I am sick :(

[JodiLeigh]

Hey,

Has anybody ever got sick from having a snake?

Is it possible to be allergic to snakes?

I was ill a few weeks before I got him and now since I have had him I have been ill and can't get rid of this cold and now I am having to go doctors because I'm getting worse and also have a rash on my arms!

I have been very vigilant about keeping his enclosure clean and washing my hands after every time I hold him or do anything with his tank, I even use hand sanitiser after washing my hands! So surely it can't be just from snake germs.

I will let you know what the verdict when I get back from the docs, I hope it isn't anything to do with Manny because I have gotten really attached and would hate to have to give him up


To be continued . . .

[gregmonsta]

The cold is probably just that ... the rash is probably from overdoing the washing/hand sanitising.

If you were to get anything from a snake it would be salmonella .... and your symptoms would be a lot worse .... and the chances of this are very slim.

[JodiLeigh]

The cold is probably just that ... the rash is probably from overdoing the washing/hand sanitising.

If you were to get anything from a snake it would be salmonella .... and your symptoms would be a lot worse .... and the chances of this are very slim.

Oh good! Phew, I was getting really worried!

And Manny can't get ill from me can he?!?!

[katach]

I agree with gregmonsta. Colds are pretty common this time of year. Snakes are really pretty clean animals. The only germs you really have to worry about is from handling their food or poo. As far as I know they can't get sick from you, but if you are worried I would limit the amount of handling. Hope you feel better soon!

[JodiLeigh]

I agree with gregmonsta. Colds are pretty common this time of year. Snakes are really pretty clean animals. The only germs you really have to worry about is from handling their food or poo. As far as I know they can't get sick from you, but if you are worried I would limit the amount of handling. Hope you feel better soon!

I thought that about he food and poop but like I say I have been making sure everything is clean all the time.

I am leaving him for a few days anyway as he's not been eating so want to make sure it's not due to stress. I have covered the sides of his enclosure and just freshened up his tank and water and got his heat mat on a thermostat and heat lamp on a timer so I won't have to do anything to disturb him.

Thank you, I hope I get better soon too.

=]

[aquamentus_11]

if you do in fact have a cold, you have a virus. most viruses are pretty species/host-specific (with some famous exceptions), so I wouldn't worry a whole lot about getting it from or giving it to your snake. better safe than sorry if you're concerned. like people have said, salmonella is mostly the thing to look out for and (at the mildest) you would have intestinal symptoms if that were the case.

don't overdo the hand-washing: the more you wash, the more damage you do to your skin via dehydration and exfoliation. esp. if you're using hot water. use room temp and a moisturizing hand soap if you need to wash that frequently. that's the way operating room staff do it and they wash their hands all day. your skin is your first-line defense!

as for the allergy...what sort of substrate are you using? you've been trying new foods for your snake; could you have encountered one that you get a reaction from? what sort of cleaners have you used for tank maintenance or hand-washing? as far as i know (so correct me if i'm wrong), snakes don't continually shed flakes of their skin between sheds or secrete ANYTHING to the outside of their bodies so i would be very surprised if you had an allergic reaction from just handling your snake. that's not to say that it's not possible; you can get an allergy to pretty much anything from what i've learned. however, i'd be more inclined to think it was something your snake crawled in that got deposited on your arms if this rash is snake-related. all of the articles that i read about snake-related allergies are re: reactions to venom. your snake hasn't been chewing on your arms, has he? garters do have a weak neurotoxin, but it would take some chewing to get it into you and even then it would probably only cause an allergic response if anything (although i did read that T. elegans vagrans bites have caused reactions similar to those seen in small crotalids (pit vipers). this was strange because they have a hemotoxin and the symptoms actually sounded more like one of those than anything.) is he cb or wc? mite or other external parasite feces could definitely cause a reaction.

i hope you feel better soon. let me know what they say it is.

[PINJOHN]

I think the above post covers most of what i had to say i would just stress that a allergy is not really a germ or virus it's your body's extreme reaction to a substance so you need to look in the snakes environment rather than at the snake its also possible that its not even connected to the snake at all but some thing new in your surroundings and at times people become suddenly allergic to things that previously never bothered them

[aquamentus_11]

btw, can you take Benadryl? your version of the drug is nicer than ours (less drowsiness) so might as well use it! jk, but it would help to get a better idea of what's going on. if your symptoms go away after using it, chances are it's allergic.

[JodiLeigh]

if you do in fact have a cold, you have a virus. most viruses are pretty species/host-specific (with some famous exceptions), so I wouldn't worry a whole lot about getting it from or giving it to your snake. better safe than sorry if you're concerned. like people have said, salmonella is mostly the thing to look out for and (at the mildest) you would have intestinal symptoms if that were the case.

don't overdo the hand-washing: the more you wash, the more damage you do to your skin via dehydration and exfoliation. esp. if you're using hot water. use room temp and a moisturizing hand soap if you need to wash that frequently. that's the way operating room staff do it and they wash their hands all day. your skin is your first-line defense!

as for the allergy...what sort of substrate are you using? you've been trying new foods for your snake; could you have encountered one that you get a reaction from? what sort of cleaners have you used for tank maintenance or hand-washing? as far as i know (so correct me if i'm wrong), snakes don't continually shed flakes of their skin between sheds or secrete ANYTHING to the outside of their bodies so i would be very surprised if you had an allergic reaction from just handling your snake. that's not to say that it's not possible; you can get an allergy to pretty much anything from what i've learned. however, i'd be more inclined to think it was something your snake crawled in that got deposited on your arms if this rash is snake-related. all of the articles that i read about snake-related allergies are re: reactions to venom. your snake hasn't been chewing on your arms, has he? garters do have a weak neurotoxin, but it would take some chewing to get it into you and even then it would probably only cause an allergic response if anything (although i did read that T. elegans vagrans bites have caused reactions similar to those seen in small crotalids (pit vipers). this was strange because they have a hemotoxin and the symptoms actually sounded more like one of those than anything.) is he cb or wc? mite or other external parasite feces could definitely cause a reaction.

i hope you feel better soon. let me know what they say it is.

So I have been to the docs and she says it a viral infection which has caused my cold, conjunctivitis (how gross!) AND the rash. She has given me some eye drops for the conjunctivitis but just have to rest up, drink plenty and wait it out :/

-I am using aspen bedding

-I have been planning trying new foods just need some money first

-No chewing on my arm, not even a little nip from him

-He is captive bred I assume as my brother got him from a pet store here in the UK

Thank you =] I am going to spend the day in bed heh heh XD

And thank you for the advice!

[aquamentus_11]

good deal. you and your buddy can get in some QT today.