# Oh dear, not good for the hobby



## wohic (Jun 19, 2006)

rather poor reporting in my opinion, whats to say she did not wipe her sides down after preparing raw meat etc ?
How many are gonna panic and dump/give up their reptile after reading this ?



BBC NEWS | England | West Midlands | Baby gets salmonella from snake


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## sparkle (Mar 21, 2007)

salmonella is everywhere... yes reptiles CAN carry it thus you wash your hands at all times...

she looks like an idiot anyway... god help her kids


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## Molly75 (Jul 10, 2006)

Mu OH's mum had a bacterical infection from eating chicken she had runs for 8 days and had to stay in hospital she told them we have reps and they changed their minds and blamed the reps YEAH RIGHT 

Funny how i've had reps 22 year treated everything from coccida to crypto and do i get ill no but i know rep keepers who picked up crypto from the water supply 

p xx


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## grannykins (Oct 9, 2006)

She has obviously never educated her son to clean his hands after handling his snake - and worryingly the 9yr old seems to have unsupervised access to the snake. Idiots!!


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

Salmonella bacteria can be carried on the loose change in your pocket amongst other things! That's a dreadful report, I would expect better from the BBC, is there somewhere you can comment on the story?


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## ratboy (Jan 10, 2007)

sparkle said:


> she looks like an idiot anyway... god help her kids


Nice.


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## linda.t (Sep 28, 2007)

easier to blame the snake then herself how many of us have babies/kids in the house and have never had anything wrong with them?


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## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

not good at all, its not even confirmed from the reptile, just assumed salmanella can come from loads of different places


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## Art_Gecko101 (May 6, 2006)

totally agree linda! pets, especially reptiles are always used as a scapegoat when something goes wrong!!

I found this link on the same site....
so now gerbils are too dangerous to be kept as pets too!
BBC NEWS | Health | Pet rodents 'a salmonella risk'


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## ratboy (Jan 10, 2007)

Graham said:


> Salmonella bacteria can be carried on the loose change in your pocket amongst other things! That's a dreadful report, I would expect better from the BBC, is there somewhere you can comment on the story?


The BBC have always been pretty much on the pro-rspca anti-exotic side. ITV have always been a lot more sympathetic.


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## Testudo Man (Aug 3, 2005)

Wasnt it a similar incident such as this (many moons ago) and as a result, reptile shows got banned from Kent??? I think it may have involved a water dragon and a baby though? I cant remember now, getting to bloody old:crazy::blush:...T.T.8)


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## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

Terrific tortoise said:


> Wasnt it a similar incident such as this (many moons ago) and as a result, reptile shows got banned from Kent??? I think it may have involved a water dragon and a baby though? I cant remember now, getting to bloody old:crazy::blush:...T.T.8)


should of taken a picture, oh no that was captain Caveman:whistling2:


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## Moshpitviper (Oct 21, 2005)

On the plus side... the kids probably gained a slightly stronger immune system. but i agree i reckon it'll cause a lot of people to needlessly give up animals.... especially turtles.... people are always looking for an excuse to dump a turtle.

*goes to remove phone from hook and hide under a blanket for a week*


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## Testudo Man (Aug 3, 2005)

SiUK said:


> should of taken a picture, oh no that was captain Caveman:whistling2:


I'm waaaaaaaaaaay older than that young fellow CC :crazy:...T.T.8)


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## Rainwater (Apr 18, 2007)

I read somewhere (don't know if its the same article) that the mother would not have bought the snake if the pet shop told it about the salmonella possibilities - erm, ever heard of research luv? Poor kid mind...


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## bendigo (Jan 28, 2008)

if shes getting rid of the snake can i have it? i like BRBs and dont mind the salmonella, i find that a good dose of warm water and squirt of this new stuff called soap helps wonders with preventing it. :lol2:


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## linda.t (Sep 28, 2007)

Luton Reptile Rescue said:


> On the plus side... the kids probably gained a slightly stronger immune system. but i agree i reckon it'll cause a lot of people to needlessly give up animals.... especially turtles.... people are always looking for an excuse to dump a turtle.
> 
> *goes to remove phone from hook and hide under a blanket for a week*


i make sure that anyone that touches my 2 turtles washes there hands because i know the risk more so with turtles.


