Up until now my baby has been my iguana. well now my wife and I are expecting our first. 2nd if you include the iggy, of course our concern regards all of the salmonella hype. They make it sound like the baby will just die if it gets near the iguana. Iggy (4 years old) is free roaming and litter box trained. We know the basic rules, sanitizing and washing ourselves and the iguana area, also to close off a separate area of the house for the ig. Does anyone have any experience with this situation?

If this does not work out I would really be very, very sad if I had to get rid of a child.

Hi...I just want to tell you my story...I had iguanas through 3 of my pregnancies with no problems whatsoever. I also was sole caregiver and cage cleaner. My story is a little different where as I had my iguanas in cages. But I believe with proper hygiene, it can be done....

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Warmest Regards from Lyn

You have a very valid concern!
The free roaming part would be my concern as well. Salmonella is shed in the feces of the animal. If the ig is roaming where the baby is crawling it could present an exposure problem. Even limiting the ig to a single room wouldn't necesarily negate the hazard. Though the ig is litterbox trained it could still drag some of the contaminated material out onto the floor. Then if you walk thru it you track it into other rooms. The baby is on the floor, gets it on its hands, the hands go into the mouth or eyes and the infection is introduced.
I would seriously suggest caging the iguana.
Better safe than sorry. At least then you could keep your ig.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Congratulations on the new on the way baby!!! Best of luck to you and your wife. As for baby #1, call your reptile vet about a test for salmonella. It would probably be worth it. I have had 5 major surgeries in the last few years, 2 within 6 months of each other; my doctors were very concerned about our reptiles. We did have 2 tested and the vet said they did not have salmonella. I did not do as much direct handling, as my large boa and python are heavier than my weight lifting limit was. My girls would bring the poor spoiled babies in to lay next to me during my recovery. My granddaughter has handled the reptiles since she was about 2 years old. We just make extra sure she is washed before and after handling them. She is now 6 1/2 and healthy as can be. She was not very healthy as a little baby, she had spent 2 weeks in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit with lung and heart problems. I would suggest possibly keeping the iguana in another area, or caging him, and then giving him a little roam time to keep him happy, and cleaning well afterwards. Good luck!

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Kat

Be warned, a salmonella test can be a big waste of money. Most if not all reptiles carry salmonella, it's just a matter of how much of the bacteria they are shedding and that amount can very from one time to another. False negatives are so common that we don't even suggest the test.

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Those who say it can't be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it.

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

Lacey is correct. Just because you get a negative on a test does not rule out the presence of salmonella. The bacteria is shed sporadically so at the time of the test it just may not have been producing.
For the safety of your baby assume that salmonella is present.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

No suggestions on the Ig situation, just wanted to say congrats on the baby!

congrats!

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

Congrats on the Baby. I would add that if you feel you have to keep it free roaming, limit the ig to 1 room, and get some of those hospital booties to put over your shoes any time you go into that room, and immediately take them off and throw them away when you come out. Salmonella is no fun to deal with in babies...

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My first thought was similar to Merlin's. Cage the ig. If you build him a nice big cage in a room, and start getting him used to it now, it shouldn't be a big problem when the baby is born. If he has a good amount of space, and room to climb and bask, he should be happy. Then, in a few years, when your child is past the point where salmonella could be deadly, free roam him again. As long as everything is kept clean and the baby is not handling the iguana, I don't think it will be a problem to keep him in a cage.

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"Let's eat, Grandpa!"
"Let's eat Grandpa!"

Punctuation. It saves lives.