Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know this forum is usually used by teens to talk about who has what and share pictures, but I think it's the appropriate spot ask my question. Is it safe to have reptiles with kids, in regards to disease transmission? I mean, even if the herps had their own room and I washed my hands after being in there, couldn't my clothes and everything else still be carrying germs? Does salmonella testing guaruntee that it's okay? Could it carry other illnesses? This is just something that I've been thinking about for the future because I'd like to breed some reptiles on the side but also raise a family. Currently, when I handle my herps, I don't let them touch my clothes usually or furniture because I don't expect to wash all those off and am afraid that I will make contact with it. Then I see pictures of little kids with reptiles and families that have iguanas and tortoises that they allow some free roam, and everything kids are around ends up making some indirect contact with their mouth (or direct.) Help me understand all this.

LNMS

How young are the kids? The only usual risk is if you put your hands in your mouth (eat, ect.) after handling. I suppose that germs or bacteria could still be on the clothes, furniture, and other objects that the animal comes in contact with, but I expect transmission from these items to a human would be rather remote. The only time salmonella really seems to come into play is when an animal is living in its own feces (salmonella is one of the different bacteriums carried in the gut, much like humans and E. coli). Last I heard, someone did a search for salmonella from reptiles and I think there was maybe 1, if any at all, accounts of salmonella from a reptile related origin, which was an iguana. I do not know of anyone that has become sick from any sort of reptile, whether it be turtle, snake, lizard, ect. I guess if you are really worried, you could buy some of that Lysol or Clorox disinfectant spray that is supposed to kill something like 99.9% of germs and bacteria. But I believe as long as hands are washed before eating or doing anything where the hand will come in contact with the mouth, that there is very little chance of transmission of any bacteria or germs from reptile to human. Andy
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Andy Maddox
AIM: SurfAndSkimTx04
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Burgundy baby, With your blue eyed soul, You play the hits and I'm on that roll, Capricorn sister, Freddie Mercury, Jupiter Child cry

There is some research out there on this topic so you should be able to do an online search and find some information. I am not a vet or a doctor but I can tell you what works for us. I have two little boys who are three and seven. I have had snakes, lizards, frogs and turtles around the kids since the older one was two. One thing we focus on is educating the kids to know they shouldn't put things in their mouth while handling the reptiles. We keep anti-bacterial gel in the reptile room, and hand cleaning is a big production afterward. Obviously, this doesn't work with babies and I think babies should be kept away from reptiles until they are old enough to understand the word 'no' and listen to you when you say it. You can lower the risk yourself by keeping your cages clean and always washing your hands after handling your animals. I also used to wear an old tee-shirt when I was handling the snakes that I could change out of when the kids were babies.

I don't know of any other risks to humans other than salmonella from retiles. Many people have sucessfully raised kids and reptiles in the same household. The keys are educating yourself and being responsible in your husbandry. Good luck!
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Anna

The Zoo
Corns
1.0 Snow - Cornelius
1.1 Ghost(pastel) - Eek & Boo
0.1 Amel - Scarlet
0.1 Hypo - Nikko
0.1 Anery - Missy
0.1 Hypo Motley - Cordelia aka Cordy
Boas
0.1 Columbian (BCC) - Bella
Lizards
0.0.1 Leopard Gecko - Leo
Rats
0.1 Dumbo Agouti - Moon
1.0 Standard Black - Pluto
Cats
1.1 Siamese - Blue & Fiona
0.1 Gray DMS - Druscilla aka Dru
Horses
1.0 Thourghbred (Hunter/Jumper) - Morgan's Majesty aka Cody

When you were little, did you ever catch frogs and snakes? Did you come right home and wash your hands in between each adventure? Probably not. I think we spend too much time keeping our kids away from the world and that's why we have so many kids who are allergic to everything including exercise (asthma anyone). I am an elementary school teacher and I have reptiles in my classroom and home. I keep my cages clean, my herps healthy and my kids respectful and responsible. We even go outside once and a while to have class, not recess.

