Can a ball catch an RI from a feeder?

[Ash]

The reason I ask is because my friend's (recently dead from an RI) ball python always fed on rodents from the same shop. The last two times I got feeders from there, they had colds (sneezing, making noise when they breathe). So I thought, could her snake have caught its illness from its feeders? Is it dangerous to feed a rodent with a cold to a snake?

I've heard that dogs can't catch colds off of humans, so my gut instinct tells me that snakes can't catch them from rats. Anybody heard of it happening?

[FatBoy]

No they can't.

[mxrider42]

They can!!! Rats can carry Salmonella. Most reptiles carry Salmonella though. But if yours didn't and the Salmonella got into the snake's digestive system. The Salmonella will not harm the digestive system but if it gets into the respiratory system it will cause a RI.
My vet dealt with a case of a guy owning a large collection of boas. Most of the snakes got sick. They couldn't find out what was wrong so they checked the food source. That was the problem.
With that said a Rat cold/ cough is not an indicator of Salmonella. A Rat Cold is different from an RI.
Trey

[Kaorte]

A sniffly rodent will not give your snake an RI.

[kc261]

Most RIs in snakes are caused by bacteria that already live in the healthy snake, but do not cause a problem until the snake is under stress, such as too cold temperatures.

Most sniffly sneezy rats and mice are suffering from a myco flare-up. Myco is also something that is usually present in the healthy animal, but it will flare-up and show symptoms due to some sort of stress.

Whether or not myco is one of the organisms that can cause an RI in snakes, I am not sure, although I doubt it. However, even if it is, exposure from a sick rat is probably not likely to cause an issue for an otherwise healthy snake. And, if it did, exposure from a myco carrying rat that is showing no symptoms would also carry a risk of RI for the snake. If that were the case, we'd see a lot more RIs, because almost all of our feeders carry myco.

Bottom line: no, snakes don't catch RIs from sniffly sneezy rats.