Good or very bad idea?

[MrsTim]

Sorry, I wasn't very clear - I meant more general public/ doctors worrying about salmonella from reptiles, and not so much reptile keepers ( or people on this thread ).

Worrying about the fish water, though I don't let any kiddies stick hands in the aquarium ( top is well out of reach ) - more for the sake of the fish

[Luke]

keep the husbandry good and clean and you will be fine, id worry more about the child crawling on your floor downstairs where youve walked after being outside and then putting hands in their mouth.

[phlegmatical]

I have a 15 month old who was exactly the same always looking into the vivs but we had to move them all upstairs in the end as he kept banging on the glass and it worried me he would break it and was stressing the snakes. I still take him into the rep room supervised though and he points and makes hissing noises lol

[davem2018]

Originally Posted by phlegmatical

I have a 15 month old who was exactly the same always looking into the vivs but we had to move them all upstairs in the end as he kept banging on the glass and it worried me he would break it and was stressing the snakes. I still take him into the rep room supervised though and he points and makes hissing noises lol

He only banged the glass a couple of times but now he just stares. When we lift him up to see the burm he watches and claps his hands lol

[tullfan]

My opinion is that there may be a minimal risk of catching something from my son who was a premature baby and now 28 and has lived with many different animals including reptiles/amphibians/birds/fish//dogs/ferrets to name but a few every day since he came out of hospital as he only lives a few miles away from the original poster.

Joking aside dummy snake sounds like a good idea

[Uromastyxman]

Originally Posted by coldestblood

I think you're being a little paranoid. Kids come into contact with all types of nasty things, regardless of where they are. Being exposed to germs and things is essential for building a good immune system. They touch the toilet, put their shoes in their mouths, crawl around on grass animals may wee'd in; all without becoming ill. Catching salmonella from a snake is highly unlikely.

Can I ask how old your children are, and what age you allowed them to go near/touch reptiles and/or the equipment?

NOTE: I'm not suggesting children being around snakes is a good idea or risk free - my youngest is 14 months and hasn't touched a snake yet. He sits with me in the snake room, has done since he was a year old.

My daughters are 12 and 8. When my youngest was born I looked into salmonella in reptiles as a possible threat to my children, as I was buying more animals at that time. I came across a small child that had become permanently brain damaged by contracting salmonella, oddly enough it was from a food bowl that had been used by a Uromastyx, which I kept quite a number of. I had to make a judgement call about my hobby and how it fitted in with my children. At the time I looked into it I was already aware that contacting salmonella was not high risk, so the actual likelood and percentage chance of my children contacting salmonella from one of my animals was never something that influenced my judgement. I was not prepared to put my children at risk from catching salmonella from my hobby, and I could not look my wife in the eye if one of my children got ill or died because of my liking for keeping reptiles. I take reptiles to schools and my own children handle our reptiles under strict supervision. My eldest helps me hold the reptiles if I'm treating them or clipping their nails, and she hopes to become a vet, I hope she does too as I'll get discounted vet care. When I see younger children there is one thing they do constantly and that is put their hands in their mouths, regardless of how many times they are told not to, it's just something young kids do. When I do visit schools I've seen children kiss the reptiles on many occasions. The bottom line for me, and I'll make it clear that it's the way I do it, is that while the risk is undoubtedly slim, I can not have even one incident of a child contracting it whilst in my care, whether it is my own child or someone else's. There is simply no room for error. There is absolutely no way I would take a risk, even a slim one of one of my children getting seriously ill or dying because of a pet. And all the people in the world who justify what they do because they claim the chance is slim or unlikely are making their own choices, I'm happy with mine, and I don't feel I'm being paranoid or overly cautious. I've caught salmonella, I'm not sure whether it was from one of my reps or dodgy food, but they had to carry me out to the ambulance. Telling the family whose child got brain damaged from a dirty uromastyx bowl that they were unlucky because the chances of anything like it happening to anyone seems rather lost to me. If people want to risk their children because the risk is low, that is their choice alone. The problem with low risk is, it need only happen the once. I'm not happy taking that gamble with my family, and if people want to label me as paranoid that's fine. Gamble away folks, they're your kids.

[maxcherry]

I've never had salmonella and my chaps pretty much go everywhere they can climb. I wake up when they tell me they have gone toilet to clean them up, then go back to bed.

I guess it's down to staying as clean as you can and what your immune system is like. I catch a cold twice a year and that's pretty much it.

[Uromastyxman]

Originally Posted by maxcherry

I've never had salmonella and my chaps pretty much go everywhere they can climb. I wake up when they tell me they have gone toilet to clean them up, then go back to bed.

I guess it's down to staying as clean as you can and what your immune system is like. I catch a cold twice a year and that's pretty much it.

What the hell are you talking about?

[Red123]

Originally Posted by Uromastyxman

What the hell are you talking about?

Maxcherry lives with her reptiles they don't live with her. She is allowed to free roam with them

[Uromastyxman]

Originally Posted by Red123

Maxcherry lives with her reptiles they don't live with her. She is allowed to free roam with them

Oh, that makes sense now, I thought it was a bit random.