Candles?

Hello everybunny,
Does anyone have any idea what brand of candles are safe for rabbits? I’ve heard that some give off lead that’s harmful.

The most common candles found in stores are made with paraffin and have unsafe wicks.

"Most candles are made of paraffin wax, which creates highly toxic benzene and toluene when burned (both are known carcinogens). In fact, the toxins released from paraffin candles are the same as those found in diesel fuel fumes.

On top of that, many scented candles also have wicks that contain heavy metals like lead, and even a few hours of burning them can create levels of airborne heavy metals that are much higher than the acceptable limits. In the US, candle wicks are supposed to be made of cotton or paper, but studies have found that as much as 30% of candles contain heavy metals in the wicks."
[https://wellnessmama.com/22656/dont-use-scented-candles/]

There are safe candles available but they may cost more. You want to look for those that are made with beeswax or soy and have cotton wicks. Safer candles are..

• 
  
  
  • soy and beeswax candles
  • candles with wicks made from braided cotton or paper with a cellulose core (the purpose of a “core” in a wick is to prevent the wick from falling over and extinguishing itself)
  • candles that contain plant based all-natural essential oils; essential oils usually won’t trigger asthma and can truly have a therapeutic effect

https://www.lifestylesandproperties.com/resources/healthiest-candles]


Little Bee is one brand. Bluecorn Beeswax is another. Root Candles Veriglass is another.
I'm afraid these types of non-paraffin candles are quite pricey.

I'm glad you asked about this. I had researched this in the past but now I'm going to order some to replace my old stash of traditional candles. I only have one 'safe' candle right now.

Thanks! For all the information really helpful,I’m going to check out the brands you mentioned

Also, does it matter what scent I choose like fruit smelled ones? Or others?

I would avoid all candles, essential oils, air fresheners, etc. Anything with a strong smell can affect bunnies' sensitive respiratory system.

https://www.chewy.com/pet-house-vanilla-creme-brulee/dp/143229

It's made from soy and essential oil, no paraffin or dyes. It smelled quite nice, and not overpowering. I had this candle in my room and had a window open just in case, and my rabbit was okay.

Diane R said:

I would avoid all candles, essential oils, air fresheners, etc. Anything with a strong smell can affect bunnies' sensitive respiratory system.

Click to expand...

Many of the beeswax candles have no added scent. They either have no scent or a mild honey scent (from the bees).

One of the main drawbacks of candles is that they produce fine dust, soot. That's why you can see the flame - without the soot it would burn like alcohol or butane. Carbohydrates, and other chemicals, natural or not, break down in the heat to something undefined, including a lot of potential harmful substances - any additional chemicals (it does not matter if natural or not in that regard, quality control is actually easier with synthetics) make things worse. Even bees don't produce wax with clean combustion in mind, granted, they do smell good, but that's all. A single candle can turn the air quality in a room pretty bad.
Anyway, that doesn't hurt us much, humans evolved with fire and we can tolerate some stuff a lot better than animals, and it always depends on total exposure. It's not like medieval smoke kitchens. Or smoking. A candle now and then sure doesn't hurt, but I wouldn't let one burn 24/7.

So, safe is relative, candles are, apart from the fire risk, not a big danger to start with, but there's definitly nothing healthy about them, no matter how natural, essential, esoteric, or whatnot they are marketed as. Once the molecules cracked down in the heat to burnable volatiles and recombine randomly with radicals there is nothing natural about it anymore.

I dislike most scented stuff, to me people on the street with noticeable perfume stink like a chemical plant, I even use unscented soap. I was at the Yankee Candle factory once - a quite overwhelming experience. Scents are chemicals, pretty small molecules that get everywhere, and nobody really bothers what they do. Again, "natural" doesn't mean "harmless". We're overloaded with chemicals anyway, I'm not paranoid about it, but I avoid what I can.

How well rabbits cope with air pollution, considering that they live in burrows with very clean air and so on, I simply don't know.

This got me looking further as well. I've seen the spectrum from 'any candle is fine' to 'every type of candle is harmful.'

One article had reason to even discredit the study that claimed paraffin wax was harmful:
https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/a25656783/candles-bad-for-you/

In contrast, several went along with the idea that paraffin candles are really bad, soy is considerably better, but beeswax (a couple articles stated) is actually beneficial. Here's a quote from one of those:
The old saying of "everything in moderation" may apply here. Whatever candle type one chooses (if), it's probably no big deal provided it isn't burning for hours on end and/or every day.

An article that has a claim like that you underlined in it can imho be safely discarded as nonsense. Bees wax candles sure have a feel well factor, but as remedy for the big banes of modern lifestyle nobody actually has a cure for? Asthma, of all things? Is that what google (can't use that) comes up with, commercials?

I stick to simple chemistry to make up my mind.

Haha okay know I’m not sure if I should use candles now