# Air Freshner -Bearded dragon & tortoises



## fiergiesreds71 (Apr 20, 2009)

Hi,

I keep our two herman tortoises and our bearded dragon in an average sized room. I was wondering if there was a possibility of using a plug-in air freshener on a low setting just to make the room smell nicewithout it being overpowering.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you


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## claphambeast (Aug 9, 2010)

I got air freshners in my room with the beardies and they dont care about the smell or it dosen't affect them. :2thumb:


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1.1.0 Pogona vitticeps (Amber and Noddy the bearded dragons)
1.0.0 Weimaraner (Charlie the dog)


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## fiergiesreds71 (Apr 20, 2009)

claphambeast said:


> I got air freshners in my room with the beardies and they dont care about the smell or it dosen't affect them. :2thumb:
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> ...


Thanks.....may i ask which ones you use and how long have you been using them for - im ultra paranoid ;-)


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## gibzy (Sep 5, 2005)

We have been using plug in Yankee candle air fresheners, smell lovely until one of the beardies need to go toilet........ not even the 1000 roses can deal with that smell !!!


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## claphambeast (Aug 9, 2010)

fiergiesreds71 said:


> Thanks.....may i ask which ones you use and how long have you been using them for - im ultra paranoid ;-)


Can't find the name of the air freshner:banghead:. But i use _Oust, _which i spray the room with and the beardie viv. :2thumb:


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1.1.0 Pogona vitticeps (Amber and Noddy the bearded dragons)
1.0.0 Weimaraner (Charlie the dog)


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## woodrott (Sep 14, 2008)

claphambeast said:


> Can't find the name of the air freshner:banghead:. But i use _Oust, _which i spray the room with and the beardie viv. :2thumb:
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> ...


 
you should never spray air freshener in a viv

its not good to many chemicals not made for reptiles


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## Tarn~Totty (May 4, 2009)

I dont spray any air fresheners inside the vivs at all, but I do have air fresheners in the room where the vivs are....cleaning out the beardie poop as quick as possible works for me...my vivs are near a window, so when I clean out the beardies I leave the room window open and one of the viv doors open at the same time (blows some fresh air in lol) but obviously for safety reasons, the beardies are always out of the vivs having a run round when I do this...dont want them falling out onto the floor!

I did see on the back of Octobers practical reptile keeping mag, an add for something called "repti-fresh"....some sort of mineral based substrate that "absorbs odor" apparently lol but dunno if this works or not, or if beardies will have a go at eating it (new product from zoo med)


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## ambyglam (Nov 16, 2009)

Plug in air fresheners should be banned.

They are a waste of electricity and full of toxic rubbish... how about just using some nice good quality essential oils in an oil burner... check they are pet safe, but most of the decent ones will be fine!


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## NANT (May 23, 2010)

I use a Airwick freshmatic that automatiac at 36 min intervals ontop of my vivs, it doesnt effect my dragons.


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## ambyglam (Nov 16, 2009)

How about opening a window?

far safer then toxic chemicals sprayed into your air!


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## jillygirl (Feb 1, 2010)

ambyglam said:


> Plug in air fresheners should be banned.
> 
> They are a waste of electricity and full of toxic rubbish... how about just using some nice good quality essential oils in an oil burner... check they are pet safe, but most of the decent ones will be fine!


absolutely agree 100% cant go wrong with good quality essential oils...plug ins smell vile .. they just smell synthetic and overpowering..


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## fiergiesreds71 (Apr 20, 2009)

jillygirl said:


> absolutely agree 100% cant go wrong with good quality essential oils...plug ins smell vile .. they just smell synthetic and overpowering..


Jilly,

How can you be sure natural oils are any better for the beardies and if you do have any info please could you share the particular oils with me.

Thank you


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## beardys (Sep 28, 2009)

claphambeast said:


> Can't find the name of the air freshner:banghead:. But i use _Oust, _which i spray the room with and the beardie viv. :2thumb:
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> ...


srry but if you spray into the viv itself them you shouldnt have a bearded dragon. and if you carry on then you may not have one for much longer. do you not know anything about the chemicals that are in aerosols.


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## fiergiesreds71 (Apr 20, 2009)

beardys said:


> srry but if you spray into the viv itself them you shouldnt have a bearded dragon. and if you carry on then you may not have one for much longer. do you not know anything about the chemicals that are in aerosols.


WHF you on about. WHO HAS MENTIONED SPRAYING THE VIV? TO MY MIND THIS THREAD IS ABOUT FRESHENING THE AIR IN THE ROOM THAT HOUSES THE VIV/S


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## JackieL (May 19, 2009)

claphambeast said:


> Can't find the name of the air freshner:banghead:. But i use _*Oust, *_*which i spray the room with and the beardie viv. :2thumb:*
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> ...


