[strawberryfields]

I was just wondering because I ran out of conditioner today and the only thing in the house is my roommate's Tea Tree Mint conditioner. I didn't use it just in case, but I was hoping someone on here would know. Is it safe to use a Tea Tree product if it's something you rinse off, and it isn't on a part of my body that Rocko would touch? Obviously I would never use Tea Tree lotion on my hands or something like that.

 

[LizardGirl]

I wouldn't risk it. I'm sure Nancy or HedgeMom would have more on the specific risks though.

 

[HedgeMom]

Tea Tree Oil is known toxic to cats and ferrets. It's not something I'd risk.

 

[Nancy]

Over the past few years there have been a few hedgehogs that died from tea tree oil and shampoo being used on them. One was posted to CnQ which is no longer but the others were posted on here. Somebody with very good searching skills might be able to find them in the archives of the old HHC.

 

[silvercat]

Due to the toxicity I wouldn't risk even using it on yourself. Yes you rinse it off, but I'm sure you can still smell it (I know I can always smell my sister's). I would assume a lingering smell indicates a lingering residue. Similarly, while you're using it on your hair, you still need to use your hands to lather, it runs down your face/neck when you rinse it off & we all know those shed hairs that we find lying around. I've been in a similar spot when staying with my sister who uses tea tree shampoos and do to too many variables, I choose not to risk it.

 

[strawberryfields]

Alright, thanks everyone.

 

[smhufflepuff]

I've been wondering something along the same lines. I have a bottle of "Tea Therapy Clarifying Conditioner" that also says "vanilla mint tea" on the front. I didn't buy it, but it's in my house. I looked through the ingredients on the back; there's nothing that says "tea tree oil," but there are plenty of multisyllabic-chemical-sounding items listed and a few in almost English - namely: camellia sinensis leaf extract. Would that be that bad stuff? Shall I pitch this conditioner & recycle the bottle?

 

[Kalandra]

camellia sinensis is the plant that black tea/green tea/ white tea/the tea we drink comes from.

 

[Fizgig]

How often do you all bathe your hedgies??

 

[smhufflepuff]

How often do you all bathe your hedgies??

Just to make sure we're all the same page, the conditioners we're talking about are ones we might (or might not) use on ourselves; not the hedgies.

For our hedgies, we use things like plain water or water with oatmeal in a sock or Aveeno (or store brand) oatmeal bath. Since they're prone to dry skin and bathing increases the risk of dry skin, we try to bathe hedgies only when they've made absolute messes of themselves. From my reading, the frequency seems to range anywhere between once a month and once a lifetime (give or take a little). My girl is maybe once every other month on average.

That said, some hedgies need footbaths almost daily to remove poopboots from running in their wheels - plain water only a centimeter or so high.

camellia sinensis is the plant that black tea/green tea/ white tea/the tea we drink comes from.

Oh, okay. I'm not much of a tea drinker. It's right up there with alcohol and boiled spinach in my book... yuck! Should we lump all parts of a tea plant in the "bad for hedgies; keep away" category?

 

[Kalandra]

Keep in mind that drinking tea and tea tree oil are two completely different plants. Tea tree oil comes from the Melaleuca alternifolia. I don't know that the camellia sinensis is going to harm our hedgehogs (I honestly haven't really read much about green tea extract in shampoos and its benefits/dangers). But I always try to err on the side of caution. If I'm not certain I don't do it. In this case, I would stick with things I know work fine (Aveeno body wash for mine).


How often do I bathe hedgehogs? Only when they need it. I cannot tell you off hand the last time Rose had a bath. Its been a long time. She is an extremely clean hedgehog and occasionally just needs a wet wash cloth to get a spot cleaned. Typically if I do have to give a bath, its with just water. If for some reason I deem it necessary to use soap, we use Aveeno Body Wash.