Sanitary Issues?

Even if your BP hasn't crawled through its own poop, it could still have dead rodent germs from constricting its last meal, or have crawled through a little bit of urine.. etc.

I guess what I'm getting at is.. do I need to be paranoid when I let my BP crawl on my bed blanket and kitchen table.. or are those type of germs the kind that die quickly?

My rule is not letting my snake or anything my snake touches (water bowl, etc) near where I eat. Therefore, I wouldn't let your snake on the kitchen table. I clean bowls and hides in the bathroom sink rather than the kitchen sink and I just keep a bottle of a bleach solution under the counter to give the sink a spritz when I'm done.

Salmonella is carried in the feces of reptiles, so the cleaner you keep the tank after they relieve themselves, the lower the risk. Just wash your hands after you touch your snake and keep its home clean and you don't have much to worry about. Snakes are pretty clean animals actually. But because the risk is there, however small, keeping the snakes out of the kitchen is a good rule for us all. :)

That is pretty good advise. I am not very paranoid about the snake carrying bacteria on the scales and skin. Typically they do not make good places for bacteria to live in the massive numbers that effect humans. Simple hand washing before and after is usually all it takes and as Emily pointed out a heathy clean habitat for the snake will go a long way to keep everybody healthy. If you are concerned mostly with Salmonella vinegar is effective against it too and a lot less hazardous than bleach can be. There are also a number of chemical disinfectants that are also very good at killing off harmful bacteria that are more reptile friendly than bleach is as well. (chlorhexidine, F10 are my favs.)

There was a poll about people getting salmonella on here awhile back, and I remember one extreme (to me anyhow) comment, where the person actually changed their clothes after handling the snake before going to bed. I think I am in the middle of the road with caution. I also wash out bowls in the bathroom sink, they do not go near the kitchen. Then when I am done, I clorox the bathroom sink down. We wash our hands after we hold them. But they crawl all over us and the floor and couch. My snakes are also kept very clean, so I don't worry as much, since I know they haven't been lounging in poop.

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Originally Posted by Emily Hubbard

My rule is not letting my snake or anything my snake touches (water bowl, etc) near where I eat. Therefore, I wouldn't let your snake on the kitchen table. I clean bowls and hides in the bathroom sink rather than the kitchen sink and I just keep a bottle of a bleach solution under the counter to give the sink a spritz when I'm done.

Salmonella is carried in the feces of reptiles, so the cleaner you keep the tank after they relieve themselves, the lower the risk. Just wash your hands after you touch your snake and keep its home clean and you don't have much to worry about. Snakes are pretty clean animals actually. But because the risk is there, however small, keeping the snakes out of the kitchen is a good rule for us all. :)

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This is really a good general rule for all pets. I don't let my cat or dog hang out on the kitchen counter, either, and I wash my hands after playing with them.

Wow, I just learned that I'm a lot less careful about snake germs than some of you. I do wash my hands before and after handling, but I do my husbandry cleaning in my kitchen sink, and always have.

As far as where my snakes can crawl, I have a personal rule about not letting them crawl on anything that I'm not willing to have them poop on...a hard learned lesson. If I'm going to let them crawl on the bed or on the floor, I put a towel down first. Then the towel goes in the wash.

I guess after spending so much time in Afghanistan living in an upholstered toilet, I don't worry as much about germs as I used to...

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Originally Posted by DrDooLittle

There was a poll about people getting salmonella on here awhile back,

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Do you remember roughly how many people had gotten salmonella poisoning from their snakes on this website?

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Originally Posted by drezden

Do you remember roughly how many people had gotten salmonella poisoning from their snakes on this website?

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0. You have like a 10x better chance of getting it from poorly prepared and cooked chicken

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Originally Posted by Slim

Wow, I just learned that I'm a lot less careful about snake germs than some of you. I do wash my hands before and after handling, but I do my husbandry cleaning in my kitchen sink, and always have.

I guess after spending so much time in Afghanistan living in an upholstered toilet, I don't worry as much about germs as I used to...

