Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Squirrel_Butt]

Hi I have kind of a unique situation here. My girlfriend and me just moved into our own condo and well she hats the "smell of them" .  I clean the cages regularly and do not smell anything until the cages need to be cleaned.  But anyway she goes and sprays the stuff in their room.  I ask her to not do that in there and she just gets all defensive and crap....Anyway is it safe to spray that in their room? It is a pretty small room that contains only the chins and the cages.

[GrayRodent]

It is not safe to spray anything like that around chinchillas. It can kill them fairly easily by causing acute pneumonia. Swapping the newspaper bedding with pine chips as discussed earlier should help immensely.

[Squirrel_Butt]

OMG she has sprayed already  in there quite a few times. how quickly will they develop Pneumonia?  Is thre anything I can do to stop it from happening?  Im definitely throwing out the glade on her.

[GrayRodent]

It can happen at any time the spray is inhaled by the animals and symptoms will usually occur within a couple of hours. It is caused by an allergic reaction to the substance and it can have a cumulative effect as well so if the irritants build up in the system it can reach a point of no return. The danger is compounded when the room is small and not well ventilated. The same goes for birds and any small animals. This includes scented candles, scented chinchilla dust, and even cedar chips with natural scents and unfortunately I know of deaths caused by these things in both chinchillas and birds and these are lesser things than sprays.

[Squirrel_Butt]

Should I open the window in their room now?  Will it help? Nothing was sprayed today. Or is it already in them? And how will I know if they are suffering form pneumonia?

[GrayRodent]

What's done is done. Just make sure they don't get any more of it. If it still smells strongly of air freshner it wouldn't hurt to open the window for a few minutes. If it does happen again move the animals to a place with clean air, open the window, and run a fan and try to blow the room out if possible.
Actual pneumonia usually presents with severe depression, rapid, labored breathing, convulsions, and usually death within minutes. If it happened you would know because it is not subtle and you really can't do anything about it.
The effects of irritation that can lead to pneumonia can include coughing and rapid breathing, watering eyes, runny nose, etc. and would present within hours of exposure to the irritant. In my experience with birds this can be within 24 hours of exposure.
The risk of symptoms do become higher with each subsequent exposure so the best thing you can do is prevent it from happening again any time soon.
If you find your pets easily get out of breath or act like they are having problems breathing you might want to go to the vet for medications to reduce the inflammation. This is true for birds and other small animals. It is not something to mess with.

[Jo Ann]

   Chinchillas are from the Andes Mountains where the air is clean and clear naturally, their lungs were not made to handle man-made perfumes or other chemical odors/compounds.  Pneumonia is usually the eventual result of exposure to these man made odors.   Your friend/roommate could easily kill your chinchillas by spraying chemicals, powders or using any other "man-made" items in the same room as your chin, such as, but not limited to, bath powder, air spray, sented candles, perfume, cleaning chemicals, bug spray, cat litter with an 'odor controller', and cedar wood chips, just to mention a few. 

If you clean your chin's cage weekly, there should be no real noticeable odors to most people.  But, some people have sensitive noses.  You might want to 'gently suggest' your roommate not go into the room where your chinchillas are kept and keep the door to that room closed, as not to offend your roommate's nose.  If this does not work for your roommate, you might think of getting a new roommate OR finding your little ones a new home.  (Sorry, but, as a breeder of chinchillas for 20+ years,  I'm 150% for chinchillas.  ) 

Keep us posted on what you decide to do.   Hope all works out for the best (especially for the chinchillas).   

   Jo Ann

[Squirrel_Butt]

Are the Airwick things that plug into walls that are placed in a different room any risk to them? I keep the door to their room closed a all times. can it travel under doors the automatic dispensers?

I have aspen shavings in the drop pans now with baking soda at the very bottom. My girlfriend is so stubborn...but I love her. and I love my chins. 

[GrayRodent]

Personally, I would not do that because of our pet parrot and chinchilla. Like JoAnn says, the scent may be undetectable to us, yet may be irritating to the animals. As a result we are sure to run fans or open windows when we detect odors from cleaners.

[Squirrel_Butt]

I have a bad sense of smell. But the dispenser is across the hall I nthe bathroom and the other one is in the family room which is dow nthe hall from the closed chin room. Will they be ok?

[GrayRodent]

Using scents of any kind is a gamble. You don't know how much the animals are getting. Moving them through the house will also result in exposure. It is a bad idea.

[chinnieluvr]

I agree with Jo Ann. Just ask your girlfriend to stay out of that room. If she cares for you she will do it. Does she like the chins? If her nose is that sensitive why does she go in the room to begin with? I'm not trying to sound mean.

[Squirrel_Butt]

SHe HATES them. She thinks their scent travels thru the walls or doors. she goes in there to spray it. Looks like I have to get rid of her.

[Squirrel_Butt]

I should add that the door to the chin room is always closed.  when opened it is closed immediately.  Can the scented stuff that harms them travel under doors?

I unplugged the Airwicks last night and she had a fit.

[GrayRodent]

Yes it can. Typically heating and air systems draw air in from the main part of the house and blow it out the vents in all the rooms as well.