Doctors: No hamsters, exotic pets for young kids

I have owned hedgehogs for over 10 years.   I've dealt with 100's of people that own hedgehogs.  I can honestly state that I have NEVER heard of a hedgehog making a person sick. 

Certainly animals as well as people can harbor germs that are communicable. Hedgehogs are typically not good pets for children under 5 due to their sharp quills.

However, hedgehogs that come from clean, responsible, licensed breeders are typically disease free. Hedgehogs are no longer imported into North America, therefore all of the hedgehogs in N.A. have been bred here, so there are no exotic viruses that are going to be transferred. As long as you keep your hedgehog healthy, and do not expose it to Salmonella (or other germs) by feeding it raw meats, eggs, exposing it to reptiles, etc you should be completely safe.

Warning: young children should not keep hedgehogs as pets — or hamsters, baby chicks, lizards and turtles, for that matter — because of risks for disease.

That's according to the nation's leading pediatricians' group in a new report about dangers from exotic animals.

Did you have or do your children have an unusual pet? What kind? Have you had any problems? msnbc.com wants to know.

What does this have to do with telling your children about the financial troubles?

I have a 2 ferrets,  not sure if you consider them exotic.  My daughter was scared of them at first because they play fight.  She has grown to like them, especially when her friends want to play with them. 

I have a chinese water dragon named Isabelle. I completely agree with not letting young children handle exotic pets, not only becasue of the risks mentioned in the article, but also how the pet needs to be handled. You can't hold Isabelle the same way you would a puppy or cat - she only weighs 1.5 lbs and has a long (2/3 of her 2ft body)tail . She is alot more delicate. That said, I also think it is PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY to monitor kids around pets until the kids know how to handle them.

3 WORDS

BLAME BUSH/MCCAIN VOTERS

LET THEM PAY FOR THIS MESS !

When I was a kid we had dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, rats, mice, hamsters, pigeons, parakeets, lizards, snakes, tarantulas, ants, fish and an old tortoise.  Most of my neighbors had lots of pets. No one was ever sick.  Rather, I learned to love and care for animals.
 
But then, I rode my bike all summer with no shirt, shoes or helmet  I had no brain injuries.  Rather I got tan and strong.   
I ran off with friends on Halloween for 4 or 5 hours with no adults never ate a razor blade, rather  I had some of the best times in my memory.   
My friends and would bike down to the corner store to hang out and talk with strangers.  I was never molested, rather, I learned to deal with people.
 
I think this is just more fear-mongering.  It's funny how everything that has brought joy to children for so many generations, is somehow harmful to children today.   
Are the children of today suddenly fragile and weak?  I think they will be if we listen to articles like this.

Children are very perceptive. They pick up on their parents stress no matter how parents try to hide it.  Hopefully this will spark a new age of less spoiled children.  People have spend the past few years having to have the biggest and the best whether they can afford it or not and keeping up with the jones's.   Children have the latest technology bought by their parents probably on credit.  They do not even know what a book looks like, are overweight because they do not get of of their butts and go outside and play as opposed to sitting around texting, surfing the net and playing computer games.   When I was growing up, if I wanted something from my parents, I had to do chores to earn the money.    We understand the value of a dollar and responsibility.  Our parents were not out to sue everyone if we did something wrong. Instead we were held accountable for it.  If we spoke to our parents the way children speak to their parents we would be in a coma.  Kids are products of their parents. If parents lived above their means they pass that on to their children.

Give me a break!!! I would like to know the numbers...

Kids sick from Salmonella  from baby chicks!!!

vs.

Adults sick from Salmonella eating bad food from slack FDA testing!!!

I am the mother of a 6 year old and the "mother" of a red ear slider turtle, Ninja. Ninja was given as a gift to my son when he turned 4 and being that he was too young to take care of him, he has since become my beloved turtle. He has also become a great learning experience for my son. My son knows that he is not allowed to handle him unless I am with him and that when he does he must wash his hands. He also knows that when it comes time to clean out Ninja's "condo" that we do it carefuly and then we sanatize everything once we are done. I have had no health issues what so ever with my son or with Ninja. It becomes the parents responsabilty to ensure that their kids learn to care for exotic animals or any animal for that matter, correctly. Once that is done supervision is still needed! If you can't do that then the family as a whole is not ready for any type of pet.