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I have been known to drink straight from the garden hose. :O I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. There have actually been studies showing that children raised in homes with pets have fewer allergies as they grow up - I take the same approach with most germs.

I believe the quoted chance of a CBB herp having salmonella is 1% and that is mostly turtles...? That being said, we have designated areas where reptiles can be - their enclosure, the table assigned to their stuff and the human handling them. We wash after handling any reptile. Herp food/gutload stored in human fridge/freezer are double bagged- outside clean hands, inside herp'ed hands. Since my geckos are fond of playing Climb the Girl, I often end up changing clothes and or taking a shower if they are especially troublesome.

Now part of this is because I have a poor immune system and don't want to take any chances that my reptiles have anything... however, up against a wall if you were to put into law "You can keep it if you lick it" reptile ban, I believe I'd be just fine. In the meantime, not worth the risk for just a little bit of vigilance.

(Of course I don't condone licking reptiles, but it makes my point.)

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Originally Posted by sleepygeckos

I believe the quoted chance of a CBB herp having salmonella is 1% and that is mostly turtles...? That being said, we have designated areas where reptiles can be - their enclosure, the table assigned to their stuff and the human handling them. We wash after handling any reptile. Herp food/gutload stored in human fridge/freezer are double bagged- outside clean hands, inside herp'ed hands. Since my geckos are fond of playing Climb the Girl, I often end up changing clothes and or taking a shower if they are especially troublesome.

Now part of this is because I have a poor immune system and don't want to take any chances that my reptiles have anything... however, up against a wall if you were to put into law "You can keep it if you lick it" reptile ban, I believe I'd be just fine. In the meantime, not worth the risk for just a little bit of vigilance.

(Of course I don't condone licking reptiles, but it makes my point.)

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Lol. Too bad they didnt have that rule for everything thing :D

How do you guys clean your BP when they have urinated and were sitting on soaked substrate? The 2 times I bathed mine he put his head all the way under the water, so I'm afraid to use the ol drop of dawn soap in the water.

They really don't need to be bathed at all. As long as you wash your hands after handling them you would be fine. You're more likely to catch salmonella from the food you eat than from your snake. Don't suck on your fingers after handling it.

My son has been around reptiles since he was born over 7 years ago. Aquatic turtles included, and we have never had an issue. I'm much more concerned when I handle raw meat and vegetables.


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Originally Posted by Annarose15

I have been known to drink straight from the garden hose. :O I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. There have actually been studies showing that children raised in homes with pets have fewer allergies as they grow up - I take the same approach with most germs.

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You ate absolutely right. All the disinfectants we use these days are what make us and our children weak. I'm a clean person but I don't go around with the Lysol spray and disinfectant wipes constantly disinfecting every surface. The only areas I ever disinfect are my sinks, tub, and counter tops. Well, aside from when I wash snake tubs and enclosures. Even then I don't use bleach. I have a septic field and I don't ever want to have my yard dug up to have it pumped so I don't put bleach down my drains. I use either pine sol or a less harsh disinfectant for those uses. Just your basic anti bacterial cleaners work just as well. No one in my house has ever had a bacterial infection aside from seasonal sinus infections.


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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

They really don't need to be bathed at all. As long as you wash your hands after handling them you would be fine.

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Even if I was my hands after handling him, dried urine residue will be on my clothes, carpet, couch. I suppose the germs in their urine die pretty quickly once they are out in the open for a little while.. but still.

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Originally Posted by drezden

Even if I was my hands after handling him, dried urine residue will be on my clothes, carpet, couch. I suppose the germs in their urine die pretty quickly once they are out in the open for a little while.. but still.

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In all honesty, if you're that worried about it, reptiles may not be for you.

The constant bathing of your animals you'd be doing to put your mind at ease is not beneficial for them. In fact, I'd be more worried about my animals getting an RI from all that eventually.