I've had kids kiss turtles after long discussions about safety and "the runs", there's always the occasional bad hand washer or thumb sucker that gets in the mix, and I've never had a child get sick from one of my herps and I probably have a very high herp to child interaction ratio.

Ultimately if you keep your kids and your herps clean, everyone should be OK.

Oh, and keep those strong smelling disinfectants away from your herps, they're just as deadly to them as to the bacteria.

Randy
DeadFish Herpetological

You bring up a good question. I have not done any research on this topic. However, about ten years ago I was the store manager of one of central IL's best localy owned pet stores. We carried a lot of reptiles and many other pets. We also supplied many of our local teachers with class room pets and supplies. As a part of that, I did a lot of in room reptile talks. I gave a previsit check list to the teachers. This checklist told about propper hand washing before and after handling (lets not forget that we can give something to our herps). I did these demos for about 6 years and never had a report of a sick child afterwords.
I have also had reptiles for over 25 years myself. I now have a 3 yr old daughter and a baby due in January. My wife had this fear when our little girl was born. I told her that the chances were low. Now my biggest probblem is keeping my little girl out of the cages. I keep my cages very clean. I also never was any herp related items in sinks or bath tubs that are used by us. I keep hand sanitizer in the herp room. I also keep the herps in there. We always wash our hands with hot soapy water afterwards.
I believe if you follow these steps, your risk are low. However anything is possible. I would also sick with CB herps as I believe the risk is less. But these are just my opions!

This is something I never really worried about too much. As when I was young I was around just about every kind of animal, be it reptile or mammal, and was taught how to act around them.

I am now 24 myself have 2 kids(and am pregnant with #3, due in April). I have had reptiles throughout the pregnancies of my two kids(now 5 1/2 and 3 yrs old). I was and am the sole caretaker of the reptiles. My Green Iguana(who I got as a b-day gift @6 1/2 yrs ago, right before I became pregnant with my son) lives in a large cage that takes up about 1/3 of my livingroom, that the kids know they are not allowed to go into, or put anything into. The rest of the reptiles live in the diningroom and kitchen. My kids have grown up with reptiles so it is no different from many families with dogs. You just have to teach them right off the bat what they can and cannot do. Eventually handling will come into play, and another chance to teach your kids about how things should be done around these great creatures.

My daughter just turned 3yrs old on the 28th and has been handling my kenyan sand boas for many monthes now. She has even claimed the female as her own : )

They learn from watching you, so if you are gentle with the animal and always wash your hands after touching, feeding, cleaning up after the reptiles so will they.

Now some folks feel it is ok to kiss their pets(reptile and not) but I draw the line there... the kids are not allowed to kiss the reptiles, cats, chickens or anybody elses animals either. They know to wash their hands after petting any of our pets, and not to touch their face or mouth until they do.
There is no problem as long as you keep things clean and teach your kids well.

here are some pictures of my 3yr old holding the boas. The one in the lower picture is the one she has claimed. She has always been extremely gentle with them, but she will not get to handle any herps on her own without me right there for many years.

Roxanne

I have a four year old and a two year old (both girls) and a Bearded Dragon (ZZ), a Corn Snake (Cane) and a Kingsnake (King). Jessika (4) is allowed to hold them (with my supervision). I don't worry about Salmonella from my Reptiles any more than I worry about Salmonella from under cooked chicken in a restaurant. I keep my children and pets (along with me) as clean as possible. My two year old washes her hands after we have the reptiles out and she isn't allowed to hold them yet (because she has less control of body at this age). I want her to associate washing our hands and reptile handling (I even make them wash their hands after handling the cats--if we are going to be eating soon.)

Does anyone worry about E. coli after handling a baby...they carry that you know (along with carrying their poop with them--ewwww, I am glad reptiles don't do that)?

It helps build they're immunity.
In all seriousness... I came from the womb handling reptiles, have done so all my life, and I never wash my hands, period.
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without electricity, we'd be watching television in the dark