Humans’ relationship with exotic pets fraught with perils, experts warn
TORONTO — Infectious disease expert Scott Weese says he’d never consider keeping reptiles as pets.
“I’ve got kids and young kids and reptiles aren’t a safe combination because of the salmonella risk,” he says.
Weese, a University of Guelph professor who studies bacterial infections in humans and animals, says there are a large number of salmonella cases each year in Canada — especially in kids —that are traced back to contact with reptiles.
Keeping reptiles away from children is a “pretty standard” recommendation, he says.