Well, you asked Deano!



Most bacteria, including Salmonella species, arent too affected by freezing conditions. It only has a bacteriostatic effect, so only stops bacterial growth while its in effect, so the little bastards start multiplying as soon as a thaw occurs. But then again the salmonella species and strains found in poultry wont necessarily affect a snake like it would a person, and vice versa. And even if it doesnt affect the snake outwardly, some strains that are known human pathogens could very well make snakes become temporary or chronic carriers and then possibly contaminate family members of the hobbyist involved. Of course all this is very theoretical, and cases of snake related Salmonella infections remain quite anecdotal, if you compare with cases related to iguanas and red eared sliders.



But as a hobbyist that keeps those big messy guys and that has had one of his daughters wind up in intensive care with a bad Salmonella infection in the past, Im more carefull with what I feed my snakes nowadays. No, the strain that infected my kid wasnt a match for what popped up in my collection, but its interesting to note the only positive culture for a Salmonella out of my collection came from one of my Drys. Even the box turtles were negative. It must be noted here that that strain cultured from the indigo was new to the national health authorities, so most probably a species/strain specific to Drymarchon couperi, and not a known human pathogen.



If ever someone else gets one of their Drys cultured, it would be interesting to know if it was the same strain, so please feel free to post about this matter if it concerns you.



Thanks,



DR.Phil

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