"Salmonella" question!

My boyfriend and I both take the utmost concern when handling our BP Snickers.

We wash our hands both before and after we handle her or anything dealing with her home.


Less than a week ago my boyfriend got food poisoning(I am THANKFUL I didn't get it myself having had it before)

I am just wondering if he got it from Snickers though. We keep her enclosure clean. We change her water everyday, we scoop out droppings including the pee crust things as soon as they are noticed.(don't know what they are called offhand) and we completely clean her enclosure once a month.


Anyway my bf got food poisoning and we both doubt it is from Snickers but I just wonder....


We wash our hands both before and after handling her BUT sometimes she will touch our clothing when we hold her....

Could that be why he got sick???(I am just asking...I don't think it's the cause)

The last time Snickers pooped before he got sick I cleaned it up in her home but he was the one who handled her that night.(but he washed before and after which we always do)

I mean should we "roll our sleeves up"? I handled Snickers tonight and she was climbing up the sleeve of my sweatshirt...

Do I now have to take the shirt off and wash it? Am I being paranoid?

Both my boyfriend and I are pretty sure he got the food poisoning from lettuce purchased at Aldi's but I am a total germaphobe and I just want to be sure that even though we wash our hands both before and after that that is enough...

Should I immediately take off my sweatshirt and throw it in the laundry and scrub my arms down???

Proper hand washing is perfectly fine. I don't think that you have to wash any clothes that he touches. I doubt the food poisoning was from the snake. Most salmonella from reptile case are from handling droppings and then eating or putting your hands in your mouth. Which is just eeeeewww! If you wash you hands after every handle and everytime you do the cage you will be totally fine. Btw crusty pee things= urates. 
Morgan

The "pee crust things" are urate :)
And as far as the risk of sickness, I'm no expert in reptiles, but I don't think you need to go to such extremes as scrubbing your entire arms and changing clothes. Lol. Of course, all egg-laying animals can carry salmonella. I always wash my hands after handling my BP or anything inside his tank, just as I do after handling any of the animals I own. They all run the risk of carrying bacteria, no matter how clean.
You should search the forums for other threads on reptiles and salmonella! I'm sure there are some :)

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Originally Posted by Homegrownscales

Proper hand washing is perfectly fine. I don't think that you have to wash any clothes that he touches. I doubt the food poisoning was from the snake. Most salmonella from reptile case are from handling droppings and then eating or putting your hands in your mouth. Which is just eeeeewww! If you wash you hands after every handle and everytime you do the cage you will be totally fine. Btw crusty pee things= urates. 
Morgan

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Thanks.... I really am probably being a hypochondriac with all this but as far as germs and all that go I can't help it.

I don't want to get sick.:please:

"Urates"...thanks....I had read it before but couldn't remember the name!:)

It's ok I used to be a germa phobe too and get grossed out by things like poop. Now it doesn't even phase me. Half the time I pick it up with my hands throw it out and go wash!

I very much doubt he got sick from Snickers (Cute name btw). Salmonella is in their feces and urates (and eggs if you are breeding). However the risk of contracting it is very low. If you wash your hands and make sure your snake's husbandry is good, then you shouldn't worry about it. I've heard of very few BP owners and breeders contracting salmonella from their snakes. Yes it is a risk, but a very very minute one. I would definitely say that the risk of eating contaminated food is much higher.

Well, even though I know you can get salmonella from snakes, I don't really give it a second thought.

I handle my babies regularly, give most of them kisses and nibbles when I hold them. I've never gotten sick from one.

Now, granted I don't make it a habit to lick my snakes or something weird like that, I just figure if it's going to happen it's going to happen and I don't fret about it. I do of course wash after cleaning tanks and feeding, but other than that I'm pretty hit and miss.

On another note, I've gotten sick dozens of times after eating out at a restaurant and occasionally eating at a friends house. So, which one do you think worries me more ? :D

Gale

Hand washing isn't out of place, but now that that is said I have been quite lax with out 8 with no problems. I hand wash a lot but that is to keep from transferring thing TO the snakes and to snake to snake just in case.

