Objective The objective of this study was to elucidate the distribution of serovars of Salmonella isolates and their drug resistant profile in reptiles of close contact with human, to highlight the potential transmission risk of Salmonella from animal to human. Methods Salmonella was isolated from stool samples from pets and reptiles kept in market, zoo and breeding base, and identified by biochemical tests and serotyped by serum agglutination reaction. The susceptibility of all Salmonella isolates to fourteen antibiotics was tested by disk diffusion method and data was analyzed by Whonet 5.3 software. Results The overall prevalence was 30.7% and a total of 28 serotypes were detected. Thirteen serotypes of the total belonged to well-known human pathogenic serovars; the top 4 serotypes among reptiles were S. Stanley, S. Thompson, S. Westafrica and S. Typhimurium. Different distribution of serotypes among different animal sources was observed. The serotype of S. Pomona which ever caused multistate outbreak was isolated from pet-turtles. All isolates were susceptible to fluroquinolone and have a little lower susceptibility to the third and fourth generation cephalosporin. The lowest susceptibility was found to tetracycline and streptomycin. Twenty- nine isolates were found to be resistant to multiple antibiotics and four produced extended spectrum beta-lactamase. Conclusion High proportion of healthy reptiles shed Salmonella and therefore act as a potential zoonotic threat in the spread of Salmonella in the environment. Our results highlight the need for strengthening the management of pet market and the surveillance of pathogens carried by pet reptiles to avoid the outbreaks caused by Salmonella in human from animal.