Pregnancy and Reptiles

[Adelea_Bella]

Ok, for all of the women on here (and the men who have opinions ) what does everyone think about being pregnant and handling reptiles? I have heard that a woman who is pregnant should not handle or even be in a room with reptiles. What are your thoughts?

[eddie]

MMmmm...
I have heard that several times, usually with salmonella concerns topping the list...

Here are my views on it.

Lizards -
Many, including iggys, go bonkers when human females exude certain smells, or phermones due to biological changes , menstrual periods etc.
Not sure exactly how they will react or do react to that kind of change.

Snakes-
Salmonella seems to be the biggest concern I have heard.
BUT, with proper husbandry and cleanliness protocols, you stand a better chance of getting salmonella from your favorite restaurant or even from your own meal preperation.

Extra precautions can be a good thing also, such as disposible latex gloves while cleaning, vs. non-disposible kitchen gloves.

I would be more inclined to be worried about the food for reptiles.

For example, if you have any big enough to eat pigs, pork would be an issue as preggys and kids are recommended to stay away from raw pork etc.
The parasites from food can be controlled, by feeding frozen thawed, but a thorough fecal on all the animals would be a great idea, to catch any that may already be present.

Sometimes however, animals may want to eat only live or prekilled.. This is when I would be seeking help in feeding those critters and in their clean up, handling etc, just in case.

[Adelea_Bella]

Yes, I agree with what you are saying... I was just curious because my sister-in-law is preg and she is giving me grief about it. I'm by no means even close to getting preg or married for that matter! ROFL
Thanks for your input!

[eddie]

WHEW!!!
I was gonna suggest to stay away from Ed_r for help with that anyways

[Adelea_Bella]

LOL Eddie! Don't worry... he is married!

[telefrag]

When my wife was pregnant, she didnt stay away from my herp room, and we had frogs,and cham's in the den.
Granted she didnt handle anything (but she never does anyway)

But I would say same goes for any animal for anyone, just practice good hygine.
That goes for animal keepers 100% of the time, pregnant or not pregnant.

Reptiles are not the only animals that can transmit salmonella, even dogs and cats can transmit zoonotic diseases to people.

[savannah_babe]

yup, it shouldnt mean you have to get pregnant either just to keep everything clean. lol j/k
i handled my reptiles while pregnant. i just washed my hands and kept cages clean and everything. i didnt have any problems.

[John_White]

When my wife was gravid with our first kid I was very concerned about salmonella despite keeping my herps in very clean, "laboratory like" conditions. After hatching I didn't allow the neonate human in the snake room for about two years. For our second kid I was a little less stringent, but still kept the neonate human away from the herps for about two years.

	Gravid Gravid term used in biology to describe the condition of a female oviparous when carrying young internally.

[eddie]

Bahahahahahaha!

[reptilemama]

I handled, cleaned, and fed all my reptiles while I was pregnant. As a precaution, I bought a gallon of Betadine scrub from the vet clinic I was working at, and used it to wash my hands every time I touched anything in the reptile room. I kept using for a while after my son was born, too. My husband did clean the litter box for me, but there was no way I was going to get him to take care of the reptiles.