Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm just wondering if I have a cold can my ball python catch it from me if it's cage has a screen top. If so what would be some suggestions for a quarantine?
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"I only handle my balls when i'm cleaning them." - griffindor

That is extremely doubtful.Someone correct me if I am wrong, but as far as I am aware, virus's from warm blooded animals (humans) cannot be passed onto cold-blooded reptiles.

Not a chance. Viruses need specific DNA to reproduce themselves. They can not reproduce themselves without this DNA from the host. A humans DNA is so different from a reptiles that for the flu/cold virus to be able to exist in both (considering all the thousands, probably millions of types of viruses) is EXTREMELY unlikely. I don't think you could find any virus that infects both mammals and reptiles, and to ask about one specific virus (or type of virus) that could infect one specific type of snake (balls) and one specific mammal (humans) makes it even that much more unlikely. I'd say it is a lot less than a one trillion to one chance.

I raise birds and there are viruses that infect parrots that can't even infect any other types of birds! A parrot's DNA is too different from say a finch, a raptor, a shore bird, a hummingbird, or any other type of bird for those to become infected from a parrot.

Consider IBD (inclusion body disease) in snakes. While it may eventually be able to mutate and infect some snakes other than boids, that is fairly unlikely. That it could mutate infect mammals is virtually impossible.

(There are a lot of myths out there about viruses, and if by coincidence, your snake happens to get sick at the same time you do, you might be able to start another one! )

Now, if you were talking about bacteria, fungals, parasites, that would be a different matter. Still rather unlikly, but not as unlikely as virals.

Rodney

bacterial pnumonia is contagious and is cuminicable between snakes and humans for that matter between any living things humans, mamals. viruses need ,like said earilier, they need specific dna to work. i am no way an expert but was told this by a vet at cornell univiserity. some colds by the way are also bacterial. hope this helps. as for quarntine there doesnt seem to be too much you can do except for maybee keep them in a seperate room and just check on them from afar if you could and maybee have someone else water or feed them for you.

I'm no expert either, but I believe that all colds are, by definition, viruses. I know the word "cold" is kind of vague. At least the word flu is based on "the influenza virus" so it is more descriptive. You often hear commercials claiming relief for a cold virus. There are bacterial infections that can have cold like symptoms, that might be confused with colds, but that doesn't make them colds.

Here is a URL that states that colds are in fact viruses, and not bacteria like many people think. Look down about 5-7 paragraphs to see that point.

http://www.drgreene.com/21_562.html

That's another one of my pet peeves, people running to the emergency room for antibiotics for a cold, and doctors prescribing them to make their patients happy, even though antibiotics do nothing for viral problems. That then reinforces the patients belief that antibiotics help colds/flu. Another wives-tale is started! Not to mention the dumbing down of America once again.

Rodney

np