is poo toxic to babies?

Discussion in 'Iguanas' started by undefined, Jun 13, 2005.

  1. undefined

    undefined New Member

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    171
    I was at this party ( I was DD). This girl was talking about how she lets her iggy roam around the house and he gets along with her baby. So this guy tells her that iguanas give off something that could kill her baby. She answered with, " Oh, no, he would never bite the baby." And they went back and forth not understanding each other like drunk people do. The party ended, but I was left wondering, can iguanas kill babies?
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. hrotroff

    hrotroff New Member

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    Well, knowing that Iguanas can get up to six feet long and attack and bite even their owners during mating, it definitely could hurt or even kill a small baby or infant if not being watched. They do carry salmonella and other harmful bacteria, so letting a baby have access to that (children's immune system can be weakened) would not be a good idea.
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. nomad85

    nomad85 Member

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    unless the iguana poops and the baby gets it in its mouth salmonella isnt a real big issue, but a male in mating season could bite and that would do some damage..
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. hrotroff

    hrotroff New Member

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    Babies are developmentally orally fixated and everything goes into their mouths--you look too young to have had kids and probably have not been around them too much--so having a baby around a loose iguana is literally asking for trouble and definitely not cool. I agree 100% about the mating issue and agression, also not cool to have a baby around a male, which she indicated it was.
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. mohikan22

    mohikan22 New Member

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    well i have a approx 5-7 yr old iggy female and shes been great with all 3 of my kids :) (18mth 4 and 8) shes very tame BUT not every iggy is hte same youll just have to find out.:)
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. biochic

    biochic Well-Known Member

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    You can have all kinds of complications with a free-roaming ig and a baby. A free-roaming ig will eventually become territorial and a young child will not understand this and could end up being clawed, bitten, or tail-whipped. Plus little kids don't understand danger, so they can easily grab a tail, hit, poke, whatever at an ig until it becomes defensive, just like a dog or cat. Salmonella is a concern, but not as frightening as the media would have you believe. But, the fact that the ig is roaming the house and coming into contact with things that the baby will also come into contact with is an issue and definitely increases the risk of disease. The two should be separated and the child taught how to handle and treat the ig as she gets older. Better safe than sorry. Even the most timid of animals can become defensive and potentially dangerous when they feel threatened and an ig can do about as much damage as many dogs when they really want to.
     
  12. chibi

    chibi New Member

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    I have a free-roaming iguana and a 3 yr old daughter. He is 15 yrs old and has never bitten, whipped or hissed at anyone except the cats and dog when it was a puppy. My 2 yr old niece is also around my iguana on a daily basis. Neither of them have gotten sick from my iguana, and my iguana has never attacked them, even when he was pet a little too roughly once. He is also potty trained, so neither of the kids would ever even come in contact with his poo, and I don't understand who would let their baby play in iguana poo anyways. I also have a very weak immune system and a heart condition and in the 15 yrs of raising him, I have never once gotten sick. And I always give my iggy kisses. So I don't think salmonella is a huge issue, but to be on the safe side, always have kids wash their hands. There are a lot of misconceptions about iguanas and they are usually made up by people that don't have them, or people who never raised theirs right and it turned out to be a demon spawn. If you train your iguana properly, you shouldn't have a vicious animal.
     
  13. chibi

    chibi New Member

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    Oh and my iguana is a male, and does not get aggressive during breeding season. He just turns orange and gets a little randy with stuffed animals.
     
  14. hrotroff

    hrotroff New Member

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    Hey, while I am glad that you have been able to raise a happy content Iguana, you cannot ignore the fact that Iguanas have individual personalities. In addition, they are "wild" animals, subject to behavior unexplained. So, while I appreciate the fact that Iguana's have a bad reputation, like all stereotypes there is some element of truth to them. I have spoken to responsible and caring owners who have experienced very aggressive males and have also been successful in having those who are very tame. I think maybe you are being a little judgemental of those who end up with a tempermental Iguana through no fault of their own. And if an Iguana bites a child, they can get very sick, or if they get the salmnella orally they can get very sick. So, if you are 100% confident that your Iguana will note bite your child, great. However, be aware that people have been charged with child abuse for domesticated dogs that bite their children when people leave them unattended or allow animals, like pit bulls, have access to children, knowing their potential for lethal biting.
     
  15. chibi

    chibi New Member

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    Ok, I see your point. I am almost 100% sure that my iguana will never harm my child because of his docile nature, but that doesn't mean I do not supervise my daughter around him. I know any animal is capable of doing harm if provoked, and I have taught my daughter to only pet him when someone else is in the room. On one end, I love my iguana and think he is the absolute best pet I've ever had, and I would love to get another iggy in the future. On the other end, I wouldn't let my daughter have an iguana of her own until she's in her teens. It takes a lot of work. And I have helped friends tame their iguanas who also haven't had any problems with theirs. I have to disagree on that part with you. I'm convinced if an iguana is trained properly there shouldn't be any issues. I personally am deathly afraid of dogs and know exactly what they are capable of, and I would rather my daughter be around my iguana than a dog that could become jealous and rip her to shreds.
     
  16. hrotroff

    hrotroff New Member

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    Good points. You obviously have a true gift in raising Iguanas--a natural connectiveness with them--that is really nice. I agree with teens having Iguanas, probably late teens though ;o), if at all. Our 14-yr old son has a snake that we have to gently remind him to care for once in awhile and sometimes we end up caring for it--cleaning the cage, feeding, etc... Yet, I know he loves it and 90% of the time does an okay job. If a parent allows a child to have a pet they should also be willing to accept responsibility if they end up not caring for it and remind them of it when they ask for another additional pet... which he does sometimes. I have heard of Iguanas dying of broken hearts when separated with their owner whom they have bonded with, so it is important to make a long-term commitment.
     
  17. chibi

    chibi New Member

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    With most reptiles, I'm not so sure they care if their owner left them. I know my gecko wouldn't care. With my iguana, I know he would have some problems with that. He used to have a love bird "friend" who would perch on his back while they both fell asleep together. My ig was 8 or 9 when the love bird died (she was close to 20) he had stopped eating for 2 weeks. We had to forcefeed him for a bit until he started eating on his own again. That's a confusing topic for me, because I've had a lot of herps in my life, and none of them have showed any kind of emotions like that. I wonder if it is just iguanas.
     
  18. hrotroff

    hrotroff New Member

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    I have only read it on Iguanas. That was one of the reasons why I did not get one, that was such a big commitment and I was not sure if I could handle an aggressive one. Failure to thrive and refusing to eat when losing an owner is apparently pretty common, at least enough to have read it several load.
     

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