Using Chemicals Around Your Tank

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 4:02 am

I was reading an article about how many birds die each year from people using air fresheners and candles and such in their home. I thought I would pass this info that smoking, burning candles, spraying perfume, airfresheners and cleaning solutions will be breathed in by your pets. Birds die very easily from this over time thier little lungs get coated cutting their life span short. Crabs breathe the moisture in the air. If that moisture is mixed with smoke and chemicals, you can be killing your crabs or cutting thier life span short. I use Shaklee and other natural organic products to clean my home. Vinegar can be used in alot of cases and even then I try not to let it be overpowering. Just wanted to give you all something to think about. When I read this I remembered that there are alot of people who dont know. I used to burn candles in my house and I have a parakeet. Scarey. I hope its all out of his system and I didnt harm him.

Kelli · Post by **Kelli** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 4:16 am

I never thought about candles. Hmmmm.... I always worry about cigarette smoke since Joe smokes (is attempting to quit now).I had no idea birds had so much trouble with it, but I never thought about it either. No wonder my aunts are very picky about 'smells' in their houses. They each have birds.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 4:26 am

This is a good point- crabs are sensitive to chemicals, and it probably hasn't been brought up in a while that you should use care not to spray chemicals, air fresheners, etc. around your crabitat. Gives you a good excuse not to clean the room they are in

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 5:28 am

I have thought the same thing about sprays or anything like that. I totally FREAKED out when my husband sprayed Fabreeze on the carpet near the crab tank - I yelled at him then boiled everything I had near where he sprayed it. I was so mad!!! I got rid of all my spray stuff too. Thanks for sharing this info with us!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 10:47 am

I have a question about this. My son will be 2 next tuesday. He was in the ICU a few weeks ago with that horrid Rota virus. It's highly contagious, so I had no choice but to disinfect my entire house. I used Lysol, and Clorox disinfectint sprays. Before I started sprying my house, I wraped the top of my crabitat, and ISO tanks with plastic wrap, and put heavy beach towels over them. Do you guys think that was enough? Or should I change there substrait just to be safe?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 11:06 am

I would say there is nothing you can do after a few weeks but to never do it again.. Most chemicals evaporate and dispense themselfs away. Im sure you have aired out your home by now. I would still open windows and doors if you can and let fresh air in. Its a good idea to do that even if you didnt disinfect because house air is really stale also. The only thing I have in my house that I worry about is a bleach tablet in the toliet. Once in a while when I flush I can smell bleach, but the crabs arent in that room.

Kelli · Post by **Kelli** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 1:18 pm

Dang you, Adeara! Now I'm paranoid about stuff I use around the house! lol I pick something up and think, "Now, is this safe for the hermies?"I had been careful about what I sprayed around them anyway, but now I'm more concerned about the living room in general which is where they're at. But it's going to be hard to give up candles yet! I am glad you mentioned this though. I may not be the best about keeping stuff away from them just in case, but now it's more in my head when I do clean up. Thanks!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 2:35 pm

I have a friend who is a vet tech (and am surprised that she didn't know better) who recently lost several of her birds, including a beloved ****atoo which she inherited from her grandfather, due to glue they used to lay down a new kitchen floor. They raced the birds outside, called the fire department because they thought they had a gas leak, etc. etc. It wa a horrible tragedy to them, and to top it all off, the woman was several months pregnat with her first child and had to be rushed to the hospital to see if there was any harm to her fetus. I have a parrot and subscribe to Bird Talk magazine, so I have learned about this type of hazard - it is something to think about when caring for your crabs, as well.