Simple solution is to put all children under 5 in a hermetically sealed bubble with just a non-allergenic, non-animal fur doll to cling to.  Only politically correct music and speach would be piped in.  The outside world would be shut out and the video monitor would only show appropriate, non-threatening, progressive messages suitable for a non-challenging future member of a homogenous global society.  Nutrients would be supplied by permanently attached tubes while wastes would be evacuated by a similarly attached suction device.  Entrance into the bubble would only be by a court appointed guardian.  Oh, and NO animals!

What's going to make the children sick is crying bitterly as their jittery parents yank their beloved pets from the household after reading this ridiculous article. The docs who endorse this kind of hysteria are the same ones who tell pregnant women to get rid of their cats.

Generations of kids have owned turtles, ducks, and lizards without getting sick, because their parents taught them PROPER HYGIENE. The simple solution is to keep cages clean and WASH YOUR HANDS after handling a pet.

How many family pets will be dumped in shelters now because these stupid docs scared everyone into thinking that their water dragon or turtle is a menace? SHAME ON THEM for their irresponsibility.

I use to work at a daycare, where we had hamsters and gerbils. The kids were allowed to watch them quietly, and interact with them quietly with adult supervision. My co-workers and I always made sure our students' hands were washed before and after they touched the hamster or gerbils.
We didn't allow them to touch them that often. I believe kids are smart and if taught early on they can learn how important it is to be clean and respectful to all little creatures. A lot of lessons can be learned, if you know how to implement the right teaching methods.
None of our students ever got sick from our class pets.  They got the flu, or chicken pox from outside the school. The children who were not allowed to touch the animals were babies and toddlers.  However, once a year we, had a field trip to a farm, and invited everyone. It was fun taking pictures of the babies and the babies lambs, calves and colts together. My students watched a cow being milked and collected eggs. Another group feed the chickens. Afterward we all watched our hands. Honestly, no one was sick from that trip.
Although,nowadays, you can't be to sure. I have to agree with vets, even my vets told me not to have anyone child under five to pet my hamster, which leads me to a funny story.
When my niece was five years old, two years ago during Christmas, she asked me why I didn't bring my pet hamster over to my grandmother's house. Before I could answer her (picking my words carefully) my nieces said, "Doesn't Honey know I was coming!You did tell her I was coming!" It was hysterical, but I didn't laugh, because my niece was genuinely hurt. Forget the Christmas presents that surrounded her, she wanted to play with the hamster.
I carefully explained, that as much as Honey loved her, the two half hour drive would have been too hard for her. She required lots of naps. Some how, by the grace of God, my niece didn't argue, but instead said, "Well that's okay, maybe next time."

When I was 5 my sister who is 10yrs older then me got a hamster my mom told me not to touch it when noone was around but I did and it bit me. well i got allegies and most likely that was the cause.  I had to get allergy shots till I was 18. I agree with this article

i have owned snakes off and on for the last 10 years. right now we have 9 diffrent breeds of snakes and a 4 year old who plays with 5 of those 9 snakes. he has never been sick because i make sure he is not alone with them and he gets his hands washed every time he is done touching them. the carelessness of the pet owners that there children get sick is not the pets fault these people should not own a pet without knowing the dangers and weighing them. our snakes are our sons therapy pets he has autism and hates dog and cats. so please do not blame the pet for the owners ignorance.

What a bunch of fear mongering bubkiss.
My family of 7, 5 of them kids, 2 of them under 5, have a menagere of animals. Last count it was 35 pets and 4 fish tanks. We have anoles, geckos, beardies, snakes, turtles, salamanders, frogs, hedgehogs, ferrets, chinchillas, cats, dogs and yes, the fish tanks.
Yes, you *CAN* get funky stuff from critters. You can get salmonilla from turtles or reptiles or birds, you can also get it from that chicken you had for dinner last night.
You can get worms from your dogs or cats. I won't even get into fun stuff like rabies.
It's not a matter of not letting children near the animals. It's a matter of parents getting off their lazy rumps and *gasp* PARENTING!
TEACH you child how to wash it's hands properly. Make it a part of the cleaning/feeding/handling ritual that " as soon as you are done, wash your hands and until you do, do NOT touch your face".
I have 5 kids, 10 years old down to 3 years old. They ALL help take care of the animals. The hedgies belong to the 10 year old, HE takes care of them. The other kids handle them. Never had a problem. My 7 and 8 year old have the chinchillas. THEY look after them. The other kids handle them. The 5 and 3 year old have the anoles. THEY look after them, the other kids interact with them.
They take the beardies for walks. They help me do "reptile shows" at their respective schools. Never, ever EVER had a problem with ANYONE getting sick, because I have actually PARENTED and made sure to teach my children the risks, responsibilties AND the rewards of owning and having a good relationship with a pet, and it should be the responsibility of ALL parents to do the same.
All this kind of fear mongering does is make it hard on everyone.. the kids that loose out on an amazing pet because the parents can't figure out how to be a parent, the animals that would have benifited from a relationship with a child and the gross mismanagement of common sense in society on the whole.

