Doctors warn against exotic pets for children

The nation's leading pediatricians' group, the American Academy of Pediatrics, has issued a new report about dangers from exotic animals as pets for small children.

About ten years ago the hedgehog (pictured) became a popular pet for children.

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

Besides evidence that they can carry dangerous and sometimes potentially deadly germs, exotic pets may be more prone than cats and dogs to bite, scratch or claw—putting children younger than 5 particularly at risk, the report says.

"Many parents clearly don't understand the risks from various infections" these animals often carry, said Dr. Larry Pickering, the report's lead author and an infectious disease specialist at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For example, about 11 percent of salmonella illnesses in children are thought to stem from contact with lizards, turtles and other reptiles, Pickering said. Hamsters also can carry this germ, which can cause severe diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps.

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