I suspect that it is from somewhere else. But just a FYI Vinegar (straight out of the grocery store) after 20 min of contact kills salmonella. I am not careful around the snakes but around raw chicken... If he did and you didn't where did he eat besides home. And speaking from someone who has had Salmonella, it is the most sick I have ever been a bit of upset and feeling ill isn't likely to be salmonella poisoning in the first place.

:D People forget that dogs, cats, and even other people can give you salmonella too!! Just be aware and you'll be fine. I never really pay too much mind(my main reason for washing my hands is less about me, and more about the snakes!) but I also know my body and even if I do catch Salmonella poisoning(again, it's happened before with chicken), I'm sure I would completely deserve it and I'd be fine after a few days of misery, crackers and seven up! :P I have a tough body, I can suck it up, and laugh at myself for my dumb mistake later.

Though you should always be careful, it's not too big of a deal, unless of course you have a very compromised immune system, in which case you're probably careful around everything anyway(or should be!)

So...don't lick your snake's butt.. :colbert: ;)

You are far, far, FAR more likely to contract Salmonella from your own food then from your reptile.

And if you are that freaked out, don't ever observe the kitchen of just about any restaurant, LOL.

Hand washing after cleaning of enclosure is important and I don't know why anyone would not do that, ick !

However, scrubbing your hands and arms with sanitizer every time you handle your BP seems excessive to me. I think if I was "that" worried about it, I would somehow get my snakes waste tested to see if there was even any salmonella present. They don't all carry it.

Cleanliness is very important. But it CAN be overdone and will cause your (and perhaps your pets) immune system to go haywire. Some people will use harsh products , and several all at once, continuously. It has proven to have the opposite effect of what one is trying to accomplish. Being healthy.

Again, not saying one shouldn't use proper hygiene. But there is no reason to be paranoid and sanitize "to the bone".

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

I am not careful around the snakes but around raw chicken... If he did and you didn't where did he eat besides home. And speaking from someone who has had Salmonella, it is the most sick I have ever been a bit of upset and feeling ill isn't likely to be salmonella poisoning in the first place.

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Sorry to bump a really old thread but I didn't see this before.

He didn't eat chicken or anything that week. I originally stated that I think he got it from contaminated lettuce and not from our snake and I still stand by that. It was salmonella because he got tested at the hospital.

BTW...E. Coli is the worst I ever ever been sick in my life as well!

Food poisoning is effing scary!

Yes, food poisoning is terrible! I had it a few months ago and never once thought it was from the snakes (bad chicken instead). We got our first snake when our youngest son was only 6 months old, so we were extra careful with the handling and hand washing (and still are!). There's always a chance of getting it because ball pythons are egg laying animals, but I'd worry more about getting bad food somewhere. Just keep hand washing and using sanitizer and you'll be fine.

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Originally Posted by angllady2

I handle my babies regularly, give most of them kisses and nibbles when I hold them.

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^ This? adorable. :blowkiss:

Heehee. ^.^

So your got the idea wash your hands before and after, one thing about salmonella is that its in allll egg laying creatures not just snakes, soo uncooked meat or even unpasterized milk, now the symptoms are heavy and strong nuesea, abdominal pain, migranes and vomit its something u gotta go to the hospital for but if you do catch salmonella the up side is that you get cured in about 2 weeks and lastly you catch salmonella from the vent of your snake, soo if its on ur clothes its no big deal, its nott contageous and u don't catch it by rubbing it on your skin, its by you swallowing it and taking it down to the tummy, I did I project on this ^.^

Edit: Old post...

