Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Specifically Ball Pythons. I apologize if this is a question often asked on this forum, but I checked and didn't see it in any subject lines on the front page.

I know ball pythons are prone to respiratory illnesses if temperature falls too low, but I keep my snake's tank heated close to perfectly. Anyhow, I've digressed from my question.

First, my ball python isn't sick or exhibiting any signs of being sick whatsoever, but I am! I'm fairly up to date on knowledge on my snake, but I haven't actually been sick in the year or so I've had him, so this isn't a subject that came up.

Not wanting to take any chances, I'm wondering if any human flus or illnesses are transferable to herps. I tried searching on the internet, but there doesn't appear to be any easily found information on the subject.

You don't have anything to worry about. A URI in a snake is completely different than a cold in a human. Snakes get it from poor husbandry, humans get them when a germ invades their body, neither can catch one from the other. In other words your snake won't make you sick, you won't make the snake sick. I reccomend sanatizing your hand before and after handling your snakes, but wait till the sanatizer is on your hands for a couple of minutes before handling the snake so you don't transfer the sanatizer to your snake's skin. -Joe D.

Thanks very much for the speedy response!

I suppose it was an amateurish question but again, I just wanted to be on the safe side. So much happier now that I know I can handle my python.

I guess that's a sickness???

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Jeremy Conrad
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...Can't...stop...must...get...more...balls...

For what it's worth, salmonella bacteria from various reptiles have made people sick. So there is a chance that something people have could get transferred to a snake and make them sick. However, people are more interested in what they can get from other creatures than in what they can give other creatures. So while a human pathogen might be able to make a snake sick, I'm not aware of any documented cases. I also think that most human pathogens would not affect snakes. It's just that "most" is not the same as "all". Hope this helps.

Paul Hollander