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## amazoncat (Feb 12, 2008)

don't you just love the bbc?! The headline says "baby contracts salmonella from pet snake" but the article says the mother researched on the internet and found that some reptiles can carry the disease. No where does it say that any professional has found the source to be the snake. For goodness sakes, as has been said poor food hygiene is FAR more likely to have been the cause.


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## PsyKoViggy (Jan 6, 2008)

great.. now i'll have to spend all of tomorrow perswading my mum that we arn't all going to die because of my reps..
shes a bit of a health freak at the best of times.. 

if this woman did so much research, how did she not come across the basics?
bah.. people carry diseases too.. think they should be disowned too.. just in case..


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## kaimarion (Dec 31, 2007)

Damn woman should be more careful with her kids and do a little more research when they want to buy a pet.

On the part about people dumping turtles it is something that has got better in comparison with a couple of years ago , I was sad to hear that my mum used to have 2 RES which had no water heater , filter or basking dock :censor: , needless to say both died  .
As with being 15 myself at the moment I'am worried about what may happen later in life and how I'am goin to maintain/find a suitable space for 80-120g tank.

Am I right in saying the general rule is 10g per inch of shell???


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## Dexter (Jun 24, 2005)

Honestly I didn't find much problems with the article.

You can get salmonella from an egg, you can get food poisoned from eating anything. Me and my son had a terrible case of food poisoning after eating fish and chips.

The lady looks a complete twat and one way or another, if a 14 week old baby is contaminated it's her fault for lack of hygene or care.

At least the article wrote the name of snake correctly unlike most keepers in this forum :crazy:

It's COL*O*MBIAN rainbow boa not coumbian :bash:


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## iiisecondcreep (Oct 29, 2007)

Last year I ended up pretty sick after going for a chinese buffet.

But o! Wait a minute, I have a bci! Duh, stupid me. Here was me thinking it was the food, but I have a snake so it MUST have been that. 

Its a wonder that people who have lots of snakes aren't permanently sick. Or DEAD!


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## shaneo95 (Jan 5, 2008)

Thats what i think


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## Moshpitviper (Oct 21, 2005)

Actual LOL!


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## sparkle (Mar 21, 2007)

that piccie was great i LOL too...


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## Young_Gun (Jan 6, 2007)

shaneo95 said:


> Thats what i think


Wish she had of done, wouldn't have had the problem then.


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## PSGeckos (Jul 15, 2007)

Well i've complained to the BBC for this unbiased, unsubstantiated report, not that i'll get any feedback, but it does make my blood boil! :censor:


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## arkreptiles (Sep 26, 2007)

Well with comments like this what sort of family are we dealing with!!!

"Ms Vry, from Birmingham, said she thinks her son may have touched Reg then played with his sister." :bash:


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## Chris Newman (Apr 23, 2007)

For obvious reasons I cannot go into details about this matter at this moment in time. However, what I can say is so far there is no proof the child caught salmonella from the snake. The serotype involved is found in reptiles, but is associated with terrapins not snakes, it is found in other animals such as pigs. 

As yet the snake has not been tested for salmonella, as far as I am aware. Until this has been done it is not safe to conclude the child caught the infection from the snake, it is equally likely it came from other source.


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## Moshpitviper (Oct 21, 2005)

Rice is a massive culprit in giving people food poisoning etc, maybe worse, egg fried rice could give salmonella..... is she rehoming uncle ben too?


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## ratboy (Jan 10, 2007)

Sorry but I find many forum members attitude towards the woman absolutely vile. No wonder reptile keepers have a reputation for being moronic.


Her kid has caught salmonella !!! ... it could have come from the snake or it could have come from something else.. But there is absolutely no reason to laugh at her and call her stupid.


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## weelad (Jul 25, 2006)

"ignors ratboy" , stupid women :whistling2: burn in hell!! roar!!


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## Dexter (Jun 24, 2005)

ratboy said:


> Sorry but I find many forum members attitude towards the woman absolutely vile. No wonder reptile keepers have a reputation for being moronic.
> 
> 
> Her kid has caught salmonella !!! ... it could have come from the snake or it could have come from something else.. But there is absolutely no reason to laugh at her and call her stupid.


