possible allergy???

monkeyboy · 12-12-12, 07:42 AM

hi guys and girls i'm new in this forum so first off a big hello to you all...
we recentley bought a 1 year old female bci and she's absolutley gourgess, ive wanted one for years but circumstances wouldnt allow it but we finally got one a few weeks ago and couldnt be happier, however on the few occasions my wife has handled her, we noticed parts of her hands come up in red blotches and can't think what else it could be... it might be a coincidence so we'll get her out again tonight now that the redness has gone and see what happens...
has this happened to anyone else or has anybody heard of allergies relating to boas before
thanks

Gungirl · 12-12-12, 08:23 AM

What type of sub-straight are you keeping your boa on? Perhaps your wife is allergic to that and not the snake itself.

Have her handle some of the clean sub-straight that the snake has not touched yet and see if she has a reaction. Assuming you use a type of wood and not paper towels or news paper...

Will0W783 · 12-12-12, 08:42 AM

There really isn't anything about a snake that one can become allergic to. They do not have dander or fur, and in the case of mammals it's the dander that people are allergic to.

I agree with Kat that it is most likely an issue with the substrate and not the snake itself.

Lankyrob · 12-12-12, 10:14 AM

I have always understood snakes to be the most hypoallergenic animal you can own, will be interested to hear what you can find out

And welcome to the forum

Wildside · 12-12-12, 11:14 AM

Maybe it's psychological? Is she trying to overcome a fear of snakes?

That right there would be creepy crawlies to the max.

Zoo Nanny · 12-12-12, 11:21 AM

Something else to keep in mind is if she is using a hand sanitizer before and/or after handling the snake. Could be an allergic reaction to that. Also if you are using any supplements like liquid vitamins, shedding aids or water treatments.

Wyldrose · 12-12-12, 11:23 AM

If it's not the bedding it's very possible that she is allergic to the feeders.
Do you feed frozen thawed or live? I have seen pictures of people getting red blotchy rashes from rodent urine. If your snake is on paper, the feeders are/where probely on wood based bedding as well.

I don't like using wood bedding for my snakes, but I keep my rodents on it.

monkeyboy · 12-13-12, 03:15 AM

hi all and thanks for all your advice, last night my wife stuck her hands in the bag of beech chips that we use as substrate and no real change we then got miss snakey out ( sorry no name yet...feel free to add suggestions lol ) and wifey handled her with not much change...maybe a slight redness but nothing much, Thanks wildside but its definately not psychological as we've had a snake before ( no such problems with that one )and also have a beardy called moe and she's absolutely fine with with things like that, and as for hand sanitizer and things like that nothing has changed from what we've always used, we also use frozen thawed which i feed her so she dosent come into contact with them, so am at a loss really, i'll just have to keep an eye on it and see what i can find out on the web but like i said last night it wasnt to bad at all, so who knows maybe its all a coincidence
Thanks for all your replys and if anyone has any suggestions for names i'd love to hear them

iBaman · 12-13-12, 03:49 AM

even if she doesn't touch the feeder itself, the snake wraps its entire body around the prey, so she's getting second hand feeder stuff =]

monkeyboy · 12-13-12, 04:30 AM

good point iBaman i didnt think of that... maybe thats it, because she is allergic to fur as a rule, thats why we got a schnoodle (schnauzer cross poodle ) instead of any other dog... me thinks you may have solved it... i'll keep you posted

Lankyrob · 12-13-12, 06:56 AM

I wnder if just prior to the handling session where your wife reeacted if the snake had recently peed or pood and there was some remains on the snakeskin that she reacted too.....

Wyldrose · 12-13-12, 09:37 AM

If she is allergic to fur pets then I bet it is the feeders, even if it's dead it still has dander/urine allergens etc on it.

Wipe off the snake before she handles him would help, a damp wash cloth.

monkeyboy · 12-14-12, 12:31 AM

i will definately try wiping down flo ( yes we thought of a name ) before my wife handles her again, she ate last night so will leave her for a few days and let you all know what happens
thanks for all the great advice