013)

Could you get something from your tegu, yes. There is a higher likelyhood of getting something from under cooked meat then a tegu though. I am terrible about washing my hands (and I work with animals at my job it freaks my boss out) and the only time I have gotten sick was from a burger at a fast food joint!


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## Dubya (Mar 26, 2013)

I agree with Chelvis, but I do like rare steak. Also, like Batgirl1, when I had my pet rat, I used to nom his whole head and he used to clean my ear. He never used to wash his hands after cleaning my ear and he never got sick.


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## laurarfl (Mar 26, 2013)

I nom my ferrets' heads just to freak out my daughter. I nommed her cockatiel's head but she was not impressed. Hmmm, what is it that makes us want to nom on the heads of animals???


Dubya, I don't believe that story for a second. My rats always wash their hands. They wash mine, too.


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## Dubya (Mar 26, 2013)

I dunno but my cat has learned to deal with all kinds of ridiculous nonsense. He has learned that it is part of life and has come to accept it.


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## Diablo (Mar 26, 2013)

Haha well I'm glad I have some more insight into what others do with their reptiles. However, I think I might give it a little while before I start nomming on Yoshi's head..


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## chelvis (Mar 26, 2013)

Oh I have eaten raw beef and rare stake no problem. Anything ground I am more worried about.


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## TeguBuzz (Mar 26, 2013)

chelvis said:


> Oh I have eaten raw beef and rare stake no problem. Anything ground I am more worried about.



In my culture we eat raw beef and steak quite frequently. We also eat raw ground beef with olive oil drizzled above it. It is a common Mediterranean dish that is popular in Crete (my home country), as well as a Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey. We have quite the appetite and stomach for all sorts of raw meats.


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## laurarfl (Mar 26, 2013)

I have friends whose families are Lebanese and French. I did have some delicious kibbeh at their house, but they made me abstain when I was pregnant. I do have to add that if I was expecting or had a small child, I would be more careful.


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## TeguBuzz (Mar 26, 2013)

laurarfl said:


> I have friends whose families are Lebanese and French. I did have some delicious kibbeh at their house, but they made me abstain when I was pregnant. I do have to add that if I was expecting or had a small child, I would be more careful.



Kibbeh is quite a delicacy in that region and we eat it with dolmas quite frequently - or at least my family does. You say you tried kibbeh, was it raw or the cooked version?

You should definitely try dolmas if ever granted the opportunity!


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## laurarfl (Mar 27, 2013)

They served both. I like dolmas, too. The best ones I had were at a birthday party for an Iranian family. The women had cooked so much food! We had brought our animals to do a presentation and they invited us to stay and eat with them afterwards. These dolmas were the best I have ever had...it's been a while, but it seems that they were small, and had more lemon than I was used to. very yummy! We have a lot of multicultural friends that grew up in other countries so we are often treated to a lot of homemade Indian, Middle Eastern, and Cuban food. I just wish I could cook some of it!


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## BatGirl1 (Mar 27, 2013)

Omg yaay! I'm not the only one nomming animal heads.haha! I think maybe we are like the carnival or circus folk in a way... "watch as i put my head into the lion's mouth " ... but like, the opposite. Haha. "You will be amazed as i put this snake head into my mouth! " ooooo. Ahhhhh. Applause. "Thank you. Thank you. You are too kind. "  and yep. I put my rats, cockatiel, snake... not turtle or bat ... in my mouth. Sheesh. I'm admitting this is public. Haha. <3


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## dragonmetalhead (Mar 27, 2013)

I keep a thing of hand sanitizer on top of my reptile tanks and I try to use it the majority of the time. I'm a bit lax when handling Kodo or my snakes, but I always wash my hands before and after I handle my scheltopusik. In the 20 years I've kept herps, I've kissed many and never gotten sick. Basic hygiene will keep you safe. And I wouldn't recommend keeping you tegu in your mouth for extended periods of time, that'll give you cooties for sure.


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## Dubya (Mar 27, 2013)

Isnt scheltopusik Yiddish for penis?


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## dragonmetalhead (Mar 27, 2013)

Dubya said:


> Isnt scheltopusik Yiddish for penis?



I read it's Russian/Slavic for "yellow belly" in reference to their coloration, but it could be Yiddish as well. being Jewish, I feel I should know this, lol.


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## Dubya (Mar 28, 2013)

Well, just wash your hands after you handle your scheltopusik.


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## nhood97 (Apr 5, 2013)

I'm personally always more worried about getting my tegu sick than him getting me sick. A few weeks ago I was out with the flu or something and I refused to handle him because I didn't want him to catch the bug. Lol. I've eaten around him, he's never become food aggressive, likely because his bellies already full. Only time I've ever had an issue was when he snuck up on me once and snagged a chunk of beef jerky. But animals have never made me sick.


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