 
You're right, but we will still slag that woman off :crazy:


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## ratboy (Jan 10, 2007)

Dexter said:


> You're right, but we will still slag that woman off :crazy:


If it happened to someone from here there would be about 50 threads on it asking how Salmonella could be eradicated from the earth. :whistling2:

Must remember to call them a dumb ass when it happens : victory:


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## peaches (Apr 3, 2007)

ratboy said:


> If it happened to someone from here there would be about 50 threads on it asking how Salmonella could be eradicated from the earth. :whistling2:
> 
> Must remember to call them a dumb ass when it happens : victory:


Goes to wash my hands :whistling2: :lol2:


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## Dexter (Jun 24, 2005)

ratboy said:


> Must remember to call them a dumb ass when it happens : victory:


Steve, rest assured we will all call them a dumb ass when it happens :crazy:


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## stephenie191 (May 29, 2007)

People will blame anything and anyone rather than admit they made a mistake.
She didn't cook somthing enough - simple:whistling2:


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Talk about scaremongering! As has already been mentioned so far there is no proof that the snake is carrying salmonella, or that the baby caught it from the snake, so the headline is wrong! But it's attention grabbing isn't it???

The woman says the family carried out research on keeping reptiles beforehand. Am I the only sceptical one here!

Yes, the child should be told to wash his hands after touching the snake, but like grannykins I'm more worried that a 9 year old boy is allowed to handle his snake without a parent present!!


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## ratboy (Jan 10, 2007)

feorag said:


> The woman says the family carried out research on keeping reptiles beforehand. Am I the only sceptical one here!


I see your point .... that would make them pretty odd.


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## Iliria (Jan 19, 2007)

pity about the bbc's headline  i've just had one "friend" tell me they're poss giving up their reps in case they catch salmonella. poor reps, i wonder how many more people will take the same line


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

That's a shame - it's just a case of basic cleanliness and hygiene!

You're more likely to catch it from the food you eat than the reptiles you handle!


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## jag160605 (Mar 16, 2008)

hey all

I've got 2 daughters, the oldest at 2 and a half, the youngest is nearly 1. I have no reptiles atm (have had them before and will have some again) and when my youngest was just 1 month old she took a turn for the worst, vomiting, the s:censor:ts, high temps to name a few.
We took her to the local walk in centre and was told she just had the s:censor:ts, after a couple of days blood appeared aswel, she was straight down the hospital for a check up and they took a stool sample. Well a couple of days later we get a phone call to say my 1 month old daughter has salmonella, well you can imagine all the terrible things you go through (blaming everybody and everything usually is a good start lol). After a couple of weeks she was all clear and was like a totally different baby, and in the end we found out that our dog was the one who passed it on (not a reptile in sight).

I can assure you it's not a nice thing to go through and we now double check everything.

like others have said, it's easy to blame a reptile


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

I acquired a Persian Kitten coz of a similar thing. Vet told woman cat had E.coli and if her kids caught it they could die.She then got rid of him to me,( so lucky), my vet got test results off her vet and his E.coli count was the same as all humans and animals carry. I end up with this gorgeous healthy cat and she ends up with nothing. People only hear what they want to hear


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## sammy1969 (Jul 21, 2007)

THis headline is a case of the typical knee jerk reaction most people have when it comes to reps. The first sign of trouble and the rep concerned gets the blame even if it isnt the culprit. If the woman concerned had done her research properly she would of known that it was possible for her child to contract salmonella from a snake but it is not a common incident if normal hygiene proceedures are followed. In all likelihood the baby caught salmonella elsewhere but no blame the poor rep it cant fight back at all or answer for itself.
I also have concerns about the fact that a nine year old was handling a snake unsupervised and then allowed to touch the baby or worse he was supervised but not made to wash his hands afterwards either way surely the mother is responsible for the outcome not the snake concerned. Even worse is no mention has been made of what has happened to the snake has it been rehomed destroyed or is it still in the family home?


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## Iliria (Jan 19, 2007)

aye, thats true


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