Exotic Pets Pose Risk of Disease, Injury

Owning a monkey, iguana or other exotic animal may seem like a way to add a little excitement to your life, but health experts say it's best to stick with more mundane creatures when looking for a pet.

"Buying or giving exotic pets such as monkeys, hedgehogs, prairie dogs, reptiles or other wildlife potentially can be dangerous to both humans and the animals themselves," says veterinarian Jane C. Mahlow, D.V.M., M.S., a veterinary infectious disease specialist in Houston.

Salmonella threat

Exotic animals can bring with them dangerous, sometimes deadly diseases. African pigmy hedgehogs and reptiles such as snakes, lizards, turtles, and iguanas, for instance, carry strains of Salmonella bacteria in their intestines. Salmonella bacteria do not make the animal sick. In people the bacteria can cause serious cases of severe diarrhea, fever, vomiting, abdominal cramps, or even death, especially in the elderly, young children, and those with a weakened immune system. A person can pick up the bacteria from another person who handles the reptile or from household surfaces the animal may have touched.

"Everyone who touches the reptile or its cage should always wash their hands afterward," Dr. Mahlow says. "Also, the kitchen sink is no place to bathe reptiles or to wash their dishes, cage, or aquarium." Reptiles should not be loose to roam around the house; Salmonella can live on furniture and in carpets.

Monkeys can harbor herpes virus

Monkeys, too, seem irresistible with their child-like qualities and humorous antics. But macaques, Asian monkeys including the rhesus, commonly carry the herpes B virus. Like Salmonella in reptiles, herpes B causes no noticeable disease in macaques. But in humans, the virus (also known as monkey B virus or simply B virus) leads to an illness that can cause death. Monkey bites are the primary way humans get herpes B virus.

Problems of captivity

"Wild animals are best left in the wild," Dr. Mahlow says. They can be unpredictable, possibly posing a threat to people of severe attack. And rabies from wild animals is always a concern.

Wild animals themselves can face almost as many problems living in captivity. Most will not live long in the average household. Their diets are different from those of domestic pets, and the wrong food can lead to serious nutritional deficiencies. Many require as much care and attention as a human infant. And while cute and cuddly as a baby, an animal may become aggressive or moody as it matures. Releasing a wild animal back into nature after months or years in captivity is usually a death sentence for the animal.

Restrictions limit exotics

Complicating the problems for wild and exotic animals is the growth of sales on the Internet. Hundreds of sites offer all types of animals from alpacas to zebras. For a hefty price, sellers as far away as New Zealand can provide reindeer, llamas, camels, kangaroos, iguanas, parrots, pythons, marsupials, or any of dozens of other creatures.

Various restrictions apply to owning and importing different animals. For instance, federal public health regulations prohibit selling turtles less than 4 inches long because of Salmonella risks. Importing non-human primates into the United States as pets is also prohibited. There are also restrictions on owning endangered or fur-bearing animals such as raccoons, beavers, mink, muskrats, and opossums. Other regulations restrict importation of livestock, as well as importing or exporting or transporting species of foxes indigenous to North America, coyotes, or raccoons.

"Animals are not ornaments or oddities to show off," Dr. Mahlow says. "The selection of a pet needs to be based on family considerations, the time available to devote to the animal, and the safety and health precautions required."