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Originally Posted by Annarose15

I have been known to drink straight from the garden hose. :O I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. There have actually been studies showing that children raised in homes with pets have fewer allergies as they grow up - I take the same approach with most germs.

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I'm not sure how sold I am on those studies... we had no fewer than 2 dogs and 2 cats in my house at the same time while I was growing up, plus wildlife rescues when stray animals/cars/kids got to them, plus no fewer than 2 rodents at a time once I hit my double digits, plus my biracial background giving me access to wider varieties of ethnic food, plus my grandparents live even deeper in Amishville than I do, and my grandfather was a carpenter, and I was over there a LOT... and I still have a ton of environmental and food allergies.

Dogs, cats, dust, mold, mildew, pollen, hay, apparently nearly every stinking type of moss and unfinished wood (made THAT discovery with Quetzal when hives appeared :rolleyes: )... and that's JUST the environmental ones. Food's even worse. I have heart problems, a resulting shot immune system, and a weak digestive system. Despite all that I've been exposed to as a kid, which is frankly a lot more than most kids nowadays, these are things that have been present since birth. And considering my family never raised me to wash my hands after touching the animals (barring the wild ones), the only times I've ever caught anything from an animal were a couple infections from the hunting dogs. I think people think of these diseases that could occur and don't consider the likelihood of them ever catching hold. :P

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Originally Posted by Jazi

I'm not sure how sold I am on those studies... we had no fewer than 2 dogs and 2 cats in my house at the same time while I was growing up, plus wildlife rescues when stray animals/cars/kids got to them, plus no fewer than 2 rodents at a time once I hit my double digits, plus my biracial background giving me access to wider varieties of ethnic food, plus my grandparents live even deeper in Amishville than I do, and my grandfather was a carpenter, and I was over there a LOT... and I still have a ton of environmental and food allergies.

Dogs, cats, dust, mold, mildew, pollen, hay, apparently nearly every stinking type of moss and unfinished wood (made THAT discovery with Quetzal when hives appeared :rolleyes: )... and that's JUST the environmental ones. Food's even worse. I have heart problems, a resulting shot immune system, and a weak digestive system. Despite all that I've been exposed to as a kid, which is frankly a lot more than most kids nowadays, these are things that have been present since birth. And considering my family never raised me to wash my hands after touching the animals (barring the wild ones), the only times I've ever caught anything from an animal were a couple infections from the hunting dogs. I think people think of these diseases that could occur and don't consider the likelihood of them ever catching hold. :P

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Ok but your one person out of 300million in the US lol
I think she was speaking as more of a majority. It still is a fact for most people, you just happen to be an exception. Plus if you were born with anything then those are like pre-existing conditions.

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Originally Posted by drezden

Even if I was my hands after handling him, dried urine residue will be on my clothes, carpet, couch. I suppose the germs in their urine die pretty quickly once they are out in the open for a little while.. but still.

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1) Urine is sterile.
2) Make sure your substrate is thick enough and check his enclosure often enough so that he doesn't sit in his own excrement.
3) If he's especially icky, just wipe him down with a damp paper towel before letting him on any surfaces.
4) Much of the dust in your home is dead human cells that you shed on a daily basis. Who is ickier? ;)

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Ok but your one person out of 300million in the US lol
I think she was speaking as more of a majority. It still is a fact for most people, you just happen to be an exception. Plus if you were born with anything then those are like pre-existing conditions.

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Precisely.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Ok but your one person out of 300million in the US lol
I think she was speaking as more of a majority. It still is a fact for most people, you just happen to be an exception. Plus if you were born with anything then those are like pre-existing conditions.

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I know, I'm just not sold on the thing as a whole as I know of others who are in the same boat :P Some allergies have been largely proven to be genetic, some are yet unexplained. Studies have also shown that many people will be able to eat something their entire lives and then suddenly they develop a harsh allergy to gluten, or soy, or corn and must give up what was once their favorite food. Allergies are weird and I'm not convinced it's entirely the fault of under-exposure.

