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So your son is begging for a pet turtle. Before you cave in, consider the salmonella it packs along with it.

Reptiles, monkeys, rodents and other exotic pets are soaring in popularity, but shouldn't be welcomed in homes with babies, toddlers or people with immune-system problems, according to a report published in the October issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

"Most nontraditional pets pose a risk to the health of young children, and their acquisition and ownership should be discouraged in households with young children," wrote the authors, led by Larry Pickering of Emory University school of medicine in Atlanta.

The report listed a battery of nasty diseases linked to weird and wonderful pets. Most reptiles, for example, carry salmonella bacteria. Hedgehogs, whose popularity has exploded since they arrived on the pet scene about 15 years ago, can spread rabies and ringworm. Macaque monkey bites can give you hepatitis B.

Exotic-pet enthusiasts jumped on the defensive yesterday, saying their favourite species were being unfairly maligned.

"Kids get bitten by black Labs all the time," said Steve Marks of Sciensational Sssnakes!!, an Orillia, Ont., company that provides hands-on educational programs about reptiles and amphibians for school groups.

"Go into a supermarket and touch an uncooked chicken," said Dave Shelvey, owner of Westman Reptile Gardens in Brandon, Man. "You have way more chance of getting salmonella from a bird than you ever do from a reptile."

Owning a hedgehog is like owning a dog, said Connie Crawford-Redman, a part-time breeder in Winnipeg. "If you've got kids, you have them wash their hands."

But the report's authors said parents need to be educated about the increased risks of exposure to nontraditional pets and animals in public settings, such as petting zoos, for infants and other children under 5 and for people with immune-system problems.

Potential problems range from allergies to the spread of infectious diseases, they said. For instance, a 2003 outbreak of monkey pox that affected about 20 people in the midwestern United States was traced to imported Gambian pouched rats.

And 6 per cent of all sporadic salmonella infections in the United States - about 74,000 cases annually - are the result of direct or indirect contact with reptiles or amphibians.

The number of exotic pets in the United States has soared by 75 per cent since 1992. In 2005 there were nearly 88,000 mammals, 1.3 million reptiles and 203 million fish imported illegally into the United States.

Canada has seen a similar boom in the past two decades, said Shelagh MacDonald, program director with the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies.

While pediatricians know about pet-related hazards, only 5 per cent said they regularly educate parents and children about such dangers, an attitude that should change, the authors said.

That's one reason Scott Weese - an associate professor in the Department of Pathobiology at the University of Guelph and expert in zoonotic diseases - launched his blog, wormsandgermsblog.com.

"I get calls from doctors and veterinarians all the time. There was obviously a need for some of this information," said Dr. Weese, who posts information about pet-related diseases, how much risk they pose, and strategies for minimizing that risk.

Simple and effective strategies include frequent hand washing and avoiding direct contact with certain animals or their living quarters, Dr. Weese said.

With files from Reuters