First of all, what does pet ownership have to do with Bush/McCain or any politics.  Go to a political website if you want to talke politics!!

I agree with AggregatVier - lets put little children in a bubble.  Kids fall down and get scraped up and they are going to get germs on their hands and put them in their mouth  Yes, some pets can carry diseases but we need to be realistic and let kids be kids. 

longislander - get real - allergies caused by a hamster bite!! Yeah, right

I have a turtle for 14 years.... no problem as long as you change his water, keep him clean, well fed. Never heard of any one getting sick from having a turtle.

I have two pygmy goats & a rabbit.  The goats are a BLAST!  I've ALWAYS had rabbits, and have had gerbils, which were also great fun.  I ALWAYS wash my hands before handling food, regardless, and children should be taught that. 

I had a hamster when I was younger and I never got sick from her.  She was my first pet, and sure I got nipped at, but it never caused me to get sick or develop allergies as someone suggested.  I also had a guinea pig at one point, and neighbors had snakes that I was always holding when at their house, and I LOVED the childrens area at the zoo with the baby chicks, hedgehogs, etc.  None of these ever caused me to get sick.  The more we 'baby' our kids, the more likely they are going to be susceptible to illness.

I had a hamster when I was 7 yrs old. I was responsible for feeding it,  cleaning the cage, and so on. I never got any diseases or such from it. It did bite me once, but I lived. Ha! I enjoyed it.  If parents would teach children how to care for animals, how to handle it, etc. I don't see a problem.

Back in the 60's before it became (thankfully) illegal, I had a pet squirrel monkey named Betsy. She bit me once (nothing serious), smelled bad, messed on the drapes in the living room, and often tried to escape. I finally gave her to a school teacher, from whom she also got away. The local paper had a number of "monkey sighting" stories that summer, and as we lived in Massachusetts, I doubt that poor Betsy made it back to the tropics. I also had a younger brother. He too bit me once, smelled bad, messed in the living room and tried to escape. I still have him, but would have preferred the monkey.

Since when is a hamster an "exotic animal?" And since when is it so difficult for us to clean the cages of our animals often enough so that germs are not spread. Like everything else, this becomes a question of parental choice and responsibilty. Stop taking away all important childhood experiences that teach things like responsibilty and respect for nature because you are afraid that we as parents cannot handle it. I refuse for my children to live in the germ-free, immune-system-killing environment that these people want me to.

SH-2000. . . the question was. . do you have any experience with exotic pets. . . yes or no. .if yes. . .then say so. . .if not. . .shut the heck up!  McCain/Bush, the Wall Street bail, the Iraq war hasn't a thing to do with having a unusual pet. . and if you can somehow manage to equate the two. . .then you shouldn't even be allowed to own goldfish ! ! !  talk about out in left field ! !

I keep rats, mice, and a rabbit as pets, and of the three species, they only ones I would recommend for young children (say 5 and up) are the rats. Mice (though sweet and gentle) are small, often nervous, and very fragile; rabbits, as cute and cuddly as they are, are feisty, territorial and easily injured if mishandled. Rats, however, are gentle, social, intelligent, and affectionate, much less likely to bite than, say, a hamster, and are sturdy enough for young children to handle; my friend has an 8-year-old who loves to play with my rats, and they have always been infinitely patient with her. (And no, domestic rats DO NOT carry any diseases transmissible to humans!) Of course, children should ALWAYS be under adult supervision when handling any small animals, and rats, like other small pets, should NOT be considered disposable. Just because a pet is inexpensive to purchase does not make it worthless.

When choosing a pet for a child it is the parent's responsibility to do their research and select the right one, and also to ensure that the child learns how to properly handle that pet.  If an animal bites or scratches due to mishandling, that animal cannot be blamed.

When I was growing up I always had lots of pets from hamsters to dogs to goats. The best small pets were rats. I had a few pet rats over the years  (one at a time) and they never bite, like to play, they are clean and constantly clean themselves and were very sweet. My whole family and I swear by them now as the best small pets for children. They were wonderful little pets and taught us all about the responsibility of caring for an animal.