Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was cleaning my IJ carpet python's cage today and had the most intense allergic reaction I have ever had (sneezing, swollen, red eyes and face and generalized itching). The cage is decorated with standard grapewood, plastic plants, stone and half log hides with brown painters paper as a substrate. I was cleaning with virosan-- which I have used for a couple of years. Can one develop allergies to snakes? (I had always thought not) Or was it just coincidental that I was cleaning when a reaction to something else happened?

>>I was cleaning my IJ carpet python's cage today and had the most intense allergic reaction I have ever had (sneezing, swollen, red eyes and face and generalized itching). The cage is decorated with standard grapewood, plastic plants, stone and half log hides with brown painters paper as a substrate. I was cleaning with virosan-- which I have used for a couple of years. Can one develop allergies to snakes? (I had always thought not) Or was it just coincidental that I was cleaning when a reaction to something else happened?

Yikes! I would tend to blame the virosan or something else first. Though I am allergic to iguana's. That manifested itself in severe conjunctivitis when the ig was housed in my bedroom. Once I moved it a room away I was fine again. So my reaction is not as intense as yours.
Is it possible the cage was mildewy? I react more severely to molds or mildews. I would also be suspicious of substrate were it anything but the paper you use. I am intensely allergic to cypress mulch and react like that. Or, what else is even near the cage?
Guess the obvious thing to do is handle the snake in a couple days and see what happens.
Hope it isn't the animal!
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Sonya

Sometimes I get allergic reations when I am cleaning the enclosures, I don't know why, but it's not because of the snakes because I handle them and don't sneeze when I am doing that.