Are "essential oils" in diffusers harmful to snakes and other reptiles?

[PocketPirate]

I know that pine and cedar substrates should not be used in enclosures because they contain toxic oils or other properties that can be harmful to snakes and other reptiles. The other day I was considering buying a diffuser and adding a few drops of your standard range of essential oils such as lavender or lemongrass or eucalyptus, peppermint, etc. just for personal use and to try them out.

However I don't have a dedicated snake room (as I only have my one and only bp) who is in my computer room/home office where I spend most of my time, so naturally I had some concerns about placing it there.

Would indirect exposure to these scents/aromatics be harmful? My immediate guess would be that it would at least not be beneficial if not outright toxic or stressful, so I'm asking to make sure. And if the diffuser was located in a separate room like my bedroom that is next door, would that be considered a safe distance or should I just avoid the whole idea entirely? Are there some oils/scents that are safer than others?

As I said, I haven't bought anything yet so she's still completely content where I have her-- temps are in their proper range, I always keep her humidity up in the proper range, and she's never refused a meal since i got her back in August and her sheds have all been in one entire piece.

Any advice would be appreciated!

[bcr229]

Eucalyptus is a big no-no: http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/pytho...important.html

Personally I would rather not experiment with my critters. Substances that mammals can tolerate just fine can cause odd or detrimental effects in reptiles.

[mlededee]

Do not diffuse any oils in the same room with your reptiles (and other pets should have the option to move away from a diffuser and not be trapped in the same room with it). You should avoid tree oils and citrus altogether as they can be toxic. I use essential oils in a diffuser fairly often, but it is in a separate, closed room on the opposite end of the house from my reptiles.

[crittermomx18]

Hi I have a ?? I am thinking of using our cool mist humidifier that previously had lemongrass used in the diffuser tray that has since been totally cleaned out and no oils remain visible and I cant smell any, to humidify my BP's since what we had stopped working. We have wood heat they are in a glass tank in our main room as that is the only place big enough to house the tank, therefore it stays rather warm and the 3 of them continually want to crowd into the same water dish to cool off I suppose ? Would it be safe to use the diffuser for humidification for them as there is no oil residue in it and hasn't been in weeks ? I want to humidify them in a comfortable manner but cant get the system I want right now. Again the diffuser has been cleaned out top to bottom and no oils are on any surface, would it be safe or just best not to. the humidifier in ? was previously used in the room they are in with said oils and no adverse effects at all to them so idk ..................... help please any advice is welcome, they continually try to stay in the water they do not have mites all sheds have been complete with little to no help from me so I assume they are hot from the wood heat.

[mlededee]

I wouldn't use the humidifier. Essential oils are very strong and may get into places that you can't totally clean out. Just because you can't smell it, doesn't mean it is completely gone. To be on the safe side I would get a new humidifier. You can get them at Walmart pretty cheap.

The other issue I see here, is that you are housing three snakes in the same tank? Separate the snakes each into their own plastic bin (not a glass aquarium). The snakes will be happier and you will have a much easier time with the humidity. Also make sure that the snakes are not actually too hot. If they are actively trying to cool off, you need to move them away from the heat. They should have a heat gradient in their enclosure so that they can choose to be on the warm or cool side. The entire enclosure should not be so hot that they are trying to get away from the heat. Make sure that you are measuring the temperatures with a digital thermometer so you know exactly what it is on both the warm and cool sides.