Tell me you're joking please ?


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## JackieL (May 19, 2009)

fiergiesreds71 said:


> WHF you on about. WHO HAS MENTIONED SPRAYING THE VIV? TO MY MIND THIS THREAD IS ABOUT FRESHENING THE AIR IN THE ROOM THAT HOUSES THE VIV/S


Refer to the above post :whistling2:.


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## ambyglam (Nov 16, 2009)

fiergiesreds71 said:


> Jilly,
> 
> How can you be sure natural oils are any better for the beardies and if you do have any info please could you share the particular oils with me.
> 
> Thank you


its the fact that GOOD QUALITY essential oils are natural and air fresheners are made from toxic chemicals... its just common sense!


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## JackieL (May 19, 2009)

ambyglam said:


> its the fact that GOOD QUALITY essential oils are natural and air fresheners are made from toxic chemicals... its just common sense!


Besides which if you clean your pets out thoroughly in the first place you shouldn't need any kind of air freshener.....

We certainly don't for our beardie, it always amazes me when people say their dragons enclosure stinks? I can honestly say our Viv smells of nothing. 

Maybe it's due to the fact she never poos in her Viv, she has no actual smell either.


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## maddragon29 (Oct 16, 2008)

Must say I have all of my animals in one room (almost) and its rare I can smell them. I get people coming in and being genuinely shocked that the room and house dont smell. Its simply because I keep the tanks clean.


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## fiergiesreds71 (Apr 20, 2009)

maddragon29 said:


> Must say I have all of my animals in one room (almost) and its rare I can smell them. I get people coming in and being genuinely shocked that the room and house dont smell. Its simply because I keep the tanks clean.


In honesty it is not my reptiles that seem to cause the foul smell (until my beardie poos), it is the live foo that smells the room out and hence the question about air fresheners.

Cheers


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## lil_me (Nov 22, 2009)

Spot clean daily, regular clean and an open window once a day. Healthy for you, healthy for them


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## mike10205 (Sep 3, 2009)

Let us into your secret. How to get a beardie to use the toilet lol. All beardie poo smells full stop.


JackieL said:


> Besides which if you clean your pets out thoroughly in the first place you shouldn't need any kind of air freshener.....
> 
> We certainly don't for our beardie, it always amazes me when people say their dragons enclosure stinks? I can honestly say our Viv smells of nothing.
> 
> Maybe it's due to the fact she never poos in her Viv, she has no actual smell either.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## SteveCourty (Oct 4, 2009)

I grow herbs apart from when a real honker has been done the smell of mint and basil overpowers most things and gives the missus something to make my food taste nice lol


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## awh (Aug 20, 2008)

i never use air fresheners in where my reptiles are none of my vivs smell as i spot clean and then spray they area with reptile safe disenfectant

i was told that some air fresheners could killl crickets dont know if its true or not


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## MissCat (Mar 9, 2009)

As Ambyglam said, air freshners are full of chemicals and quite pricey. There has also been a lot of talk that they can be toxic to reptiles/amphibians/inverts and fish. I'm too tired right now to go dig out some actual proof of this however. 

Other advice that has been given is dead bang spot on. 
Spot clean the enclosures (INCLUDING live food enclosures) daily
Open up a window once a day, even if it's only for ten minutes, it really makes a difference. 
Buy some herbs in a pot, or a bunch of flowers (better still, bully someone else into buying you flowers!)
Bake a cake or some bread!
Essential oils, a thousand times cheaper than ANY air freshner, with a thousand more uses for them. e.g:

a few drops of up to 3 different complimentary oils in a bit of water, in an oil burner. Alternatively, a few drops on a piece of cotton wool on the radiator (if it's on).

a few drops of oil in a spray bottle of water (NOT one that you use for your reptiles) sprayed on carpet/ sofas etc works wonders. 

You can use many different oils for yourself, either in poultices, massages, teas, soaps, shampoos/conditioners/shower gels etc, food...so, so many different applications. 

Essential oils, used in the form of aromatherapy can benefit yourself in many ways, some are relaxing (lavendar), some make you sleepy or act as an aphrodesiac (neroli), some are uplifting (lemon). If you have a cold, eucalyptus is good...the possibilities are endless. 

Some oils should NOT be used for various things, like if you are pregnant, don't use clary sage and ideally talk to a medical practitioner before using any. By the same train of thought, don't use things like Pine, or sandalwood, particularly if you have inverts. 

There's a ream of information online about the use of essential oils and plenty of really good books. 

So rather than filling your room with chemicals that only benefit your sense of smell and could possibly harm your pets......I urge you to look into using oils. 

