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Snake Allergy??

7K views 19 replies 10 participants last post by  blood and guts 
#1 ·
Has any of you ever known anybody be allergic to snakes??

My next door neighbour bought a hatchling corn last week, and has been ill ever since, with a bad chest. I can understand cats dogs etc as fur builds up dust etc but not snakes.

Its coming to stay with me for a week, then going home after to see if the chest problems comes back, (though I think it will end up staying with me for good)

Its a sweet little amel :)
 
#5 ·
I'd be more inclined to suspect a summer cold than an allergy to snakes.
 
#7 ·
Thats what I think too, and have told her too but she is not convienced.
 
#10 ·
She has it on paper in a tub, and has no other snakes. But has been in to see mine on lots of ocassions with no side effects. I know thats not the same as 24/7.

She was struggling to breathe when I went round earlier, could just be hayfever, or an allergy to all the bloody rain:lol2:
 
#12 ·
You can't be allergic to scaley animals because scales are made from keratin or whatever it is or something similar which is what makes nails and hair so you'd need to be allergic to yourself to be allergic to scaey things such as fish and reptiles so me doctor told me when my mum was adamanet i had an allergy to the snakes once.

Rach
 
#15 ·
Thats good news, will pop around and tell her when I get home from work later
 
#16 ·
I don't believe it's impossible, but after recommending reptiles as pets to many people who do suffer from allergies, it seems very very unlikely. Allergies from other animals are bought on from a particular type of protein excreted from the skin, saliva and urine - not the fur as commonly believed. It is the fur though, that allows the easy spread of these allergens.

Other animals have breathable pores, and so the allergens leave their body all the time. Reptiles though don't, they can't sweat and excrete nothing from their skin.

It 'may' be possible that your friend is allergic to the faeces, but if so, it is more likely because it will contain rodent elements.

It is more than likely your friend is allergic to the substrate. It is common with bird keepers that they believe they are allergic to their birds, but find out that actually they are allergic to the foods, because microscopic dust mites live within these, causing the allergy. (These things are so small you cannot see them with the naked eye).

I would suggest using newspaper for a couple of weeks to start with. See how that goes.
 
#18 ·
That sounds spot on! I'm very allergic to many mammals, hence why I keep scaled instead! The poo is a possibility but I'd be suprised if its the mice, if she feeds frozen, they defrost damp, so very difficult for the allergens to be airborne, unless she blow dries 'em with a hairdryer! :lol2:
 
#19 ·
I have convinced her its prob not the snake, so she is going to keep hold of it and see if the chest settles down.

I am allergic to many things too, but not a sniffle or bulging eye in sight with my snakes :lol2:
 
#20 ·
NO ONE is allergic to reptiles themselves, sometimes fear of them can bring on the same sort of reaction but its not a allergy in itself.

However some subsrates, cleaners, waste from crickets etc, fur from feeder rodents and so on could bring some allergic affect in some people but is rare.

With the way the weather has been of late id lay my money on that, i know sevral so called healthy people who have been taken with asthma this season and ive had some bad cold like effects as well as my asthma being much worse then the norm.
 
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