Reptiles and children's health.

mcem As long as hands are washed after handling the "dragon" or anything in its vivarium it should be fine.

One of our AC has a bearded dragon, snake, gecko, cat and pond full of fish. GC knows to wash hands after any contact and is a lot younger than your GC.

I would be more worried that the animal is looked after correctly, vivarium is kept clean and at the correct temperature as well as having the lights out at night. They can be very noisy with their scratching etc, and they eat live insects as well as fruit and greens (they love curly kale)

Thanks. That's reassuring. All the emphasis will have to be on handwashing, as I suspected!
I'd heard about salmonella etc, but it would seem that there's no more risk from dragons than from dogs or hamsters!
Must just read up a bit more but can't say I find it attractive.
Not exactly cuddly and no idea how "friendly" they are!

We had snakes when my kids were growing up and I have one granddaughter with a huge snake now Like with all pets keep some gel nearby and don’t worry I think we all worry far too much about germs and stuff

mcem if they are handled frequently and gently they are fine, AC often has dragon out in the lounge.

Thanks, ladies.
Happy with mammal pets but just a bit wary of this odd-looking wee cratur!

We lived in a converted farm house when my children were little, they had every pet known to man-kind from horses, goats, rabbits, chickens, ducks, geese, dogs, puppies, cats, hamsters, rats, gerbils, chinchillas, snake, lizards, tarantula spider, stick insects, birds and fish.
They played outside most of the time, lived in wellies, came home absolutely filthy and were the healthiest kids and now extremely healthy adults.
Yes! mcem remind him to wash his hands but I'm sure he will be fine.
Also, the care of pets should always be supervised by an adult, as I'm sure you are aware.

Yes thanks buffy but not by me!
Have had cat, hamsters, guinea pigs, dogs, stick insects, fish and budgies but never reptiles. (No phobias though!)

My goodness Im glad Im never visiting your house. Grandchildren’s beautiful cats do it for me!

My. 9 yr old grandson got a bearded dragon and vicarious for his birthday .

He started out with it in his bedroom but the dragon actually needed more interaction and engagement so now he’s in the lounge. His Mum does the majority of the feeding because it has live food which can move quickly and the lad isn’t always accurate in delivering the food to the dragon.

They established a strict hand washing approach from the start and no eating when he has the dragon out.

I have to say although the whole family like the dragon ( his name is Mike) the lad I think expected a more interactive pet. Luckily , his Mum does most of the work but it’s an expensive pet if the child isn’t fully engaged.

Good luck.

Vivarium

My older grandsons had rats for a relatively short period. They thought it hilarious that I'd knock and refuse to come in if their 'pets' were free ranging.
It's dogs only at this house, though one young grandson currently has goldfish.
I do understand the attraction of exotic pets, but relieved mine stayed with rabbits, dogs and riding lessons.

The usual recommendation as far as reptiles are that they should not be handled by children under 5 years of age. Children that young have a weaker immune system and cannot handle the salmonella risk - they could become very ill.

Older children should just practice good handwashing. 8 years old is old enough to be able to wash your hands properly.

We have only ever had cats, not anything exotic. When I was a child we had hamsters, a guinea pig, fish, a snail, rabbits, cats, and dogs (not all at the same time!). Mum said nothing smaller than a hamster and no reptiles. I have heard that rats can be very nice pets, but our province is officially rat-free. (Now, obviously, you do get some rats in border areas because the rats don't know where the borders are, but there is actually a rat hotline that people can call if they spot one.) Even pet rats are not allowed.

Do you think these reptiles would choose to live in a glass cage? Think again.

quiz queen, I suspect mcem has no influence over the choice of pets her grandchildren have. Her comments here suggest she isn't ecstatic about the dragon but wants to know a bit more about health n hygiene.

We have had small furry animals in cages, that is rabbits and guinea pigs. I resisted but eventually agreed with the usual proviso - you feed/water them morning and evening and clean them out at the weekend. Yes we all know the results don't we. After a couple of years we'd had a funeral or two and the remaining creatures were re-homed.

The positive outcome of that was at 13 and 15, they refused the offer of a half loan pony with one of their friends. They were highly excited and I agreed but only if they did the 6am muck and turn out, feed etc as I wouldn't. Sensible girls they turned the offer down.
Having pets may bring its own challenges, I never wanted small furry animals in cages but it did help teach something about responsibility, dedication etc (if only in their mother)

I’m sure they wouldn’t choose to live in a glass cage Quizqueen but in my grandsons case his dragon is bred from a line imported many many years ago not snatched out of the wild and imprisoned .

He couldn’t live in the wild here so being well kept in a vivarium is his only option .

My children benefited enormously from having a wide range of pets as children and I rather think the pets had quite nice lives and were certainly very well looked after. Right now we have become permanent carers for our younger son's very elderly corn snake. Our son has both a toddler and a dog so The Wonderful man (who hated snakes before we bought this one and is now very attached to it!) offered to take care of it.

I am of a mind that a home without at least one pet is not really a home. However, when you have pets of any sort you have to be responsible, both for their well-being and for your own and this is a valuable life lesson for children. Obviously care of the pet, whether a bearded dragon in a vivarium, a guinea pig in a run or a dog by the fire is crucial and the children must be old enough to understand about food and water. They also must understand that they cannot go straight to the tea table after playing with the kitten without washing their hands. They need to learn how much "interference" a pet will tolerate before it scratches and/or bites.

The relationship between a child and her/his pet can be truly rewarding and I would always encourage it. However, there must always be an adult in the background watching over both.

Signed, The Mad Cat Lady of Richmond

Buy your grandson some Dragon Gloves (packet of thin disposables from a pound shop) and suggest he wears them each time he take the dragon out.
Then all he needs are some baby-wipes to freshen his hands.