Just my 2p : victory:


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## Doodle (Aug 7, 2008)

ambyglam said:


> its the fact that GOOD QUALITY essential oils are natural and air fresheners are made from toxic chemicals... its just common sense!


im sorry, but i hate this attitude that people have of 'if its man made it must be toxic, and if its natural it must be amazing and poo baby rabbits'

for a start, natural oils can be VERY toxic, in fact, some of them work by BEING toxic, sandlewood is great for arthritis because it's a poison which numbs the pain, obviously bad to have this airbourne around smaller animals as its LD50 can lead to them dieing far before you even notice the effects!

As for 'toxic chemicals'... wtf do you think is in essential oils? because it sure as hell isn't pixie dust and unicorn hair... the majority of smells are from a small group of chemicals (typically esters and ethers), which MAY be harmful, all really depends on what is put around them structure wise. BUT it should be noted, no chemist worth his salt is going to synthesise an airbourne chemical which is highly toxic for use as a room freshener - its seen as 'bad for business'. 

By all means, some of the cheap air fresheners have cheap ingredients, and they will be bad (Note, the most dangerous part is usually the propellant). BUT, no worse than the carbon monoxide formed by an oil burner, or the toxic fumes from the oils themselves.

In short, don't use cheap naff products (regardless of source) around your reps unless you have checked their toxicity, and dont be a sheep who has no scientific understanding and just assumes that from a plant is different to from a lab, regardless of structure : victory:

(sorry for the rant, have had some bloody hippies p*&$%&g me off today at work...)


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## beardys (Sep 28, 2009)

aaarrrhh who did i upset:whistling2:


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## 1uk3 (Jun 18, 2010)

I use an air freshener that's goes off every 30 odd minutes air wick or something its hard keeping all my reps in one room its on the groubd floor just off a main road so can't leave my window open all day 

You cant make it smell nice even with air freshners when you have 2 4ft boscs and 3 fully grown beardies pooing under the heat lamp amongst a lot more aswell


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## MissCat (Mar 9, 2009)

chemical composition of the Lemon essential oil:
a-pinene, camphene, b-pinene, sabinene, myrcene, a-terpinene, linalool, b-bisabolene, limonene, trans-a-bergamotene, nerol and neral.

Lemon oil (Citrus limonum) - the origin, source, extraction method, chemical composition, therapeutic properties and uses.

Ths information is freely found on teh web, as well as in several articles in google scholar. 

Chemical composition of commercial air fresheners:



> The solvent used in it is butane, which is extremely flammable and not a common gas found in the air, so its kind of polluting the air!
> The other ingredients written on the can (R8, R25) are not clearly understandable. Generally it contains formaldehyde which is a toxic compound by itself.
> Interestingly the complete chemical composition of most air fresheners (including this product) are still a closely guarded secret.


According to wikipedia, the active ingredient on Febreze is 
Cyclodextrins (derived from corn) and alcohol. 
Though, wikipedia is not always correct. 



> Something we never know from the container:
> 
> The Independent and Guardian published the results revealed from the researches in different Universities of US and Eu:
> 
> ...


http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/household-products/air-wick-vanilla-indulgence/1060991/

The majority of air fresheners only do their job for a short period of time (30 mins or so) requiring you to pump in more of it. 

"Branded" air fresheners are, by general concensus, better than cheaper brands containing less chemicals and chemicals that are of better quality. These brands are more likely to have undergone more rigerous testing to ensure that there are no negative effects on people/animals (Glade, for example had financed independant testing on their products.)

Air fresheners release chemical compounds into the localised atmosphere. If you are using air freseners it is more likely that you will NOT be adequately airing the room out (you will think that you don't need to now, as your room smells nice), but what you ARE allowing is the gradual build up of chemicals...like formaldehyde.

Whether you use oils or air fresheners, you STILL need to air the room out. 

And I prefer to use oils because the chemical composition of each one is FAR FAR easier to find out than any commercial air freshener.

If you know the composition of an essential oil, and research the uses/effects of the ones you are using...how can that be worse than a commercial air freshener? YES you CAN use the wrong one...no it's not a perfect science...but it's a science that is far easier to learn than anything commercial. 

Much better, IMO than spending obscene amounts of money on air freshener...especially when you will never genuinely KNOW what is in it.


It's not tree hugging hippy c***.....it's common sense.


edit, apologies for the poor sources used in evidence, I've got kids to feed/bathe/ put to bed and animals to sort out. if you care enough to have read my post I'm sure you can find some to either back up my argument or challenge it.


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## mike10205 (Sep 3, 2009)

So are some oils dangerous too then. Is that what you are saying. 



