# Bout of Salmonella!



## eskye (Oct 5, 2012)

Hello! Wasn't quite sure where to put this, since it's not actually related to my hogs.

I am just finishing up a wonderful bout of Salmonella! It's not fun stuff to have. Naturally I was a bit worried about telling people because I figured they would draw the conclusion that it was cause by my numerous reptiles and hedgehogs. Luckily, I got no such reaction, which I think is really great. After caring for these "risk factor" animals for a couple of years without getting crazy poisoning, I guess everyone forgot about the whole deal.

I actually got salmonella from some bad fast food. What's the biggest danger in the U.S.? Fast food or exotic pets?


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## Alyybear (Nov 8, 2012)

I have talked to several people who are exotics owners, who either got Salmonella from food, or had a kid get it from food. The health inspectors were very interested in the food, until the moment when they found out that the parent (or the family) had exotics...and then the review evaporated. Which is horrible, since a) the public is still at risk from the contaminated products, and b) there is now several false reports of exotics being to blame! One of the cases couldnt have possibly been from pets, because the kid was at one womans exes house for the duration (contamination, illness, and treatment) and they were able to determine it was from a microwaved meal...no contact with any exotics at ALL during that whole period, and it still got dropped and written down as exotic related Salmonella 

ETA: I'm pretty sure most of it is from food, as most people who have exotics have VERY strict protocols about safe handling and cleanliness procedures. I know I do! However, I'm now positive that the #'s are probably very skewed in what is recorded and how.


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## Haley&Henry (Nov 2, 2013)

Is it possible that my hedgehog really did die of salmonella? The vet told me she thought he had salmonella and wasn't sure if he would make it because he was losing so much blood. Well after some research, it sounds like salmonella is the "go to" diagnosis hedgehogs so I wasn't sure what it really was.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

It's possible. What kind of foods and treats had he had? With all the pet food recalls there have been due to salmonella, it's very possible. 

My guy years ago got it from contaminated mealworms that were stored under a leaking aquarium at the pet store I got the mealies from. Every hedgehog I had at the time that ate the mealworms got sick, most mildly but I just about lost a girl as well. 

I have a boy right now that possibly had it. The vet of his former owner said possibly salmonella but she didn't have the fecal sent out to diagnose. She brought him to me because he wasn't getting better. We have no clue where it came from with him because the food she was feeding had not been recalled. 

Hedgehogs do get a bad rap when it comes to salmonella because many instances of it have been caused by something other than the hedgehog, but the hedgehog gets the blame.


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## Beloved Doll (Nov 21, 2013)

This really makes me sad (and mad!) to hear animals getting blamed for cases that were clearly the result of food. Your dog can get salmonella from nosing around in your trash can. Most animals, including hedgehogs, don't just walk around and naturally produce that kind of thing. They get it from somewhere else.

Makes me mad to hear that people who don't understand how the disease works are the ones in charge of handling cases involving said disease.


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