The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have opposed having numerous exotic animals as pets. In many states, local laws prohibit the selling and the keeping of these animals. Even national laws have been distributed towards the public, forbidding the trade of such exotic creatures. For example the sale of baby red-eared slider turtles has been banned by the FDA, for they carry dangerous diseases such as salmonella that inflict harm upon humans. People still continue to participate in this illegal enterprise, and many are soon to be busted for breaking the law. Keeping these animals in domestic environments is abuse, and animal abuse happens to be very illegal.
Most reptiles, especially turtles and green iguanas, carry diseases that us humans are not immune to, including salmonella, shigella bacteria, and intestinal bacteria. This isn't uncommon either. Almost seventy-seven to ninety percent of reptiles carry salmonella or shigella bacteria, and almost ninety percent of green iguanas carry intestinal bacteria. These are the most common diseases spread by reptiles but they can also carry chlamydia, giardia, hepatitis A, rabies, ringworm, tuberculosis, and scabies, all which have the potential of being fatal. There are many other diseases that exotic animals can cause, but no one knows the list of all of them. Not only that, but we must keep in mind that these creatures are not domesticated and therefore, they have the tendency to bite, scratch, sting, etc. Some of these bites, scratches, and stings can cause mass harm or result in death. For example, when green iguanas feel threatened they bite and whip their tails. One whip of a their tail can break bones. With this information, it becomes obvious that outside of the wild, these animals can be of great danger to humans. Therefore, common sense would lead us to leave these animals alone in their natural habitats instead of keeping them in captivity.
