Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have been using reptile bark for my older snakes and was wondering if reptile bark could harbor salmanella? I spot clean as needed and change out the bark every few months.
I have a baby corn and a sonoran gopher that I just use the reptile carpet with paper towels over it. That is so much easier to clean. And with my jungle carpet python I have half newspaper, half reptile bark.
How about that aspen bedding? how often do you change that out vs. the reptile bark?
I was just wondering since I was sick over the weekend and my sis thought I could of gotten something from the snakes. Any opinions on this.....thanks.

janome,
Salmonella is found in the digetive tracts of reptiles. Contamination occurs when humans come in contact with reptile feces, and do not wash their hands thoroughly. Or, the feces comes in contact with surfaces, such as a sink, where food preparation or personal hygiene takes place, and is not adequately sanitized. The usual route of contamination is from a person's hands to their mouth, to their digestive tract.

It is not so much the type of substrate used that causes the spread of salmonella. Rather, it is the handling of the soiled substrate which puts you at risk. However, if a snake deficates often or tends to spread/smear feces, then you will want to use a substrate that is easy to spot fecal areas in, and is easy to clean. Handling your reptile can also be a source of contamination, since your reptile has been moving around on the substrate, and may have fecal matter on it's body.

Suggestions:
1. Soiled substrate needs to be placed in a secure receptacle, ie. plastic trash bag, that does not leak, and will be stored where it will not be torn open and the contents spread.

2. Keep a set of cleaning materials, ie. buckets, that are specifically for your reptiles. In other words, don't wash your kitchen floor with the same bucket you poured your turtle's water or snake's water dish contents into. Always sanitize husbandry items with a bleach & water solution after use, rinse, and air dry if possible.

3. Paper towels are the reptile keeper's friend. Use them once and dispose of them along with the substrate.

4. Never clean reptile equipment or water bowls in your kitchen sink, nor near any food preparation surface. Sanitize the surface you do use use with bleach & water & air dry when you are done.

5. If you have longer finger nails, either wear latex gloves during cleaning, or scrub underneath with soap and a nail brush after cleaning to remove any bacteria hiding under your nails. Sanitize your nail brush with bleach & water solution when done.

6. After spot-cleaning or cleaning the enclosure, wipe down your snake with a damp paper towel before putting it back into the enclosure. (I use a very dilute novalsan solution for this.)

7. Dispose of shed skin/pieces of shed skin promptly. Fecal matter stuck to the shed or shed from near the cloaca may contain salmonella germs.

8. Always wash your hands with soap and water after cleaning an enclosure/handling a reptile. Also, wash your hands between between working with individual reptiles. In this way you won't spread nasty germs between your animals. Some people use a liquid hand sanitizer, but the effectiveness is inconclusive. Your choice.

Salmonella is not the only ick you can get from your snake. There are others, such as giardia, that humans can contract, and are not at all pleasant. These are just ideas off the top of my head. I invite others to add to my list. Keeping ourselves and our animals healthy is an ongoing learning process.

regards,
althea

i'm going to print it and save it for future reference. i really appreciate it.