Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, I went to the Oreck store today to pickup the air purifier I seen them advertise on TV. As I was talking to the sale person, I asked him why the Ionizer has an on/off switch. He replied saying, the Ionizer has been known to kill exotic birds, and that he thinks it also affects some lizards. Well I explained what I do and were I planned on putting the purifier. He said he didn't know about snakes and that he wasn't even sure about the lizards. I purchased the purifier and put it in the snake room (with the Ionizer off of course). I looked through the owners manual and it said nothing about this. So if any of you have any info on this situation, please post. My main concern is my reptiles. Will it be safe to use the ionizer?

Here is the url to the purifier I bought:

http://www.oreck.com/air-purifiers/air8.cfm?bclick=23

Thank you, all!!

If this is a real ionizer with no scented emissions, etc., how would it hurt any living organisms? All it does is remove ions (charged molecules) and other charged particules from the air by attracting them to charged metal plates.

If that was true, wouldn't it be dangerous to use any electrical devices near such animals?

I'm no expert, but it appears that unlike your Oreck salesman, I took some chemistry in high school and college.
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Chris Harrison

Not to mention if it were harmfull to reptiles and birds why wouldn't it be harmfull to people?

can't say for sure about the ionizer but just because something is safe for people (ie doesn't kill them immediately) doesn't mean it's safe for animals---for instance teflon when overheated releases chemicals which can kill birds with remarkable rapidity. Of course the fumes probably aren't great for us either but not quite so bad as for the birds. so...it does pay to be cautious around your animals.
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Sue Barnett
1.0 Florida King (Vega)
0.1 Western hognose (Sola)
0.1 Egyptian spiny mouse (Mia)
4.2 mini rex rabbits (Basil, Pippin, Reggie, Hayden, Jackie and Peek-a-boo)
0.1 Plott hound (Molly)
1.0 half Arab (Zarr)
1.0 Betta (Flash)

Could it have something to do with black wall effect? I think they work by ionizing the air with one charge then switching polarity to collect all the particles. The problem is the charged particles that aren't collected end up sticking to the walls, etc. A co-worker who smokes said she had to re-paint because the charged particles stuck to the wall and after a while, looked a lot worse than regular smoking damage.