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.