Health Risks Of Keeping An Exotic Pet
Whilst a lot of the exotic pets out there are fine to keep as we know the dangers involved there are dangers of keeping them. However, some exotic pets such as lions, tigers, wolves, bears, reptiles and primates sometimes are better off in their natural habitat and not in the hands of individuals.
A lot of the states in the US do not really keep accurate records of all of the exotic animals entering the state it is very hard to look into how many are being held as pets but the number has been estimated to be very high indeed. In fact when looking at tigers alone it is safe to say between 6,000 and 7,000 are held by private owners. This is often more than in the wild!
With all of these animals that people do not know about there are massive health risks involved and you are always going to have to think of these.
Salmonella
90% of all reptiles carry and shed salmonella in their faeces and it is important to note that iguanas, snakes, lizards and turtles are all very common indeed when it comes to carrying the bacterium. They will show no symptoms at all of carrying something like this and just one touch to the mouth or eyes, something like this after touching them without washing your hands could lead to infection..
It is also worth pointing out that a lot of primates carry Herpes B- virus. Of course there are some exotic pets such as ferrets and parrots that are okay to keep and can be treated by a avian vet however vets in Sussex will not give animal surgery to the big cats or anything like this because, well why should they, they would be risking their own lives doing this!
Just be careful when it comes to exotic pet buying!
