Reptiles and human pregnancy

[rachy]

At some point i will have more children. Are there any risks with keeping snakes and lizards that could affect my pregnancy? Thanks

[Athravan]

I am not sure about during pregnancy but if you have young children in the house, the CDC in the USA recommends you not keep reptiles, full stop..

This makes an interesting read (USA based though)

Pet Owners Beware: Reptiles Can Cause Salmonella Infections

Here is the most relevant quote:

"What is new is the concern over children less than 5 years old. Our concern is that they seem to contract salmonellosis [infection with the bacteria salmonella] and they tend to get the more severe forms, including sepsis and meningitis. [In] many of these cases, the infants in fact were never in direct contact with the reptile but instead had indirect contact, such as a parent touching the iguana and then holding the child. Because of that concern, we included a new recommendation, which is that households with children less than 5 not have reptiles in the home." Wong is with Foodborne and Diarrheal Diseases branch of the CDC.

This was however written in 1999 and I do not believe that it has had much effect in people keeping reptiles!

[skimpy]

i have no intentions of getting rid of any of my animals if i fall pregnant. some women wont even have cats near them during pregnancy. what that thing that Tommy died of in Trainspotting?? Well it's that anyway that makes some women avoid cats.

surely with careful attention to hygiene, your risk should be no greater?

[samanslow]

Never had any problems with my pregnancies that were related to my snakes. Plenty that were'nt though

As long as you wash hands/alcohol rub/ good hygiene etc really cant see any issues.

[PendleHog]

The whole thing with cats has always amused me somewhat... you must keep a filthy house if you are even mildly concerned about keeping your cat whilst pregnant. The fact of then matter is fresh cat faeces are not dangerous to pregnant women. It is old faeces that have been left for a few days that the toxoplasmosis may be present in.

YOu can also only be infected with toxoplasmosis once, as you gain an immunity to the disease. If you live with cats you are likely to have already contracted it without being aware of it.

Theres always good old hand washing

[rachy]

I had heard about the salmonella thing and i think alot of it is basic hygiene. It was another post that made me wonder. Id never sell my reps either id just get sheryl to do everything for me lol

[Nat]

Id never stop keeping reptiles if I got pregnant again. I had all mine throughtout my entire pregnancy and my son who is now 21 months old also handles my reps and has done for a long time now, however, like a few of u hav already stated, it really is down to gd old basic hygiene xx

[samanslow]

already got my own zoo (not including hubby and the kids) without looking after yours too LOL

[Blazey]

I always thought that the reason pregnant women shouldnt go near cats is something to do with certain cat litters...
If your hygenic I dont see any reason why you wouldnt go near your pets but if you have them rolling in filth then maybe you should get rid of them anyway

[mcrickydiva]

when i worked at the sanctuary, we had hundreds of cats, and pregnant women werent aloud on site/in the cat areas, im not sure of the ins and outs of it, but i think it USED to be something in cat litter, but obviously thats been removed now, and now its just skank in the cat poo...not sure how high the risk is ,but its best to not risk you kids life to clean up some cat crap if some1 else can do it...personally cat crap makes me gag anyway, any other poo im fine with...just not cats lol.

dunno bout reps, suppose just the salmonella thing, but every1 can catch it, i suppose babies are just more prone to it cos of the immune system? If it ever happens then im sure ur Dr would be able to tell u either way...theres always ways to work around these problems lol