Your Opinions on Hygiene [after touching beardies]

[herpfreak]

I've always been curious about how far fellow beardie owners go to keep yourselves clean after handling your beardies. Personally, I'm not worried about it, and I know that a lot of people think they carry "diseases" and "dangerous germs", but so do all animals, ourselves included.

Of course, I always wash up after cleaning up poo. Whether or not it contains salmonella, it smells bad and can't be good to get in one's food. I'm also really careful to keep clean between handling the kids, especially since Cu is sick. I would hate to spread it to Budo. But other than that, I have become totally relaxed with whatever bacteria Budo carries (I do bath him a lot, so it's not like he's covered in poo), sometimes even eating after holding him. In truth, cats, dogs, and rodents (especially rodents) carry lots of bacteria too, and not many people fuss about washing their hands after petting their cat.

I also keep a bottle of hand sanitizer by the vivs so that when I do feel the need to wash my hands, it's quick and easy.

What do you guys do about personal hygiene around reptiles?

 

[RioReptiles]

I can't stand a dragon that has a smell, I've got new ones that way and that tells me someone doesn't keep them very clean. All my dragons smell like clean sand. The only thing I worry about is when I kiss my dragons after they eat a big fat roach. Nothing has happened yet so I guess I'll live. My roaches are clean too! I like the way their bin smells, like fresh bread dough.

 

[sha489]

i never wash my hands unless i touched my snakes before hand. i just found out my one snake has a respiratory infection and am not sure if my beardie spike can get it or not so i moved him downstairs into my bedroom. but my beardie has never smelled so i guess im doing something right. he only ever smells like a strawberry when i give him fruit mix like once a week to see if hell eat it last time i fed it to him he sat right on top of the mushy stuff. it was warm- thats my guess lol but ya the only time i wash my hands is when i clean his cage or feem him crickets but when i handle him i dont worry about it.

 

[pclyons]

I don't post much (actually only twice before), but couldn't resist. I actually only wash my hands after handling my kids!! My beardies are much cleaner than my three boys!! :laughhard: :laughhard: :laughhard: :laughhard: :laughhard:

 

[herpfreak]

lol, I definitely know what you're saying! (I've got brothers :roll: )

 

[NegativeCreep]

Eh, I'm pretty relaxed when it comes to protecting myself. I wash up (or germex) if I have been handling something that I would worry about getting on the beardie or snakes. I also wash between handling animals. I worry more about transferring cat hair into my food or whatnot. If I feed that I need to wash before or after handling for a particular reason, then I worry about it - otherwise, I guess I live on the edge!

BTW, what's wrong with Cu? I hope he's ok.
My Blazey has another RI, I'm going to quit messing around and I'm just going to bite the bullet and give her the antibiotics now. I really hate to, but the 'natural' stuff just isn't working anymore.

 

[herpfreak]

BTW, what's wrong with Cu? I hope he's ok.
My Blazey has another RI, I'm going to quit messing around and I'm just going to bite the bullet and give her the antibiotics now. I really hate to, but the 'natural' stuff just isn't working anymore.

Yep, RI. I don't trust myself giving her antibiotics, so she gets these really expensive injections every 2 weeks until it clears up, which it looks like it already is.

 

[shimmeriing]

I usually wash my hands, or use hand sanitizer. Mostly when I'm going to eat or doing something with my daughter.
Unfortunately, my beardie smells. I don't think the previous owner ever bathed him. He stinks. His cage stank when we got him, I had to change everything.

 

[Seven65]

I wash my hands before and after handling my dragon. Not out of paranoia or anything, I just think it's good habit to wash your hands often.

 

[shimmeriing]

I wash my hands before and after handling my dragon. Not out of paranoia or anything, I just think it's good habit to wash your hands often.

I agree. It is a good habit.

 

[Rozen]

I'm not to scared of anything really...

 

[Ethelia]

I sanatise my hands with alcohol rub after I handle my babies. My father has no immune system and has not been affected at all by my contact with the dragons.

 

[AmyDragon89]

I wash my hands after I do anything.
It really does my hands in though as I have excema so my hands are always dry and always have loads of cuts on them.
This also means I have to use certain soaps and can't use that gel stuff whatever it's called because that stings my hands real bad.
I have OCD so things are annoyingly difficult for me sometimes but I just end up putting up with pain in my hands because I hate not washing them. It's not even that I think my animals are dirty, they don't smell or anything. Its just this thing in my head. Crickets do my head in though and when I find an escapee I catch it, put it back then go wash my hands and probably about 15mins later I see another one ARGHHH

 

[Pleaides]

well i wash and sanitise like a madman! lol, one of my dragons had coccidia last year, the other had worm eggs, neither of them caught what the other had so hand washing is essential to me, especially with all my snakes now as one of them has recently been diagnosed with a very bad case of flagellates! after 13 years of keeping them so i think thats not too bad, i suspect another of my snakes has it also but its just getting a fresh fecal sample in time to the vet whos an hour away to be checked, so at the moment i am indeed paranoid, not in fear of myself getting anything but my other animals getting ill. i have always washed my hands prior to handling any of them in fear of giving THEM something, LOL.
but my hands do suffer with all the washing and have to also buy particular soaps, my hands really dry out and crack and with the alcohol gel, i put up with the sting as at least i know their clean.

 

[LJean]

I'm not overly cautious and it depends on the situation. I have antibacterial soap and handsanitizer by the sink in the kitchen and bathrooms. I always wash my hands before and after handling food and always when dealing with the turtle tanks. As for the dragons, it depends on if Oscar ran through his poo or not. Calypso seems to stay clean.