BP and human babies

We own 3 bearded dragons and I want to add a Ball Python to our family. My wife is very concerned about having a constricting snake in the house knowing that we will be having kids in the next 2 years. Is there ANY chance of an escaped BP hurting a baby? I know it is a reality that is COULD escape at some point through human error...

That's a good question Jonathan. I have a 2 year old and 2 bp's, a hogg island and 2 corns. The chances are extremely rare that any injury would come to your child from the snake physically. Just make sure to keep to keep the tank with proper locks. However the main concern would be salmonella, and other parasites that could be transmitted from your handling of the snake and not practicing proper hygiene before handling your child. Before snakes were introduced into our household I did discuss it with our pediatrician. His only recommendation was to wait until she was 2 because of better immunity and just having more wieght on her in case she did become ill. The rule when I am cleaning is that she is not handled by me until I am done cleaning every one and then my hands are washed with soap and hot water for a minimum of 30 seconds. All areas where I had placed any of the tank items are bleached down and rinsed well. I usually don't do the cleanings unless my boyfriend is around to watch her. The few times that I have done it by myself with her running around I make sure she has no contact with anything.
On the side note, not just snakes should be a concern with babies. If you have dogs and cats, make sure to deworm them on a routine schedule. I do mine 2-3 times a year because of the possibilty of roundworm, tapes, and pinworm transmission to the child. If you have cats, have a toxoplasmosis titer done on them for the sake of the mother and unborn child. You should take over litterbox duty if the box is not cleaned every day. I did clean the boxes when I was pregnant, but I did it daily and did wear a mask and gloves for safety.
If you have a general practioner, speak to them about all these concerns. They should be willing to take the time to answer your questions and alleviate any concerns you and your wife have.
Hope this helped.

That does help. We are VERY careful with hygene and our beardies. Her main concern was the python getting out and ending up on top of the baby, around its neck.

Aahh, I would find that type of scenario rare in my opinion. First, your baby would be too big to be considered prey for a bp (at least that's my opinion). Second, if the snake did get out, it would look for a more secretive hiding place than a baby's crib.
Anyone else got opinions on this to help them out. It's a valid concern and let's help them get a bp

I donno, but I personally would be just fine about keeping my Tarantula, Scorpion, and BP, and others with a kid. I've also never read any Media reports about Snakes eating babies.

BPs are not big enough to pose a threat to a human child.

Even if they do get bit (heaven forbid), all you have to do is just wash and disinfect it like any cut and kiss the boo boo. Try not to make it a huge deal, as that can cause a fear response for the child and scar them for life. (I know this as a fact, due to my friend having this response and still remembering her experience after 20 years)

I've worked with my snakes around small children, and there has never been any problem. Not even a bite... They seem to only like to bite me!

Good luck!

I have 4 kids and never a problem with BPs, Red tails, ferrets, birds, corns, kings, beardies, iguanas, chameleons, and even a yellow anaconda, and my children. The yellow anaconda was kept under lock and key and so were the iguanas. So long as you have the proper caging, and take the appropriate safety measures, there should be no problems, especially with BPs which as a rule are generally ostrich snakes who will hide their heads instead of biting. As a side note, check the diswasher for any escapees. (don't even ask, just heed my advice on that one! LOL)

Melissa

I would recommend making the reptile room an "off-limits" place that you can lock and keep the key yourself. In fact, getting a cage that can be locked is a great idea! Animals are like anything else potentially dangerous to kids, as long as they are supervised by you and you are EXTREMELY paranoid about locking up and washing your hands, it should be fine. waiting until the kid is older (2 yesr +) is a GREAT idea, you will be able to communicate with the kid better and it is less risky for any disease potential. As long as you aren't expecting the kid to ake care of the animals, i think kids and reptiles can go together well with the right parental attitudes. Plus it is awesome when kids aren't afriad of snakes and spiders because they know they aren't evil

Um, so you know... never let any snake get around anyone's neck for any reason. I have let my BP crawl on my head, and occasionally he would try to wrap around my throat. i just pull him off and keep him in my hands and lap as much as possible, generally keeping them near your face is not a good idea, as i have learned from getting chomped by other animals.
The strangulation thing is instinctive for most snakes that don't have venom, so they can potentially strangle you to death even if they aren't very big- they are VERY strong. Another reason why supervision is important with kinds and animals, the kids won't know any better unless you tell and show them.

It's like a one in a million chance that a snake would head for a baby's crib anyways. They always stick to the walls and smaller hides. A crib would be the last place to find one. They do like to go for warmth, but it's usually stationary warmth that they go for (stereos, fridges, water coolers, etc.) not a baby that moves and breaths. It will perceive the baby as a threat just like it would a cat or dog. And when the baby is small enough for a ball python to do any damage (strangling, etc), I would suspect that you would be keeping the baby in your room or close by for frequent feedings and changing (I am a maternity nurse here in Canada). Trust me, a mother will not leave a newborn for more than two hours without checking on it. By the time a baby is 6 months old, it has the sense to grab at anything around it's neck anyways. At 6 months, a baby could over power a 3 foot ball easily. It wouldn't have a chance to get around it's neck because the baby would pick it up to play with it if it was awake, and if it was sleeping, babies move around too much in their sleep because of their rapid growth rate (something like a major movement every 7 mins) for it to settle down and be warm with the baby anyways. If you get this snake, keep the baby in a separate room of course, and if you are really worried, get a baby monitor, put the baby in a room with a closed door,and block off the bottom of the door so it'can't crawl underneath if the snake should end up escaping. This will guarantee that it doesn't get into the baby's room. Hope this helps.

Cher RN