# WARNING: Scotch-Brite Botanical Wipes



## love2read (Aug 30, 2011)

I am using my phone to type this, so I'm going to keep it short and sweet and will add the details later...

Do NOT use Scotch-Brite Botanical Disinfecting Wipes!!!

Link to the product: http://www.scotch-brite.com/wps/portal/ ... cal-Wipes/

These claim to be animal-safe, even for cage-cleaning, but the active ingredient is Thymol, which is a main ingredient in many PESTICIDES and is know to be toxic to mice, rats, and cats!

Over the last month(during which time I have been using the wipes) I have lost over a dozen adult mice, many babies, and my hairless hamster. I thought they had parasites since some of my mice were bloated, but it was, in fact, the wipes.  Thymol can cause gastritis in mice, which would explain the bloating. The bloating only showed up after cleaning the cages too, which further points to the wipes being the culprit.

In addition to the bloat, I also had 1 mouse develop partial paralysis overnight(I assume she has a stroke) and another started seizing last night, which is what made me look into possible toxins instead of thinking they might parasites(which I had already treated for).

Anyways...if anyone else is using these, please stop immediately! Also, if you have lost mice while using these wipes then please let me know! I'm in contact with the company and they are having their labs look into the problem. They have also agreed to compensate me for my loss(not that it'll be much and it certainly won't help fill the void the loss have left in my heart  ).

I will keep you all posted on what happens.


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## love2read (Aug 30, 2011)

So much for shirt and sweet, lol!


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## morning-star (Apr 9, 2011)

oh no that's horrid!

perhaps you should send in a complaint to the company if they say safe for pets? 
(though I don't see that on the website)


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

Oh wow, thank you for sharing, I'm sorry about your rodents.


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## bethmccallister (Mar 5, 2010)

I got your message earlier. I'm glad you figured out what was happening...I will try to make some replacements available to you when we meet up.


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

What were you treating for mites with? Some mite medications can also cause death and seizures.


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## love2read (Aug 30, 2011)

I was using topical Ivermectin. Diluted 5:1 (water:Ivermectin). I've used Ivermectin in the past with no issues. Before this last month I could count on one hand how many adult mice I'd lost...


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

If could have been an over dose of ivermectin, the symptoms are eerily similar to ivermectin over dose. Or it could have been the combination of the 2 pesticides.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

It's good to know about these wipes, in any case. It sounds like you were using the Ivermectin properly, so it must be the addition of the wipes that did the damage whether it's a reaction to the thymol or the combination of the two chemicals.

'Botanical' doesn't mean safe, that's for certain, any more than the label 'natural' does; there are plenty of natural toxins around. An example that horrified me was a Celestial Seasonings tea that has valerian in it; that should have come with a warning on it, as it does not work well with some medications and is highly sedating.


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## Shadowrunner (Sep 26, 2011)

Kind of like how foxglove is natural but you wouldn't catch me anywhere near it.
They should still have a label on it as a warning.


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