Smelly candles

[Xenocrab]

I usually love the smell of pine candles at Christmas time. I haven't bought any this year because I don't know if the fragrance will harm my crabbies in any way. Does anybody have any information on this?

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[wodesorel]

It's a toss-up??

There has been anecdotal evidence of some candles causing severe effects on hermits, fish, even cats. The problem is that they aren't well studied, and because it's random reports on the internet, how can one be sure it wasn't something else going on?

Was it the candle? Was it PPS? Was it something unrelated? How exactly was the animal being taken care of? Was it an illness? Was it just bad timing?

Phenols in essential oils are often blamed the most and some candles do contain phenols for scent. Paraffin wax is a common candle base, it is petroleum based and releases several toxic chemicals when burned, enough that it can set off asthmatics. 'Fake' scents can also cause problems as they are not very friendly chemicals as well.

Do people burn candles and own hermits? You betcha! Do some of us stay away from candles like the plague? Oooh yes. (Severe asthmatic, reporting for duty.) Do I think it's something to be worried about with the hermits? Maybe. Keep it in the back of your head, use them away from the crab tank, make sure there is some ventilation. I would still enjoy them for the holidays!