Sanitary Issues?

[Mike41793]

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.)

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

[drezden]

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.

[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. 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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*Factoid: "There are no such things as Hogg Island or Columbian boas"

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

I have been known to drink straight from the garden hose. 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.

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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*Factoid: "There are no such things as Hogg Island or Columbian boas"

[drezden]

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

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.

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

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.

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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*Factoid: "There are no such things as Hogg Island or Columbian boas"

[Jazi]

I have been known to drink straight from the garden hose. 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'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 )... 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.

[Mike41793]

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 )... 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.

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.

[Annarose15]

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.

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?

[Annarose15]

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.

Precisely.