Your pet turtle could very innocently poison you

Who would think that a darling little baby turtle could pose a deadly health risk? Well they can, and they do. Salmonella is often found in turtles as they can carry the bacteria without getting sick. This is nothing new as there was actually a law passed way back in 1975 that prohibited the sale of turtles with a shell smaller than 4 inches in the hope of lessening the risk, but there's no reliable way of telling whether any specific turtle is a carrier. It's possible to contract Salmonella poisoning, or pass it on to others, from simply coming in contact with the turtle itself or its feces. Sadly this issue has come to the forefront recently due to a tragic incident where a 4 week old baby died from Salmonella poisoning transferred to her from a pet turtle.

I'm not a big fan of turtles as pets anyway -- all too often they're scooped up out of the wild only to end up dying a slow horrible death in the hands of people who don't know how to care for them. I say if you're thinking about getting a turtle, don't, and if you've already got one then care for it carefully and wash your hands, etc. Whatever you do, don't go dumping it somewhere -- the little guy can't help it. If you must, find him a good home.