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Originally Posted by JayyPastel24

So your got the idea wash your hands before and after, one thing about salmonella is that its in allll egg laying creatures not just snakes, soo uncooked meat or even unpasterized milk, now the symptoms are heavy and strong nuesea, abdominal pain, migranes and vomit its something u gotta go to the hospital for but if you do catch salmonella the up side is that you get cured in about 2 weeks and lastly you catch salmonella from the vent of your snake, soo if its on ur clothes its no big deal, its nott contageous and u don't catch it by rubbing it on your skin, its by you swallowing it and taking it down to the tummy, I did I project on this ^.^

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I assume you're replying to me but you're post is very incoherent(no offense but it is) and I can barely even comprehend what you are trying to say.

no one and i mean no one ...well maybe howie mandell, washes his hands or sanitizes more then i do but if i was to get anything itd be most likely from take out foods. No matter how clean you keep the snake theres always a chance that they get dirty so you can get it from them but washing before and after handling then it shouldnt be a problem Again, cook at home and practice safe food handling more often and youll see less health problems.

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Originally Posted by deathadder1069

no one and i mean no one ...well maybe howie mandell, washes his hands or sanitizes more then i do but if i was to get anything itd be most likely from take out foods. No matter how clean you keep the snake theres always a chance that they get dirty so you can get it from them but washing before and after handling then it shouldnt be a problem Again, cook at home and practice safe food handling more often and youll see less health problems.

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I even stated in the first post that I didn't think he got it from our BP. The only reason I started this thread is because I wanted to make sure.

And no he didn't get it from improperly handling meat and not cleaning either.

He didn't get it from a restaurant and he didn't get it from meat....it was from contaminated lettuce that he ate in a salad on his lunch break at work!

YES even "produce" can get contaminated with foodbourne illnesses!(BEFORE people even buy it) That is how he got it!!!

yes even germany had problems here lately with contaminated veggies...e coli to be exact but its bad when you can get sick from foods that are natural...all comes down to handling of the food...sometimes i wish lettuce was a canned item but alas its the only produce that cant be processed in such a way hehehe

I used to be a manager at a large chicken restaurant chain. Since chicken is such a high risk of salmonella, we got a lot of training on it.

Salmonella is one of the three pathogenic bacteria most often associated with sickness in humans. The other two are Ecoli, and Staphalococous(sp?). Salmonella is generally transmitted to humans by contact or consumption with infected animals. All egg laying animals are potential carriers of the salmonella bacteria. Since it is a bacteria, it needs food, warmth, and time to grow. At -18 deg C, they do not multiply, at 0 to 5 deg C, they multiply extremely slowly, which is why food outlets keep their deep freezers at -18 deg C, and they're cold rooms at 0 to 5 degrees C. The optimal temperature for bacteria is 37 Deg C, at this temperature they can multiply 4 times in 5 minutes!! However, they are also sensitive to high temperature and at 85 Deg C plus, they struggle to multiply, this is the reason that restaurants like KFC, who keep pre cooked chicken, keep them in warmers that run at +85 to +90 Deg C.

To avoid possible contamination with salmonella, you need do nothing more than adhere to some simple hygiene practices. Never handle food after handling a reptile, until you have washed your hands with ANTI BACTERIAL soap, or used a gel type anti bacterial sanitizer. Normal soaps are not anti bacterial, and as such, will have no affect on the pathogens. This is why restaurants have different chopping boards for different items. You can't chop chicken on a board, then make a salad on it. Salads don't get cooked, and so the bacteria from the raw chicken will then infest the salad!! The same applies at home, and with our reptiles.

As a side note, food poisoning will generally occur within 6 hours after eating infected food. What this means is, if you eat a restaurant, and are sick within 6 hours after this, assuming you have not eaten anything else, it's a good chance they are to blame. Same goes if you eat any food. If however, you are sick after the 6 hour period, then the chances are it was not what ever you ate!

The problems in Germany were due to sprouts.

A lot of the problems with produce being contaminated is because everyone wants all
natural and "organic".

Well, that produce was being fertilized the organic way, with animal waste. In this case, contaminated animal waste.

Unfortunately, just washing the produce really well does not get rid of the E.Coli bacteria. Its inside of the plant by then.