Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Howdy all. My husband and I are expecting our first mini-human to join our menagerie around Oct 16th. There are plenty of websites and resources that state pregnant women should avoid reptiles, but everything I can find centers around Salmonella issues.

I wash my hands thoroughly, I don't lick my pets, I very rarely get bitten. I wear a face mask and gloves when cleaning rodent bedding or spot cleaning reptile bedding.

Is there anything else you all, many of whom have thriving families, have done to mitigate worries about pregnancy reptiles?

How about pregnancy rodents?
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26 year old 0.1 from Lincoln, NE
Ball Pythons - 0.1 Pastel, 1.0 Pastel het Pied, 0.1 Pied, 0.1 Cinn, 1.0 Black Pewter, 1.0 Woma, 0.1 Yellowbelly, 2.1 Normals
Kingsnakes - 1.0 L. m. thayeri, 0.1 L. m. thayeri X L. alterna, 1.0 L. g. californiae
Other - 0.1 Whitesided P. catenifer sayi, 1.0 H. nascicus, ?.? Chrysemys picta, 1.0 husband

As long as you keep washing your hands or sanitizing them before holding the infant, etc etc...you should be fine.
I have heard rodent feces are not good for pregnant women though. Not sure why...so maybe it's his turn to take care of the rodents, or perhaps hire a neighborhood kid to clean them or something.

Congrats on being gravid.
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"What is man without the beasts?
If all the beasts were gone,
men would die from great loneliness of spirit.
For what happens to the beasts,
soon happens to men.
All things are connected."

-Chief Seattle (Duwamish Tribe)

www.youtube.com/reptilenexus

I've been using precautions with the rodents, and my doc wasn't worried as long as I keep things clean and my mouth covered. The biggest concern is coccidial infection. But as long as the feces isn't aerosolized, it shouldn't a risk. In theory. Still using the face mask, though.

Thanks!
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26 year old 0.1 from Lincoln, NE
Ball Pythons - 0.1 Pastel, 1.0 Pastel het Pied, 0.1 Pied, 0.1 Cinn, 1.0 Black Pewter, 1.0 Woma, 0.1 Yellowbelly, 2.1 Normals
Kingsnakes - 1.0 L. m. thayeri, 0.1 L. m. thayeri X L. alterna, 1.0 L. g. californiae
Other - 0.1 Whitesided P. catenifer sayi, 1.0 H. nascicus, ?.? Chrysemys picta, 1.0 husband

pregnant and cats don't mix....

it is a good excuse for you to let the "man" do all the work for 9 months at least....

....snakes don't carry salmonella anywhere near as much as turtles or iguanas....(from the leftover food usually anyways)...

...stay clean and good luck....

breaktime!!!!!
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........JY

1.1 humans
squirrels and rabbits in the back yard
and some spiders on the celler walls
0.0 herpetefauna

I'm not too worried about the cats. The husband happily cleans the litter box, but just hanging out with them won't cause me any problems.

Thanks!
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26 year old 0.1 from Lincoln, NE
Ball Pythons - 0.1 Pastel, 1.0 Pastel het Pied, 0.1 Pied, 0.1 Cinn, 1.0 Black Pewter, 1.0 Woma, 0.1 Yellowbelly, 2.1 Normals
Kingsnakes - 1.0 L. m. thayeri, 0.1 L. m. thayeri X L. alterna, 1.0 L. g. californiae
Other - 0.1 Whitesided P. catenifer sayi, 1.0 H. nascicus, ?.? Chrysemys picta, 1.0 husband

I knew a guy who gave up the hobby after his kids kept getting salmonella. I have no idea what he was doing wrong. I never had that problem but then I didn't carry my snakes around the house and I washed religiously after doing anything with them (yes, I was probably over potty trained). I remember a while back there was a frozen rodent recall due to salmonella and I'm thinking how does anyone think they don't need to wash after handling rodents? But then after seeing people not wash before leaving the bathroom I guess I understand (lots of nasty people now days). Guess I should just move to Japan, lol.
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Randy Remington
anyone@snakemorphs.com
www.SnakeMorphs.com
FaceBook

Yep, everyone I know of who has gotten sick from their pets had bad habits and/or bad hygiene. We have one turtle that my husband mostly cares for. I'd think that little guy would be the biggest risk.

I guess I will just keep washing the hands and not worry. Thanks for the input.
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26 year old 0.1 from Lincoln, NE
Ball Pythons - 0.1 Pastel, 1.0 Pastel het Pied, 0.1 Pied, 0.1 Cinn, 1.0 Black Pewter, 1.0 Woma, 0.1 Yellowbelly, 2.1 Normals
Kingsnakes - 1.0 L. m. thayeri, 0.1 L. m. thayeri X L. alterna, 1.0 L. g. californiae
Other - 0.1 Whitesided P. catenifer sayi, 1.0 H. nascicus, ?.? Chrysemys picta, 1.0 husband

Quite honestly, with how much is recalled foodwise due to salmonella contamination, I think reptiles are the least of the worry.

One thing, and this is just my opinion. Avoid the sanitizers and the anti-bacterial things. Go with plain soap. We have seen super virus and bacteria issues over the years and it is my belief that we sanitize everything so much that things are becoming resistant to treatment.
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Cindy Steinle
PHFaust
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If you practice good hygiene you will be fine. My wife was pregnant and we had snakes, frogs and lizards in the house. And my daughter has been handling snakes since she was three and we have never had any problems.

I disagree with Cindy in part about the hand-sanitizers. The alcohol-based ones are absolutely acceptable to use, if used properly. But as a general practice (not just when you are pregnant but all the time) you should avoid anti-bacterial products that contain Triclosan or its derivatives. Too long to go in to details here but the long and the short is that stuff actually promotes anti-bacterial resistance. Regular soap, warm water, lots of suds and scrubbing, sing the alphabet twice and you are good