Over the past few years, there have been quite a few reports of pets dying or suffering near-death experiences due to exposing themselves to vape juices. So, if you’re a vaper who also happens to be a proud pet parent, it’s important to observe safe storage measures for your e-liquid and other vape accessories.
The last thing you want is for your furry, feathery, or even scaly little friend to stick their noses into your vape juice and possibly consume the liquid. Even if the animal is lucky enough to survive such ordeals, they could end up spilling your e-juice, setting you back a few dollars in unnecessary purchases.
But how do you store your e-liquid safely and out of reach for your pets?
Read on for more insights on that.
Are Pets Attracted To Vape Devices?
Pets, particularly cats and dogs, are highly curious. As such, they tend to check out anything in the house that doesn’t seem to belong. And that includes your vape accessories.
It’s worse if the vape juice contains flavors that are naturally appealing to the pet.
For instance, cats find mint very tempting. So, mint-flavored vape juice will likely appeal to them. Considering how well-developed their sense of smell is, it won’t be long before your feline friend sniffs out a carelessly stored mint-flavored e-liquid.
After finding your vape juice, your pet will naturally want to consume the liquid, or at least play with it. That’s when the worst accidents do happen.
Inherent Dangers of E-liquids for Pets
First off, it’s important to note that the toxicity of vape juices for your pet depends on two major factors:
- The kind of ingredients in the e-liquid – Nicotine and salt-based vape juices are considered more toxic for pets
- The amount of e-juice the animal has consumed – For instance, the lethal nicotine dose in dogs is 5 mg of nicotine for every pound of body weight
Originally, most vape juices included nicotine as one of their primary ingredients. But today, these products contain various other herbal extracts, including cannabis compounds like cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
One of the primary reasons cannabis extracts have become popular vape juice ingredients is the numerous medicinal benefits these compounds offer.
For instance, e-juices that contain the best CBD oil comes with powerful analgesic, anxiolytic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and even antioxidant properties. Therefore, these vape juices obtained at lower prices at black Friday CBD deals can help fight various medical conditions, including pain, anxiety, inflammation, and muscle spasms.
While pets can also benefit from some e-juice ingredients' therapeutic properties, these vape juices could contain various potentially harmful components.
It’s also worth noting that pets have considerably smaller bodies compared to human bodies. As such, ingesting small amounts of vape juices is all it takes to harm them.
Usually, the animal will develop gastrointestinal symptoms due to irritation in their digestive tract. Some of these symptoms include nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and abdominal pains.
In the case of nicotine-based e-juices, you can expect the following additional symptoms;
- Neurological symptoms like tremors and seizures
- Irritability, which results from an over-stimulation of the pet’s neural and endocrine system
- Nosebleeds and bruising
- Fatigue
- Poor coordination
- Increase or drop in pulse rate
- Elevated blood pressure
- Discoloration of the animal’s tongue, usually to purple, blue, bright red, or white
- Blood in stool
Besides nicotine, THC can also be very toxic for pets, especially if ingested in large amounts. As THC induces euphoria, pets exposed to THC-containing vape juices may experience hallucinations, which mostly manifest in loss of balance and coordination. The feelings of drowsiness resulting from THC's euphoric effects could also trigger sudden episodes of vomiting.
How to Store Vape Juices Safe from Pets
Having learned of the potential risks of exposing your pets to vape juices, you’re probably wondering how you can store the e-juices out of your pet’s reach.
The following tips may come in handy;
- Consider high and tight shelves
Storing your e-juices on high shelves may work to deter dogs but not for excellent climbers like cats. Therefore, ensure the shelves are both high and tight enough for your tiniest climbing pet to access. If you can find a box that seals shut, the better for you.
- Refill your vape tank out of your pet’s sight
Refilling your vape tank when your pet is around is the surest way of piquing its interest in your e-juice. Worse yet, some of the e-liquid may spill off and find its way into the animal’s mouth, nose, or eyes.
- Do not vape near your pet
Vaping when your pet is around is another effective way of triggering their interest in your vape accessories. So, if possible, always vape in a separate spot from where your pet spends most of his time, preferably outdoors. If anything, various studies indicate that vapor from e-cigs can impact the quality of indoor air. That makes vaping indoors potentially hazardous for you and your little companion.
- Dispose of used e-juice containers
Unless you’re keen on recycling used-up e-liquid containers, always dispose of them in sealable trash cans. Otherwise, your pet might end up licking the container.
There goes our definitive guide on how to store your vape juice safely. Implementing the above steps will make you a responsible vaper and a responsible pet parent.