Vicks vaporizers and snakes?

[BlueMoonExotics]

I'm one of those people who get sinus infections and really bad colds several times throughout the year. Every time I get one my mom tells me I should use a vaporizer and Vicks. Before I had all these snakes, geckos and frogs in my bedroom I did use it but now I'm worried that it could affect my animals. I don't allow spraying or cleaning with any kind of chemicles in my room because I worry that it could make them sick. Does anyone know if Vicks has any affect on them? I don't want to risk it if they could be affected. I'd much rather just suffer through the cold.

[The Serpent Merchant]

I'm not sure, but occasional use probably won't be an issue. I know certain oils like eucalyptus oil can be a mild irritant to some reptiles.

Unfortunately reptiles aren't good at telling you when something is bothering them. I would say give it a shot but keep a close eye on your snakes and only use it when you really need it.

[iCandiBallPythons]

I wouldnt

[Kaorte]

You could use the vaporizer just for water and then get the old fashioned vicks rub for yourself. But I wouldn't use the vicks vaporizer stuff with the reptiles.

[Neotetro]

I'd say it's fine. I've used it before in treating minor RI symptoms. I've always had success although I would advise keeping it out of their water.

[BlueMoonExotics]

I wouldn't be putting it in their water or anywhere near the snakes' cages. I think I'll try what Kaorte said and use the Vicks rub and use just regular water in the vaporizer and see if that helps first. Thanks for all the replies!

[kc261]

When we were relatively new snake keepers, one of our daughters got a hold of a tube of ben-gay, and smeared it all over the walls. The whole house STUNK. It was bad enough that my husband, who has asthma, couldn't go upstairs until we'd aired out the house for a few hours.

I called the vet in a panic, and I was told something along the lines of "if you had birds, they might be dead already, but reptiles aren't nearly as sensitive to that kind of thing, so they'll probably be ok." And they were just fine.

Still, I think I'd avoid using it in the same room as them, especially if you tend to use it several nights in a row. You can use the rub that you put directly on your body, and it probably won't permeate the room so much.

Personally, if you have a lot of sinus problems, I HIGHLY suggest looking into doing those saline nasal rinses. It sounds so gross that it kept me from trying it for years after it was first suggested to me. But I did finally try it, and it isn't actually as bad as it seems like it would be, and it helps SO much it is way worth the annoyance.

[BlueMoonExotics]

I have a product called Simply Saline that I use but it doesn't really do that much unless my sinuses are partially cleared out already. My sinuses get so bad that I can't smell or taste anything for weeks and right now I have some kind of cold in my lungs. It was much worse when I was a smoker but my colds and sinus problems have pretty much always been there since I was a kid and I don't think they'll ever go away completely. My mom blames my "pug nose" lol but I think I'm just prone to them for whatever reason. I'm sure that the vicks rub and water vapor will help.