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Originally Posted by Jazi

I know, I'm just not sold on the thing as a whole as I know of others who are in the same boat :P Some allergies have been largely proven to be genetic, some are yet unexplained. Studies have also shown that many people will be able to eat something their entire lives and then suddenly they develop a harsh allergy to gluten, or soy, or corn and must give up what was once their favorite food. Allergies are weird and I'm not convinced it's entirely the fault of under-exposure.

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Definitely not entirely. I agree with you there, but it is a factor. And to your example - food allergies are a completely different beast than external allergies like pollen/pet dander and immune system threats like bacterial/viral susceptibilities.

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Originally Posted by drezden

How do you guys clean your BP when they have urinated and were sitting on soaked substrate?

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I keep a pack of unscented baby wipes on the top of my rack. When needed, I pull one out and wipe the snake down with it.

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Originally Posted by Slim

As far as where my snakes can crawl, I have a personal rule about not letting them crawl on anything that I'm not willing to have them poop on...a hard learned lesson.

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This is by far the most compelling argument in this thread. I can't believe how many times I rolled the dice and could have had a snake poo on my bare chest... :rofl:


You don't need to be concerned about catching things from your snake. It's cleaner than you are (germ-wise). I would not advise licking the snake. It will not make you trip out and it will not enjoy the affection. I would use sanitizer before and after handling. Before handling would be for the safety of the snake since it can't ask YOU to take a bath before touching it :)


I would mostly advise you to do some research on germs and how they are transmitted. If your question is "is my snake icky" then get another pet. If your question is about being sanitary, your snake poses no higher risk than any of the other perils in your home.

For me I don't worry that much. I keep the enclosure clean and when a snake is smelly I use baby wipes too just hold it and run it head to tail. done. I don't use the kitchen sink for the snake stuff often as it isn't as convenient but to be honest I worry way more about cooking chicken and washing utensils than the snakes or bearded dragon.

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

In all honesty, if you're that worried about it, reptiles may not be for you.

The constant bathing of your animals you'd be doing to put your mind at ease is not beneficial for them. In fact, I'd be more worried about my animals getting an RI from all that eventually.

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In all honestly I've quickly dipped him in a bath twice in the few months I've had him, and didn't intend to do it again, hence me asking about alternatives.

In all honesty I was not overly worried about reptile germs until I came to this website and read about people showering, changing clothes, and sanitizing all surfaces the snake came into contact with.

In all honesty I am not that worried about it so I'll continue keeping reptiles.

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Originally Posted by Annarose15

1) Urine is sterile.
2) Make sure your substrate is thick enough and check his enclosure often enough so that he doesn't sit in his own excrement.
3) If he's especially icky, just wipe him down with a damp paper towel before letting him on any surfaces.
4) Much of the dust in your home is dead human cells that you shed on a daily basis. Who is ickier? ;)

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Thank you, that was the info i was after.

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Originally Posted by MrLang

This is by far the most compelling argument in this thread. I can't believe how many times I rolled the dice and could have had a snake poo on my bare chest... :rofl:


You don't need to be concerned about catching things from your snake. It's cleaner than you are (germ-wise). I would not advise licking the snake. It will not make you trip out and it will not enjoy the affection. I would use sanitizer before and after handling. Before handling would be for the safety of the snake since it can't ask YOU to take a bath before touching it :)


I would mostly advise you to do some research on germs and how they are transmitted. If your question is "is my snake icky" then get another pet. If your question is about being sanitary, your snake poses no higher risk than any of the other perils in your home.

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I really feel like I've been thrown a curve ball and somehow managed to offend some of you people. I don't view my snake as something gross, but when I noticed that day that he urinated an extraordinary amount and was sitting on top of it I posted to get advice on what you people do (obviously I'm receptive and wanting to do it in the way that doesn't cause harm or stress to my snake, and to find out if it was even necessary at all.)

