Study: Exotic pets may be risky for children

While perusing the paper this morning, I came across the lifestyle section of the paper that shows a study concluding that exotic pets, which are increasingly becoming popular as household pets, may pose risk to children at home.

Some psychologists have concluded that children who have pets develop positive characters but there are some kinds of animals that parents should be wary of. For instance, tortoises are known to be carriers of salmonella that can easy be transferred to kids.

Some exotic pets such as iguanas and monkeys can cause scratches or may bite children can can cause allergies or transfer bacteria.

The study pointed out that almost all of American households have more than one pets. The study recommends that families having kids aged less than five should not keep exotic animals as pets.

It was also pointed out in the study that salmonella in kids that came from contacts with lizards and other reptilian pets constitute 11 percent of all cases recorded.
The study says that "Exotic animals imported to the United States have been associated with the introduction of infectious agents otherwise not present in the United States."

Now, I am thinking of just sticking to having traditional dogs and cats as pets. They are very kid friendly and its not a problem looking for veterinarians specializing in caring for them.