Toxic smoke

Juliebrei · 08-09-2017, 01:32 PM

last night some idiot dumpted a smoking foam madras outside our windows. it was some time before we discovered the cause and where it was coming from and closed all the windows.
so the hamsters will have had been exposed to some toxic smoke. to be honest i didn't have too high hopes that they where all alive this morning, but luckily they where.
is there anything we should be aware of in their behaviour or otherwise over the next few days?

also, zelda had a good scratch, a little too good, a minute ago. I have attached a picture. what do i do about it? and could it be related to the smoke?

**Cinnamon Bear** · 08-09-2017, 02:17 PM

That's not good, I'm glad your animals are all alive. It look like the hamster in the pic isn't doing very well obviously but I would take her to the vet right away.

Hopefully there are no lingering effects of the smoke in their lungs. I don't know if it's related or not but it could be.

Juliebrei · 08-09-2017, 02:23 PM

That depends on what you are basing it on. She has scratched just above her eye, but she is just asleep if that's what you are reacting to. She tends to sleep like that, sticking out of some hole.

**Cinnamon Bear** · 08-09-2017, 03:11 PM

Oh didn't know she was just sleeping like that. Sorry I'm not much help cause I haven't had a hammy that scratched like that. Hope she heals quickly xx

Juliebrei · 08-09-2017, 03:39 PM

I'm thinking the smoke might have irritated her eye, and she has tried to scratch it out.

Thin Lizzy · 08-09-2017, 06:53 PM

I think you're right Julie, it must've been an old mattress as now less toxic materials/fillings are being used and I know a regulation came in over 20 years ago for sofas/suites, so if you wanted to give a sofa to charity, they would only accept if it had this stamped, fillings are more safer meaning should there be a fire it would take longer to burn and less toxic. They've done fire tests on mattresses comparing old to more recent.
About a year ago there was a fire 2 streets away from me and the smoke was black, I'd been coming home and my eyes were so irritated by the smoke, I rubbed them which only made them worse. All my windows were closed but I still worried about Harvey. I put on a couple of fans just so there was air being rotated.
Zelda scratching her eye is the smoke. Animals are like humans, things that affect us affect them the same.
I couldn't open the windows for 24 hours because of the smoke, the stench was awful. I know if my windows had been opened, I would've taken Harvey to the vet.
If you're still worried in the morning then arrange an emergency appointment with the vet.
You reacted the minute you realised what was going happening, smoke does linger.
Sorry for rambling on.

Juliebrei · 08-09-2017, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thin Lizzy

I think you're right Julie, it must've been an old mattress as now less toxic materials/fillings are being used and I know a regulation came in over 20 years ago for sofas/suites, so if you wanted to give a sofa to charity, they would only accept if it had this stamped, fillings are more safer meaning should there be a fire it would take longer to burn and less toxic. They've done fire tests on mattresses comparing old to more recent.
About a year ago there was a fire 2 streets away from me and the smoke was black, I'd been coming home and my eyes were so irritated by the smoke, I rubbed them which only made them worse. All my windows were closed but I still worried about Harvey. I put on a couple of fans just so there was air being rotated.
Zelda scratching her eye is the smoke. Animals are like humans, things that affect us affect them the same.
I couldn't open the windows for 24 hours because of the smoke, the stench was awful. I know if my windows had been opened, I would've taken Harvey to the vet.
If you're still worried in the morning then arrange an emergency appointment with the vet.
You reacted the minute you realised what was going happening, smoke does linger.
Sorry for rambling on.

No, it's good to ramble. Sometimes you "accidentally" say something really useful without knowing

i didn't know about the testing and the newer fillings. Luckily someone else in our complex could see more than us and started running up and down with water buckets, which made me wonder about the noise, which was how i located the matress.

I didn't realized hos irritated my eyes were until chopping onions for dinner and they just started almost burning because of it. Zelda must have been a little more sensitive than the other two.they don't seem to scratch as much.

Thin Lizzy · 08-10-2017, 01:07 AM

These tests were done because many people smoke in their beds and fall asleep, and a fire starts, a lot of deaths are from smoke inhalation due to the fillings in mattresses and sofas. A lot of newer materials will burn slower and are less toxic.
I keep saying I'm going to buy a fire extinguisher for the flat.
Red onions make my eyes water.
It was probably some bored kids thinking it would be a laugh.
How's Zelda's eyes today?

Juliebrei · 08-10-2017, 05:19 AM

Her eye looks less red this morning. It still looks different from the other, but not by much, and she doesn't seem to scratch anymore

BorisPasha · 08-10-2017, 07:37 AM

Poor Zelda

I'm glad to hear her eye is less red