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Handling amphibians

loublue

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Hello! I'm new here, so I'm sorry if I mess something up. :p

I have a very general question so I wasn't sure in what part of the forum to post it, but I'll try here.
I've seen in several photos where owners of especially newts and frogs hold the animal with their bare dry hands. I've always heard it's not good for the amphibian to get in contact with dry human skin so this made me wonder. Do you know something I don't? Or do they just not care enough? Because I get the impression many of them are very invested owners that talk like they do care.

Thanks in advance!
 

Chinadog

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Hi, welcome to the site. :)
If I have to handle mine I use well washed wet, cold hands. There's all kinds of opinions on weather gloves are safe or not, so I carry on like I did when I was seven years old.
 

JM29

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Hi !

Either dry or wet, the hands should be cleaned before handling the amphibian.
They must especially be cleaned between two different species.

I handle aquatic species with wet hands (difficult to avoid anyway). Terrestrial ones seem indifferent.
 

loublue

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Hi !

Either dry or wet, the hands should be cleaned before handling the amphibian.
They must especially be cleaned between two different species.

I handle aquatic species with wet hands (difficult to avoid anyway). Terrestrial ones seem indifferent.

I actually didn't know you had to wash them between two different species, good to know! I've always handled her with wet hands, it's just that I see so many pictures with owners of newts that claim they know what they are doing and still they handle their newts with dry hands, it made me confused because of how many actually do this that are very good owners otherwise..
 

BwKilcoyne

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It is highly recommended you do not touch your amphibians. Humans have thick skin with many layers, including many layers in the epidermis. Our epidermis protects us from harm, and keeps outside things, such as oils or toxins, from getting into our body because it is semi-permeable. Amphibians are different though. They have an epidermis as well, but instead of having many layers they only have an epidermis that is one to two cells thick. That is very thin. Their skin is much more permeable than ours, so they readily absorb anything they touch, whether it is water, oils or salts on our skin, or soap residue left from washing your hands. Because it is permeable, all that stuff, much of it harmful to them, gets absorbed directly into their body. Sometimes, it is necessary to handle your amphibian. In that case, it is best to wash your hands and very thoroughly rinse them off with cold water. Do not completely dry off your hands, leave a little moisture. They will not die by not being on a moist surface briefly, such as when you hold them, but it is not good for them either. If you have a circumstance where you need to handle them often, such as to give them medicine, it is best to wear nitrile gloves when you do so to prevent them from absorbing anything on your skin.
 

bhill368

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I know you have heard a lot about what to do before you handle your little friend. However, I feel that you were asking more of a reason why more veteran people seem to ignore these rules at times in pictures. For me personally, I will ALWAYS wash these grubby mitts before handling my buddy. When doing work on the tank, the hands tend to dry a little over time and occasionally one will forget to spray their hands again before putting them back and take some pictures. I'm not sure if this is the same as everyone or not, but its what happens to me on rare occasions.
 
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