Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a quick question about snake cleansing.

With the recent recall of mice_direct feeders, I have been wondering if there is a specific type of cleanser i can use on the snake itself to wash off any lingering germs from the rats.

I have not tried any yet because i do not want to cause my boas to become sick or even die from ingesting any type of topical soap.

Is there any kind of soap i can use on my snakes to make sure any germs from their food can be cleaned off? I always wash my hands when i am done handling the snakes or their food, but i also put my snakes in my lap, or on my blankets and i do not want to spread any thing harmful.

On hand i have chlorhexadine, hand soap and dish soap. I see that the Chlorhex is for use as a topical substance for horses and dogs, but i just wanted to double check with the reptile experts here.

I am also going to clean out their tanks as well with the diluted chlorhex to make sure.

Thank you,
Sarah

I would just say to keep the enclosure clean. i don't think you need to worry about cleaning the boa itself, other than to let it soak in water every once in a while - maybe once a week or so. boas don't really lick themselves much so I can't think that they would ingest much from their skin. personally I would just focus on keeping the enclosure clean and change the water daily.

I had not heard anything about a recall on rats - can you tell me more about this?

thanks.

Yeah i figured eventually they will shed that skin off anyway! I was more worried about putting them in a bathtub with soap and have them accidentally drink it or something.

The recall was from Mice Direct and it was from their recent sales in the past few months. Apparently they do tests on their products to determine whether they are carrying salmonella... and a recent test came up positive i guess.

It was on the front page of kingsnake.com recently but it has since been moved or removed. It also is on the front page of Mice Direct in a link..

https://micedirect.com/2010recall/index.htm

But they have been very good about it and responded to my emails very quickly. They are replacing all of my rats and mice.

I have heard conflicting stories from alternate sources.. some say its not harmful to the reptiles.. just to people who dont wash their hands..
Some say not to feed it to the reptiles because it can hurt them.

Just for good measure im not going to feed them to my snakes.. although I have fed them for the past two weeks and they seem fine. I bought them at the atl repticon just a short while ago so im not too deep into the bags.