# air fresheners



## Tavia06 (Apr 23, 2012)

Ok so i use incense sometimes to make my room smell nice, is it safe to use around hedgies?? is using a product like febreze ok? any suggestions on eliminating odour regularly??


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

I wouldn't recommend using incense or scented air fresheners in the same room as a hedgehog, as they're very sensitive to smells. If you mean eliminating the odor of the cage, there isn't really much of one, as long as you clean regularly. Spot clean liners daily, clean the wheel and litter pan daily, and replace liners once or twice a week.


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## raerysdyk (Oct 21, 2011)

I've used Febreeze on my furniture, which is in the same room as Brillo- but the furniture is at least 10 feet from the cage (and is non-aerosol). 

I'm a candle freak- and he has never had an issue with those either. I do keep them pretty far from his cage though...so I guess fragrance should be used with discretion...


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I wouldn't use scented candles, potpourri or air fresheners in the room either. As mentioned, they are very sensitive to smells.


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

I use Fabreze everywhere and haven't had an issue, but I don't spray it near her cage.


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## DasIgelPoggie (Oct 21, 2010)

I also happen to own a parrot and have a mother who has very sensitive lungs due to illness, so I am a little bit paranoid when it comes to air fresheners and such. I CAN NOT use paraffin-wax based candles in my home (paraffin puts out toxins in the air-- it's like having a truck's exhaust pipe in your living room), Febreze (it would kill my bird), anything made by Glade or any kind of wall plug-in, any kind of aerosol anything, or certain kinds of oil diffusers. Birds are hyper-sensitive to chemicals and it affects their body very quickly... but if it's bad for my bird to breathe those things, then I figure it is probably not very good for my hedgies either, or even people. I consider bird-safe stuff the ultimate safe bet. Beeswax or vegetable wax candles with metal-free cotton wicks are perfectly safe (and the beeswax smells DIVINE-- I want to eat my candles). Also, simmering a pot with lemon, orange, apples, innamon sticks, etc. smells fantastic and is totally safe! I avoid using sprays and fresheners as much as possible, simply because I tend to try and stick with more natural than chemical-y stuff for my family's health situation, and I like lighter scents... I find most commercial air fresheners to be very heavy, and if I find them to be overbearing, I can't imagine how my poor hedgies and dogs must feel! I know my situation is very unique, but those are both things that have worked well for me in the past and personally I would recommend them over sprays.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

DasIgelPoggie said:


> ... but if it's bad for my bird to breathe those things, then I figure it is probably not very good for my hedgies either, or even people.


Wonderful post, and I agree 100% with the quote above.


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

A air purifier can work wonders if you buy one that's big enough for the room.


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## MLHollywood (Apr 22, 2012)

The harmful chemical in most air neutralizers is ethanol. If you're using Febreze specifically, the other ingredients aren't really a health issue except that they can aggravate people with sensitive lungs (especially the perfumes). Anything else is either fairly safe (like citric acids from fruits) or in such small quantities that it's not going to be harmful to you. Not to mention that you shouldn't be spraying it in your face to start with.

That said, your hedgehog is much smaller than you are, so the amount it takes to harm your hedgehog is much much less. Ethanol vapors can be dangerous in higher doses, so if you spray your furniture I would suggest taking the hedgehog out of the room for a while until the vapors disperse. I would try using their pet formula if you go that route because it doesn't contain a few harsher chemicals that their other products do. I don't know that Febreze sells a product that is unscented though, and it seems like hedgies don't like scents too much.

I wouldn't go for aerosols at all. Most aren't very good for your health when used often.

Air purifiers are a win!

.... And I'm not trying to sound like a know it all, but I was dealing with something similar earlier today XD. I just thought it was good information.


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## Tavia06 (Apr 23, 2012)

Thank you everyone! This is excellent info and helps alot. I also tend to be on the more natural side. My question is because my hedgie is going t have a c and c cage next to my bed in a relatively small room, and ive been told that the urine smell can be quite pungent so im trying to find ways to make sure i can survive in here hahah. that being said, what about using some essential oils in a mix with a spray bottle, with say water and lemon. just a small amount of oil to diffuse the smell? you guys think that would be safe? to sprits the room with?? I would love an air purifier but im a student and saving takes along time, not to mention there would be no where to put it haha its been an effort to move things in my small room to make room for a big cage.


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## Tavia06 (Apr 23, 2012)

oh and it would be tea tree oil, i supose i should have mentioned that. do you other 'naturalists' haha have any good 'recipes' for natural cleaning mixes? like lemon and vinegar or anything??


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## MLHollywood (Apr 22, 2012)

Well, to actually neutralize the smell, I don't know that lemon will cut it. It's more of a coverup so to speak. I guess you're using liners?

Tea tree oil would be toxic to the hedgie! 

What about baking soda? Anybody tried putting a box where their hedgie can't get to it?


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## DasIgelPoggie (Oct 21, 2010)

Essential oils are kind of a gamble-- make sure there is no cedar or wood oil in the scent you choose, or tea tree oil especially. I also would ne careful about eucalyptus or similar oils, like Hollywood said, it effects hedgies more strongly because they're tiny. I have used baking soda in a bowl on a ledge above the hedgies' cage before, when one of my rescues had a bowel infection, and ot seemed to work just fine. That with a beeswax (which also has air-cleansing properties and is clean burning) candle and keeping a clean cage should make for a fantastic smelling room!  Honestly my hedgies typically aren't stinky even without any air purifiers or fresheners, once they get through the baby stage they don't really smell as long as I keep the wheels and litter boxes clean!


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## Tavia06 (Apr 23, 2012)

I am so glad I asked! I would never have thought tea tree would be toxic... guess I have some extra researching to do :S Ok backing soad above the cage, and as for beeswax candles, I make my own so that would work well. Thanks for this!


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## MLHollywood (Apr 22, 2012)

I hadn't thought of beeswax candles. I don't think I've ever burned one. 

Another thing to keep in mind with vinegar is that the smell is still pretty strong. Especially of you're spot cleaning to attempt to control the smell without a full cleaning.


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## Ewok_Girl (Feb 4, 2017)

I found some pet odor eliminators at petsmart, it's just a little tea bag looking thing full of refined carbon pellets and zeolite. The carbon neutralizes molecular odors and the zeolite removes ammonia odors from the air, it's non toxic and comes with a hook and a little peel and stick thing so it works with any cage. You just hang it up where they can't reach it and so far it's been working really well, i do spot clean everyday though so that helps. And my hedgie actually seems to like my beeswax candles they smell super sweet and delicious.


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

Ewok_Girl said:


> I found some pet odor eliminators at petsmart, it's just a little tea bag looking thing full of refined carbon pellets and zeolite. The carbon neutralizes molecular odors and the zeolite removes ammonia odors from the air, it's non toxic and comes with a hook and a little peel and stick thing so it works with any cage. You just hang it up where they can't reach it and so far it's been working really well, i do spot clean everyday though so that helps. And my hedgie actually seems to like my beeswax candles they smell super sweet and delicious.


This thread is from 2012, please check the dates before replying and don't bring back old threads.


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## Sonar_the_hedgehog (Mar 13, 2017)

I'm a new hedgehog mom. I have those wax cubes air fresheners and my hedgehog seems fine. Do you guys suggest we change to a different ones I don't something that will hurt him?


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## SquirtleSquirt (May 9, 2016)

This post is from 2012. If you have any questions please start your own thread.


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