MissCat said:


> As Ambyglam said, air freshners are full of chemicals and quite pricey. There has also been a lot of talk that they can be toxic to reptiles/amphibians/inverts and fish. I'm too tired right now to go dig out some actual proof of this however.
> 
> Other advice that has been given is dead bang spot on.
> Spot clean the enclosures (INCLUDING live food enclosures) daily
> ...


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## ambyglam (Nov 16, 2009)

mike10205 said:


> So are some oils dangerous too then. Is that what you are saying.


yep, but use your common sense... a decent quality essential oil is not going to contain the carcinogens that most household air fresheners do!

Use something like mandarin oil which is considered safe even for pregnant women to use on their skins... and your only putting it in an oil burner!


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## MissCat (Mar 9, 2009)

mike10205 said:


> So are some oils dangerous too then. Is that what you are saying.


Well, for example....

Clary sage is well known for making the uterine walls contract. Heavily pregnant women tend to use it to help induce labour. Therfore it stands to reason that if you were 12 weeks pregnant...you wouldn't really want to be using it at all. 

Some oils used in insect repellant...probably not a good idea to use them if you keep insects...

The effects of pine resins on reptiles is (semi) well documented- as in, don't use pine based substrates because of the toxicity...so common sense dictates that pine oils are not going to be a good idea. 

I *think* i recall reading in the tarantula keepers guide that sandalwood (or was it cedarwood?) was toxic to tarantulas, so using that would be a bad idea.

There are still lots of mild, safe oils that could be used though, and as I said earlier, the chemical composition and applications of each oil are far easier to research than that of commercial air fresheners, IMO.


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## mike10205 (Sep 3, 2009)

Not being awkward simply pointing out that common sense would be of no use if you no nothing about oils. 

You may as well use an airfreshner.


ambyglam said:


> yep, but use your common sense... a decent quality essential oil is not going to contain the carcinogens that most household air fresheners do!
> 
> Use something like mandarin oil which is considered safe even for pregnant women to use on their skins... and your only putting it in an oil burner!


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## mike10205 (Sep 3, 2009)

Oils are great don't get me wrong. Fir the house in general. But you two guys seems to no a lot about oils and having buns in the oven lol. What wrong with the good old orange and cloves like you made in school. Beardie poo stinks full stop and if your out at work all day it's not nice when you come home. Strict spot cleaning and complete regular substrate change is the best. And a wee oil burner to top it off. My other half is mad on burners. Like a chapel sometimes my house. 



MissCat said:


> Well, for example....
> 
> Clary sage is well known for making the uterine walls contract. Heavily pregnant women tend to use it to help induce labour. Therfore it stands to reason that if you were 12 weeks pregnant...you wouldn't really want to be using it at all.
> 
> ...


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## ambyglam (Nov 16, 2009)

mike10205 said:


> Not being awkward simply pointing out that common sense would be of no use if you no nothing about oils.
> 
> You may as well use an airfreshner.



lol

I meant as what to do with the oils...hahah

Such as to put it in an oil burner or on a tissue on the heater etc, not putting it directly in/on a viv so that the animal can touch it. Most issues with oils happen when people put them on their skin.

This is why I suggested mandarin as its extremely safe, even when put on the skin...

The clove and orange thing is fine... if you can stand the smell of cloves... which I cant... haha


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## mike10205 (Sep 3, 2009)

I am only pulling your leg. But now I am learning something. So are all oils safe as long as just in a burner in the room for talk sake. It's not the actual smell that could be harmful it is direct contact. 



ambyglam said:


> lol
> 
> I meant as what to do with the oils...hahah
> 
> ...


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## ambyglam (Nov 16, 2009)

mike10205 said:


> I am only pulling your leg. But now I am learning something. So are all oils safe as long as just in a burner in the room for talk sake. It's not the actual smell that could be harmful it is direct contact.


some oils can be harmful if burned too... its quite complicated... best thing to do... speak to an aromatherapist who could best inform you... and until then... mandarin oil all the way!


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## mr_b_nwuk (Oct 11, 2009)

*An effective alternative?*

... or possibly try T-Rex "Bio Fresh".

It works a treat. Bio safe. Non aerosol. VERY effective. Pump spray - one or two pumps is more than enough.

My bottle has been regularly used for over a year now for two beardies and I have used less that a quarter of the bottle. Not cheap but is excellent value as it lasts so very long.

I can put two poos in a plastic bag, quick spray of Bio Fresh and no smell of poo ... just sweet flowers. Amazing stuff.

Maybe it is chemicals? Maybe it is essential oils? Dunno. But I ain't joining in that discussion. Am just trying to offer an alternative that really works for anyone who cares to give it a look.

Made by T-rex ... a firm associated with reptiles products. Says it is totally safe to use with all reptiles and amphibians. So it gets my vote.

example of:
Livefood UK Ltd.


PS, obviously this is not intended as a replacement for good husbandry.


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