diff --git a/kong/common/ssh.py b/kong/common/ssh.py
index f650e64..aa6d3fc 100644
--- a/kong/common/ssh.py
+++ b/kong/common/ssh.py
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
         self.host = host
         self.username = username
         self.password = password
-        self.timeout = timeout
+        self.timeout = int(timeout)
 
     def _get_ssh_connection(self):
         """Returns an ssh connection to the specified host"""