Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all,

Spousal unit has been diagnosed with Adult Onset Asthma.

Seems like after the diagnosis she is having a reaction to being in the house. Could have been occurring before but we never linked it to anything.

Could it be our captives?

Likely that it is?

Thanks, and regards,

Jeff

Do you use alot of Bleach indoors, when cleaning cages? Do you raise rats and mice (amonia smell from urates)? These can be contributing factors for athsma. Mold or Mildew in house?

No bleach.

Distilled water and a distilled water and Vinegar solution for cleaning. Seems to work, at least it has for the last few years or so. Anyway, hate to think that I/we might have to give them up, but if it appears that they are the cause of the spousal units angst, don't see much choice.

Regards,
J.

I didn't think people could be allergic to snakes?

Im sorry to hear about the asthma. Both myself and one of my children have had asthma since birth. It stinks...Truly...

MINE is triggered from cold weather and bird dander(Great for a former bird breeder and KEEPER in bird dept of a world famous Zoo(Past tense) eh?

The following allegens COULD trigger a reaction. To narrow it down you can get sensitivity tests to determine what her triggers are, but the tests are no fun..

Mouse/Rat Dander(A common one)
Ammonia from Mouse or Rats(Another common one)
Ammonia from waste products from reptiles.
Mold from wet cages, wet bedding
Bedding dust(Pine shavings, alpine,sawdust, sani-chips..
Cleaning agents, such as ammonia,bleach,soaps with perfumes in them.
Rat and mice food products....seeds...grain and associated dust.

My recommendation is that you consult with your primary physician if you have one. Then get rid of the shavings and switch to newspaper or papertowel. DONT breed mice OR rats..instead buy them frozen from a reliable supplier wth a good reputation, and store them in a small freezer. Install and good quality air filter in your snake room and in your house. Kick all mammals(dogs/cats) out of the house and let them live in the backyard..As far as cleaning, Quatricide worked for me without any bad side effects...

You will have to make some concessions in your husbandry,and feeding, but it can be done. Keeping things clean is of paramont importance....

Email me if you have any further questions, hope that I at least answered a few of yours.

Sincerely,

Fred Albury
Aztec Reptiles

Could be the captives, or the beddint they are in or dogs or cats or mites in the bed or carpet or rodents in the house or plants in the house or any number of things.

I have heard of a keeper that became allergic to dry' feces. I don't know the specifics so I can't say more than that.

Best of luck finding out what it is. I hope it's something easy to get rid of.

Doug T

i've never heard of a snake allergy or snake induced asthma. i have tremendous allergies to dust, mealworms, and grasses. i studied lizards in school and my bronchi would close up while cleaning lizard feces (dried mealworm exoskeletons) from their perches. one of my advisors from school did research on strike-induced chemosensory search behavior (david chiszar) and would almost die everytime he had to feed his snakes, due to rodent dander.

like doug said, bedding, rodents, mold, and dried snake feces (rodent hair) are most likely candidates. use newspaper, clean often, skin your rodents away from the house and see if this helps before giving up.

good luck,

matt

Thanks to all who responded.

Got some recommendations via e-mail as well. I'll try all of it before giving them up.

If it's anything related I suspect fecal dust, or food animals. Hate to think I'll be experimenting on the spousal unit but I need to rule this out. Also, find out what it might be.

There is just a strange correlation time wise with the problem and the hobby.

If I find anything conclusive, I'll post it.

Regards,
Jeff

Mice produce the most potent allergens of anything already mentioned. If you are going to try the process of elimination, I would suggest starting with the mice. My son is deathly allergic to mice, which probably originated with him helping me with my mouse colonies when he was young. As a result, I no longer keep mice. A few times since, when I bought mouse fuzzies and brought them back in my car (in a closed paper bag), my son reacted simply by being driven in the car the next day.

Theoretically, humans can develop allergies to the protein molecules from any living organism (and also to some non-living molecules like latex). Ammonia and bleach will irritate mucous membranes of the nose, throat and lungs, but will not cause allergies. These molecules are too small to sensitize the immune system.

I raise rats now. You might think that a person sensitive to mice would be sensitive to rats, but that is not usually the case. The allergens produced by rats are very different than those produced by mice, and not nearly as potent. My son can hold rats with no problem.

Robert Bruce.