Do you kiss your snake (or allow your kids to)?

Well, washing with antibacterial soap is good......don't forget the 20 sec rule!! :)

i dont kiss my snakes cuz i think it'd be weird for me to put my mouth against scales.

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Originally Posted by Kagez28

for once i think the pet store gave some good info. there defiantly is a risk of spreading salmonella, and i am sure there are some stories of people getting sick. especially with children, who don't have the strongest immune system. would you you let your kid lick a piece of raw chicken?

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i got salmonella once from some bad chicken. i was really sick for a whole weekend and a few days into the week. then it took a whole month to get back to eating normally again. i'd say just be very careful.

i supose it couldn't hurt to rub the snake down with a wet cloth every once and a while? i'm just curious if anyone does that...i've thought about it but never decided whether it was a good idea or not.

I recall reading somewhere that <10% of salmonilla was caused by reptiles, and the majority of that was from several species of turtles and iguana's. I'll keep a lookout of that article and I'll post it if I can find it. I want to say that it was in a REPTILES magazene, but once again, I'm not sure.

I was feeling a bit slammed (I know I set myself up), but see that I am not the only one putting scales to their mouth. But those people seem to be hiding for the most part. Don't worry, I'll take the fall on this one. ;)

It happened once... ok we had both had a little too much to drink... and... and

..yeah, snake kissies aren't exactly sanitary, but sometimes it happens... haha :D

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Originally Posted by MelissaFlipski

The kissing started with my 3 and 6 yr old sons. My 3 yr old kept asking if he could kiss Mr. Snake (the BP). The 6 yr old wanted to, but resisted. Finally, we broke down and said, "OK, you kiss him first, and if you aren't sick within 3 days, we'll kiss him, too."

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This is a joke right???

I think some people are being a bit over-dramatic here. How is kissing your dog any different than kissing your snake. At least the snake doesn't eat its own feces. I can't resist giving my snake a smooch on the top of the head every once in a while, he doesn't seem to mind but its not surprising since hes not the least bit head shy unless you really push it. I think you would have a better chance of hitting the lottery than contracting salmonella from a captive snake.

Kyle, it's not really being over-dramatic. It's more a case of giving common sense advice and precautions which we do pretty much on every aspect of snake keeping here at BPNet. It's an online forum, read by experienced keepers with 100's of snakes down to a person that's owned a snake all of 2 hours. In the end, the best advice given is simple, straight forward, proven over time and cautious, depending on a lot of common sense and practical aspects of this hobby.

I do not usually think twice about kissing my snakes, but I also don't handle them extremely regularly nor do I kiss them every time I handle them. It's just not something I have put a ton of thought into. That being said, I am also not a parent who has to worry about the health and well-being of my children.