Cuddles!

[acovert]

^_^ I don't mind


Cuddles officially stays up later than I do!
Two hours after I went to bed I had to get up to take something for a headache, around 2am. I turned my closet light on, not the main light, and this is what I found:
SAM_1653.jpg
So apparently he explores after I turn the light out. So much for trying to keep it dark for him!

(I just love taking pictures of my snake)

[guidofatherof5]

I know what you're talking about Ashley.
I will do a middle of the night security check in the snake room and find most of my snakes up and out of there hides.
Shinning a light on them doesn't startle them at all, they just look at me as if they are saying "WHAAAAAAT?"
Funny little scrubs.

[EasternGirl]

Hermes...being that he is an albino...is mainly a nightowl...or nightsnake, I should say. He usually waits until all of the lights are out and the house is quiet and then he comes out to explore. Cee Cee and Seeley usually turn in for the night when I put their night bulbs on...but if there is any kind of noise during the night, they will wake up and come out to see what is going on. Sometimes, Seeley likes to bask under the night bulb. I love taking pics of my snakes too...I think I have more pics of my snakes then anything else these days.

[acovert]

Poor Cuddles
He probably didn't get any sleep last night.
I feel so bad for him. I was up all night throwing up and there was a lot of activity in my room all night. And my door has to stay open for now so, even though my light is off, there's lots of noise from everyone else who is awake now. I'll have to make it up to my snake somehow D:
And we were just getting back into a normal routine too!

[EasternGirl]

Are you okay Ashley?? What's going on? Stomach virus?

[acovert]

I'll be okay once I've replaced all the nutrients I lost last night and my body is back to normal.
We think it might be food poisoning, but if other people in the house start getting sick then it's probably norovirus - which I sort of had once a few months back.
I will admit that I'm in a lot of pain. My muscles are sore. But I'll be fully recovered in a couple of days.

I was supposed to feed Cuddles today. Fish and worms again. But that won't happen until Monday at the earliest. I don't think I can stomach the fish today. And our light routine will be all messed up again, unless I manage to sleep early. I'll have to find something to cover his tank.

[chris-uk]

If you're being sick I'd avoid feeding until you're better. A virus is unlikely to be transmitted to a reptile, but if you have some sort of bacterial food poisoning that could affect a snake (on the other hand it could be something that snakes are resistant to, or possibly even salmonella that you picked up from Cuddles... I'd be interested to know what proportion of reptiles do carry salmonella on their skin because it's often cited as a risk to reptile ownership. I can see a Google coming up).

[EasternGirl]

I have had food poisoning and norovirus so I feel your pain. Sorry Ashley... Yes, speaking of which...as Chris mentioned...do you wash your hands each time you handle Cuddles? Reptiles do carry Samonella...it's important to wash your hands after handling your snake. We have had discussions about this on the forum...some members insist they never wash their hands and have never gotten sick from their snakes...others always wash their hands before and after handling. Some people are more susceptible to Salmonella then others...and as Chris said, there may be a proportion of reptiles that carry salmonella while others may not. I am extremely susceptible to it and always wash my hands after handling my snakes. This by the way is probably not something that you want to mention to your family...given their reluctant feelings toward Cuddles to begin with. Just make sure you wash your hands from now on and make sure your brothers wash their hands...just tell them it's a good idea to wash their hands after handling him since he is a reptile...or something to that extent...you get the idea.

[EasternGirl]

According to the CDC, 90% of reptiles carry Salmonella...that was according to a report published in 2003. There is your google, Chris...lol. Salmonella and Reptiles - Incidence of Reptile Associated Salmonellosis concerns CDC

[chris-uk]

I've been searching to find a paper that supports the statement "up to 90% of reptiles carry salmonella" with a statistically significant sample. It seems to be a figure banded about with citing a reference. I found an article that described tests on 16 snakes where 81% were carriers, but 16 isn't statistically significant. More research tomorrow I think.