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I haven't posted awhile and many know have parted ways with reptiles. Please post the risks, personal experiences, kids involved, and any other personal information pertaining to keeping/breeding reptiles. My wife and I are going through a divorce and she doesn't want me to keep snakes ever again. Though it wasn't a problem the first 3 years of my son's life, she now has a concern about him contracting salmonella and won't agree to ever let me keep snakes again. There is no mention of other animals (turtles, lizards, tarantulas, scorpions) posed as a risk. She has 2 dogs and I have 2 cats. I'm basically looking for insight and educational comments to use in a court of law, so please keep it professional.

I eventually hope to get back into it in a few years

thanks
mgl

That's awful, I am very sorry to hear about your situation.
I think the whole thing came to peoples attention due to instances of kids putting reptiles in their mouths, turtles for sure which should make anyone sick. The hand gels and practice of washing hands after handling reptiles is certainly beneficial, but for many keepers I know including myself...we all get pooped on over and over again during routine maintenance. This is no fun but it is certainly not going to make you sick. If Salmonella was so common as far as association with snakes we'd hear about someone we know getting sick constantly. I can not recall anyone I know getting salmonella, yet I have spoken with snake keepers almost every day for years on end now.
One breeder told me you're more likely going to contract salmonella from food at your local fast food place. Another reminded me that as kids most of us hunted snakes and got crapped on regularly. How many of us went straight to the sink to wash up before dinner? Not many.....
I am unsure where to look but I bet if there are any statistics on the subject the number of cases reported in the past 10 years would have to be minimal?
With all the god awful press reptiles have seen in recent years....if salmonella was an issue the media would have went nuts for it and people would have been talking. It was not like that, you rarely hear of it, and people into reptiles still take precautions to keep things sanitary....especially around young kids

As if us snake guys aren't aware? Better safe than sorry is always the case with snakes and washing your hands but kids should wash their hands a lot anyway ya know? Good luck with everything, my bet is not one person responds with a story of someones child getting this from contact with snakes...I just never hear about it and I think MANY of us looked into this when we were expecting kids.
Tom Stevens
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TomsSnakes.com

I agree with everything Tom just said.

In my own experience:

I was very sick as a child and seemed to come down with every cold and virus that came along. I eventually grew out of that, but not until my late 20s. I also got food poisoning a few times over the years (I think 3 times, if memory serves). However, I've been keeping snakes and other herps since I was 3 years old (my dad would catch them for me, not because he was a snake guy, but because I begged him to) and I have NEVER caught salmonella or any other bacteria, virus or infection from a snake, lizard, turtle, frog, etc. I didn't start washing my hands (after handling herps) until I was in middle school. I didn't start using anti-bacterial soap until two years ago. I currently keep 18 snakes and a tortoise and I have had snakes bite, crawl, puke, sneeze, crap and musk all over me over the years. No illness, ever. Also, I have seven younger brothers, every one of them has handled reptiles and amphibians and three of them (along with my mom) currently keep snakes and lizards. Again, no illness.

I agree that it is certainly possible to contract salmonella from a reptile and that the same precautions should be taken when handling raw meat. I also don't recommend letting dogs lick your face as they constantly lick e. coli bacteria from their rectums. Strangely, I never hear anyone warn of the danger of becoming infected after engaging in puppy kissing.

Simple, common sense hygiene is all that's required to keep your family disease free in relation to reptiles. I'd be more worried about your child catching something on the playground at school from another kid.

Maybe you should get a written statement from a doctor and maybe a veterinarian to help support your case. That would probably carry the most weight.

Good luck!
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Soap and water is the best protection known for preventing an infection and common sense like keeping the animal stuff away from the human stuff. We know that much.
But in the eyes of an attorney, this is all gibberish and lacks "an authoritative source".
Get the best data available directly from the CDC:
http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/dfbmd/disease_listing/salmonellosis_gi.html

There's also some data around for dog bite incidents if you want to play that game.
Best of luck, sorry for the aggravation.
Jeff

>>I haven't posted awhile and many know have parted ways with reptiles. Please post the risks, personal experiences, kids involved, and any other personal information pertaining to keeping/breeding reptiles. My wife and I are going through a divorce and she doesn't want me to keep snakes ever again. Though it wasn't a problem the first 3 years of my son's life, she now has a concern about him contracting salmonella and won't agree to ever let me keep snakes again. There is no mention of other animals (turtles, lizards, tarantulas, scorpions) posed as a risk. She has 2 dogs and I have 2 cats. I'm basically looking for insight and educational comments to use in a court of law, so please keep it professional.
>>
>>I eventually hope to get back into it in a few years
>>
>>thanks
>>mgl
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I hold it to be the inalienable right of anybody to go to hell in his own way. - Robert Frost, 1935

np

Look, its obviously your wife's problem, and she is looking for any way to get out of you keeping snakes. Today its salmonella, tomorrow its the next thing. KNOW YOUR ENEMY! If turtles are ok you can easily support the fact that transmission from turtles is about 100X that of snakes because water turtles are basically kept in their own toilet bowl...they are covered with whatever bacteria they have, and there is still little contamination. You can say dogs and cats carry fleas and their associated diseases, which are ALOT easier to transfer mammal to mammal.
If you raise your kids right they will be outside chasing bugs, swimming in mudpuddles, and doing all the wrong things hygenically anyways. They build up immunity! Unless your kids have immune deficiancy issues to begin with I suggest keeping snakes pose no more of a threat than a trip to McDonalds.
I would make the deal with the wife like this....no snakes, ok, that means the kids NEVER eat fast food! That means she will have to spend that much more time cooking/cleaning. She will be against it, and you have made your point. Any questions? DONT ASK THE CDC, ask how many kids catch it from the local petting zoo.....not worth worrying about.

Here is a good link that I have often used from the
Salmonella Bacteria and Reptiles

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Darwin Rocks!

Good article ... to the point and its seems very unbiased.

I thought the part was funny where it mentioned you shouldn't smoke while handling reptiles. Not for their sake .. but yours!
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Jon Wedow
Sharp Dressed Snakes