Can you get salmonella from a lizard bite?

[Susan BAV]

I'm serious. And what are the symptoms? I got bit by a vicious little alligator lizard yesterday and I feel kind of urpy today. I was rescuing it from my cats -- without exaggeration it's something I've done a hundred or more times -- and this evil little contortionist turned around and sunk its little teeth into my finger. I washed with antibacterial soap afterward but I didn't realize it'd actually punctured through, or I would have scrubbed better. It looks like I got bit by a tiny fanged viper.



(edit - I just saw that this was my thousandth post! What a thing to ask about on a valve replacement site!)

 

[Bradley White]

The chances that your symptoms have any connection to the lizard bite are very, very remote.

 

[Nancy]

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=17&cat=1796&articleid=623

http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/reptiles/a/reptsalmonella.htm

I would call your doctor or call the ER and ask about it.

 

[Ross]

Oh Susan----------

 

[Lisa in Katy]

Susan, apparently you didn't pay close enough attention to Ross's quote at the bottom of his signature! That tiny little dragon apparently didn't appreciate your kindness, but fortunately he didn't have any ketchup!

I can't imagine that the two are connected, although not being familiar with alligator lizards, I'm wondering if they don't have mild poison or something. None of the things that we call lizards in my part of the world seem to have teeth. I know that those green ones that change colors to brown don't because we used to entice them to open their mouths and then hang them from our ears!

 

[Susan BAV]

Thank you for every reply and for the extremely informative links. Lizards are grossly unsanitary little creatures, moreso than I thought; but I hate to see the cats torture them and the lizards serve a useful outdoor purpose, so I always try to rescue them.

I still feel urpy today but happily nothing beyond that has developed. I may call my doctor tomorrow if anything else develops. Thanks again.

Meanwhile, I'll be sure and not rescue any lizards with ketchup on my fingers!

 

[hensylee]

They used to sell the green ones in Miami, when I was a kid, to people who wore them as a lapel pin. We have them all over the place at our house and the cats just love to chase them, catch them, then release, catch again, etc......... I have seen them catch bugs, flying things, etc. They don't bother us but will fuss if you try to rescue them.

there's another one that's been showing up in recent years and has black stripes and is brownish. I don't know what they are, but they scare me. I just leave them all alone.

My cat will sit for hours at the glass storm door or kitchen window and watch for one try to get in any tiny opening.

 

[csutherland]

My grandson the reptile lover was bitten on the hand as a child by a garter snake that had slithered into a muddy pond. He was determined to catch it and plunged his hand in there where it turned & bit him. He had to get a tetanus booster as a result of the puncture wound.

Two years ago my adult daughter stepped on a common black rat snake in the dark. It made 2 tiny puncture wounds on her foot and brought a drop of blood. She also had to get a tetanus booster.

The same grandson also had Spike, a big iguana, and they were told to be careful of salmonella. Not from a bite, but just in handling. He was a viscious acting creature that I had to feed & water for a time when they were in the process of housebuilding. I was sure glad when I was able to turn him back over to them!

So, in short, there might be some cause for concern.

 

[Susan BAV]

Excellent reminder, Celia! Thank you! After I read your post I checked the date of my last tetanus booster and it was a year ago so I'm probably fine there. Interestingly, my doctor had the nurse write the date of my booster on the back of my driver's license. He's had a couple or more patients who developed tetanus and the locked jaw and so he's very aggressive to make sure all of his patients have current boosters. My urpiness is gone now so I think I'm fine. I really appreciate all the replies.

I've rescued so many and I've never been bit before but this one was like a little T-Rex and even making some kind of growling/teeth chattering sounds. Or maybe his tongue was making the noise. But he was little! And I've picked up much larger ones. I always grab them right behind their jaws/neck and quickly carry them out of the garage, where my cats bring them to me. But the cats kill at least as many as I've rescued. It's extremely icky, stepping on a dead lizard with my bare feet when I trot out into the garage for something.

It's kind of like springtime here and the cats have been dragging a lot of wild things into the garage recently. They've had something that escaped under some shelf units and it's been there for days now and that they can't get at. I don't know if it's a weasel or a grove rat or a gopher or a bunny or a lizard or a snake or what it is but they keep stalking and worrying whatever it is but they can't get at it. Everything's part of the food chain here.

I was sitting outside with my cats one day last week when a red-tailed hawk swooped down at my bird feeders and carried a little bird off; I was shocked and ran in and checked my bird books and discovered they eat little birds! Roadrunners do too!