Purell?

[Em Wright]

There's been a couple times when I've put Purell on my hands that Mali seemed a lot more frightened of me than she usually is. Instead of exploring my hands and arms she'll just curl up in my hand and I can see her breathing heavily. Even if it's been a while since sanitizing my hands she still has a bad response to it.

I was wondering if anyone knows why? Is it just a different smell she dislikes, does it maybe bother her 'skin' or sinuses? :shrugs:

[Jadie.Glitch]

I haven't heard anything about Purell being an issue with the cornsnakes. All of the expo tables have them out for passersby as well. It's probably just the unfamiliar smell... or maybe like some humans, she has a sensitivity to it. Without interacting with her directly I couldn't give you any more advice.

Is it plain Purell or is it one of the scented ones?

[SnakesRule1234]

Probably the smell of it... snakes have a VERY sensitive smell, as you may know, so it's it's most likely that.

[Jenstar]

I use it all the time and my snakes don't seem to mind... They might just be used to it... I would just make sure the purell is dry before touching your snake...

[tom e]

Is it scented? That and making sure it's dry (as mentioned) so it's not too alcoholic! Other wise, should be fine!

[bitsy]

Mine start acting wary if I use a different brand of soap before handling them. They seem to associate that particular scent with a "safe pair of hands".

Maybe yours just needs time to get used to the new handwash smell?

[Blue Apple Herps]

I personally have never had a problem with it. I always use hand sanitizer before and after handling my snakes. I do use just plain ol' unscented stuff.

[Em Wright]

I checked it and ours has aloe in it... is that the difference perhaps?

I make sure my hands are clean before handling her, I'd hate to spread germs to her and make her sick. I'm slack about washing afterward... :p

[dwyn127]

I checked it and ours has aloe in it... is that the difference perhaps?

I make sure my hands are clean before handling her, I'd hate to spread germs to her and make her sick. I'm slack about washing afterward... :p


Mine has aloe and I have no problems either........guess you need to wash your hands before handling her.:p:p

[JoshnJJ]

Hmm, I wash my hand with anti-bacteria soap, my snakes don't have anything against that. I washed my hand with dish soap, and they don't react to it, just stay the same.

[Caryl]

I personally use soap and water rather than hand sanitizer because the hand sanitizers contain chemicals that, while perfectly safe for human skin, do stay on your skin. These include but are not limited to various alcohols, plant extracts, and sometimes a softening agent. Since I don't know what these residues might do to my corns, I just avoid them. I know a lot of people use them with no problem, but since effects on the herps aren't known I save sanitizers for other times. Just my proverbial 2 cents.