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

[MelissaFlipski]

OK, the pet store told us to wash our hands after handling the snake and not to kiss the him (risk of Salmonella). We held out for 2 weeks. Now, we kiss him quite often. (I think the hand washing has gotten lax, too.)

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."

Mostly my 3 yr old and I have kissed him. My 6 yr old did it a few times. My husband has not gone on record as having done so (yet).

[JLC]

I think folks would be less inclined to kiss 'em....and more strict about washing up after handling them....if everyone could visit a large breeder's facility and take a look at the albinos and other light-colored morphs....and see some smears and smudges that you don't usually notice on the normal colored snakes. They crawl through their own wastes....and even if you keep the enclosure clean...it's not like they get to go wash their hands after each time they go to the bathroom.


So....nope....no kissing my snakes for me or my kids. I love my BP to pieces and enjoy "cuddling" with her...but I keep my mouth away from her body and wash up afterwards.

[rob0781]

My roomate always kisses his ball python and never washes his hands after handling it..He hasn't got sick yet,but i still don't think its a very good idea.

[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?

i would stop the kissing, and DEFIANTLY start proper hand-washing. you need to be a role model for the kids. if you don't wash your hands they aren't gonna do it, and thats when people get sick.

[SarahMB]

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."

I really hope you are joking about that.

No, we don't kiss our snakes and we wash up after any handling.

[bhmorrill]

More than likely you are going to be OK, but I wouldn't do it just by the small chance that you do get sick. Salmonellosis SUCKS!!! Not a good sickness to have, and children and Sr. citizens are at a MUCH higher risk of getting it than a healthy young adult. I have a little girl coming in Nov, and I know that I am not going to let her touch snake stuff much at all (meaning not even the carpet in the snake room), and the few times I do I am going to wash her down real quick. Just check out the below link on salmonellosis and then see if you think it is still worth the risk.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salmonellosis

[MelissaFlipski]

Um... my bad. :eek:

[Sunny1]

We don't kiss our snakes here either. My kids get to handle the snakes under my supervision, and it has become such a practice that now I don't even have to remind them to wash their hands afterwards. Do we kiss any of the animals? I have trained one of my cockatiels to give me a "kiss" when I make kissy sounds and I have caught my kids kissing the dogs or the cats on occasion, but would I really allow them to.... no. The cats are in and out of the litter box, the dogs are rolling in the dirt, and though my BP is kept in sanitary conditions with regular cage cleanings and spot cleanings in between, I think that the risk of the kids getting salmonella (sp?) are just too great for me to allow them to kiss her.

[frankykeno]

Blech sorry I had a younger sister that got worms from allowing our dog to lick around her mouth. That put me off ever allowing that with my own kids. We have a strict house policy....

"if it can lick it's own bum (or mess about in it's own poop)....it does not get kissed by us or is allowed to kiss us"

We also have gel hand sanitizer in the house which we use due to having snakes in quarantine. For regular handling of the rest of the snakes, good handwashing with soap and water does the job (except for kids from outside the house or snake shows at school...then everyone sanitizes before AND after touching any of our snakes).

[Stewart_Reptiles]

No snake kissing here, no dog kissing either, no animal kissing period!

"if it can lick it's own bum (or mess about in it's own poop)....it does not get kissed by us or is allowed to kiss us"

My thought exactly any animal that can sniff and/or lick it's own butt or that can sniff and/or eat their own waste or those of others, get no kiss from me