cedar phenols

Question
how dangerous are cedar phenols to crested geckos? I moved my gecko to a glass and cedar cage after 5 days of him not eating and becoming more lethargic I called my pet store where he was purchased but they thought he was just re-adjusting. I live in the sticks in KY we have no reptile vet. I finally found a paragraph about Cedar phenols , moved him out but will he be OK?

Answer
Hi Shelley, Cedar cages should be avoided but that short term exposure is quite unlikely to cause any lasting problem. The toxicity caused by phenols is not that acute and the amount given off in your situation would be very small.  I'm assuming that it is the cage frame that is made of cedar (rather then the climbing branches) and that the cage was not newly constructed. The volatile compounds released from the wood do lessen over time and your gecko's direct exposure would have been very minimal. Much of the data about phenols is extrapolated from its effect on small animals that have been housed directly on and in the highly aromatic shavings.
Before the negative effects of phenols became well known many reptiles lived right on cedar bark substrate and ingested mice housed in cedar shavings for years. The effect on their health was detrimental but chronic in nature even with this high level of long term exposure. Your crested's risk factor and exposure was extremely short and low. I would not be worried about it.