Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My vet said it would be o.k. to allow my snakes to crawl around in the yard. He said the exersise, sunshine, and fresh air would be benificial. BUT,...

I'm not sure I agree. I don't worry too much about Hawks with me standing there, but I am concerened about viruses, bacteria, and parasites. No telling what they might pick up. But I have always done it with all my animals. Only once do I suspect that an animal may have pcked up something, and that was cleared up with a trip to the vet. Since then I have ceased this practice.

What do the rest of you think about this practice? Do any of you take your animals out to the yard? Have they ever picked up anything?
Tony.

Bad move. First and foremost...Do you know if your yard or any of your nieghbors has been sprayed with pesticides or fertilizers, weed killers etc....?

I knew a man who lost two pythons because a house five houses from his was sprayed with Diazinon and the wind that day blew just right.

Second...the strong posssibility of snakes being contaminated by paricites or disease, or even mites left by a passing snake.

Just not a safe practice.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

I am blessed in having a small side yard bordered by the house and high cinder block walls. She can get some sun and crawl around without being an easy target for birds of prey and the barriers make it easier to keep oan eye on her. The soil is not treated with any chemical fertilizers nor pesticides or herbicides. My area is unique in that the probability of chemicals usage or drift from neighbors is really low. Also,In my area the sun is pretty strong and I think the microbes are pretty much nuked by the intense UV light.
One benefit though is that she cannot resist defecation outside and its a lot easier to clean up that in her cage!
Matt