"Salmonella" question!

[Superpop]

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???

[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

[Kymberli]

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

[Superpop]

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

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.

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

[Homegrownscales]

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!

[Generationshell]

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.

[angllady2]

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 ?

Gale

[kitedemon]

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.

[purplemuffin]

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! 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..

[zina10]

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".