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

[CamStatic]

I just recently had salmonella.. 11 days with pure hell on Earth.

I've been kissing my reptiles for a year or more now, but it was mom's chicken that made the whole bunch of us that sick 2 weeks ago.

Ironic, yeah?

But I do think twice every time I feel the urge to give my animals a little kiss from now on..

[kittyrodriguez]

I'll admit I kiss my snakes <---- (Sheepish) I do not let the kids though. Funny thing, I'm still pretty OCD about the hand washing/sanitizing.

[SecurityStacey]

Now and then.....

[joephobia]

Just curious...Alot of you go on about the snake going through it's own feces and so on but I was wondering, of that, how many of you own a toothbrush and how many keep it in the bathroom. A study was made that proved no matter where you keep your toothbrush and no matter how clean you are there is still a 99% chance that you will have fecal matter on your toothbrush. Everybody on this thread is so concerned over the fact of kissing a snake because of this and that, but neglect the fact that when you flush the toilet small fecal matter filled particles fly throughout the bathroom which means that they could potentially end up in your mouth.
Oh yeah, and I do kiss my snakes, cats, dogs, etc. To live in fear of the things that have been around us for our entire lives is absolutely ridiculous. Might as well wrap yourselves in saran wrap or hide in a bubble. I know some people are going to say that they are safe whenever possible and why expose ourselves to more things than we need to. If it makes you happy...do it. If it doesn't, don't. To use germs etc. as an excuse you should probably call Howie Mandel and ask him some tips. Just my 2 cents.

[MelissaFlipski]

Glad to see my baby (this thread) is still alive and kicking! A few new thoughts...

We got a Senegal Parrot and I kiss her all the time. However, after petting her, then eating and using a finger to get stuck bread out of my cheek, I got an infection! Thank goodness I made the connection and treatment with Listerine 2x or 3x a day for 3 days cured it. I'm embarrassed about this story, but I tell it b/c it is enlightening. However, I still kiss her, just not open lipped!

Also, have you heard about the down side of hand sanitizers? If ingested by children (b/c it often smells so good) causes alcohol poisoning (http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/sanitizer.asp). Antibacterial soaps are a problem in that they enter the watershed and are harmful to the environment (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0516100942.htm).

Have you hugged your tree today?

[PythonWallace]

We can't just let this thread drift? It only took a couple of posts to come to the conclusion that kissing snakes, or any animal, isn't a smart thing to do, and the reasons why it isn't. There are still people who like to kiss snakes, and won't be convinced. If open lip kissing birds and petting animals and picking your cheek, causing nasty infections won't thwart your physical affections, I guess nothing will. Let's move on. I also wash and sanitize my toothbrush regularly with chlorahexadine solution and peroxide.

[jorgasm]

I kissed mine the first time we met. And it licked my bottom lip. My ball is a sweetheart. I'm SO relieved I found it.

[Muze]

Lol...I don't kiss my BPs or Beardies. I do kiss my dogs, though. I am pretty good about washing my hands after handling reptiles (or birds. Used to work at a wildlife center. It's interesting what birds of prey carry around in their talons), but I had Salmonella poisoning once...from eating chicken at a Thai restaurant.

Honestly, your probably in the most trouble by handling/kissing amphibians. Turtles, frogs, etc., are the more common carriers of Salmonella.

[dadspets]

Ye, I kiss all my snakes and my beardie's. My wife say's I'm disgusting.

[Pandora]

"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"

I think that's ridiculous.
If you're following that statement, the snake should be the one animal you aren't worried about kissing because snakes don't clean themselves and therefore have no reason to lick their own ass. Cats and dogs on the other hand do.
Lick your lips right now. You just got a bit of salmonella.
I've been kissing my cats and dogs for years and clearly nothing has gone wrong. There's more germs on your door handles and the toothbrushes you keep in your bathroom than there are on your pets. That's a fact.