I've been washing my hands before and after handling since day one (the only good advice I got from the people at the pet store)

Thank you for your input

I simply give my snakes a little bath in soapy water in the bathroom sink (baby shampoo) and rinse well before handling :) :snake:

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Originally Posted by AZ_Equine

I simply give my snakes a little bath in soapy water in the bathroom sink (baby shampoo) and rinse well before handling :) :snake:

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Hmm. Do you do that every time you handle? Is the baby shampoo safe?

(Sent from my Android using Tapatalk)

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Originally Posted by drezden

Do you remember roughly how many people had gotten salmonella poisoning from their snakes on this website?

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Hardly anyone, even the ones that said they weren't as cautious as they should be.

I'm not offended; it's all good dude. Maybe I write like a jerk...

I definitely write like a jerk.

My bad.

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Originally Posted by Slim

I keep a pack of unscented baby wipes on the top of my rack. When needed, I pull one out and wipe the snake down with it.

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This is exactly what I do. Mine like to sleep on their urates after, so they are often coated in urates powder. So i wipe them down.

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Originally Posted by rebelrachel13

Hmm. Do you do that every time you handle? Is the baby shampoo safe?

(Sent from my Android using Tapatalk)

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This is another thing I do when the baby wipes are not enough - two drops in a gallon of water. just enough. Perfectly safe - but definitely not something to do every time you handle. That would be absurd, and it strips away the natural oils they have that they need to shed properly.

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Originally Posted by drezden

In all honestly I've quickly dipped him in a bath twice in the few months I've had him, and didn't intend to do it again, hence me asking about alternatives.

In all honesty I was not overly worried about reptile germs until I came to this website and read about people showering, changing clothes, and sanitizing all surfaces the snake came into contact with.

In all honesty I am not that worried about it so I'll continue keeping reptiles.

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This post sounds a bit more condescending than mine did. You kept asking and it did seem like you were more concerned about it than most.

But anyway, I believe the clothes changing and showering is mostly after visiting a show, expo, shop, etc. This is to prevent passing mites & sickness on to your reptiles more than it is to prevent yourself from becoming sick.

Since you have so politely explained that you don't bathe your snakes after each handling, it does not seem as excessive now.

Just pick up a pack of gentile baby wipes.


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Snakes, Jeeps, Dragons, Nature, & Knives.. Makes my world go-round!

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

This post sounds a bit more condescending than mine did. You kept asking and it did seem like you were more concerned about it than most.

But anyway, I believe the clothes changing and showering is mostly after visiting a show, expo, shop, etc. This is to prevent passing mites & sickness on to your reptiles more than it is to prevent yourself from becoming sick.

Since you have so politely explained that you don't bathe your snakes after each handling, it does not seem as excessive now.

Just pick up a pack of gentile baby wipes.

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Well condescending is condescending, I apologize that I was rude, I was offended at the time I read your post. If you read the posts I've made in this thread, beginning with my original post.. you'd find that I was asking if I needed to be concerned, I'm not sure how you came to your conclusions, particularly in regards to bathing when I mentioned I had only done it twice before you posted your first reply on this thread.

Anyway that's not important now I have the answers I need, I will pick up the appropriate baby wipes, thank you.

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Originally Posted by MrLang

I'm not offended; it's all good dude. Maybe I write like a jerk...

I definitely write like a jerk.

My bad.

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No, I didn't mean to say that you particularly were, I am genuinely grateful for your advice.

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Originally Posted by Annarose15

4) Much of the dust in your home is dead human cells that you shed on a daily basis. Who is ickier? ;)

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The typical mattress will gain up to 20 pounds in the course of 10 years of use.

Also, I don't believe snakes have oil glands, and the fluid they secrete when shedding is between the old skin and the new one, not on top of the old skin, so baby shampoo should not affect it.

I'm not saying that soaping up a snake is good for it, I just wonder whether it's actually ever been tested by anyone to prove BAD for it. It may just be an assumption that it isn't a good idea. A snake's skin seems pretty impermeable to me...moreso than ours, wouldn't you say?

If you actually take good care of your snakes, they are really clean animals. you hav 10x the chance of getting something from people or dogs or cats.