Diatomaceous earth dangerous?

[dkspftw]

So somebody I've been dating has bedbugs. And while I'm 99% sure they're not in my apartment, I want to put down some diatomaceous earth to be safe. I have bioreactive paludariums (not with BPs in them) and I don't want there to be a chance that I get an infestation and have to fumigate, as that would kill everything.

My BPs aren't exactly slithering around on my floors, but I'm planning on doing a bunch of work on their cages this weekend, and it's possible I could drop one or something.

Anyway, diatomaceous earth works by shredding apart the exoskeletons of bugs and the type I'm getting is food grade, so harmless for us to eat even. But I don't know what it would do to snake scales if they were exposed to it.

It has consistency like talcum powder or flour, so I know it could clog up heat pores, but I doubt that'd be an issue in this case.

Thanks all!

[satomi325]

Its safe for avian scales and feathers, which are modified scales. So I'm going to say they are safe for reptiles.

Their scales aren't like an exoskeleton. And dehydrating them wouldn't be a problem like bugs since the DE kills insects by shreading them and dehydrating them do death.

I use DE for my mammals. If you were really concerned, email the manufacturer. But I personally wouldn't see an issue.

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[muddoc]

DE is only harmful when inhaled. So long as there is not a lot of DE dust flying around, it should be safe for your snakes. DE is inert and not hydrophilic. Therefore it does not really absorb water and shouldn't dehydrate anything.

[satomi325]

DE is only harmful when inhaled. So long as there is not a lot of DE dust flying around, it should be safe for your snakes. DE is inert and not hydrophilic. Therefore it does not really absorb water and shouldn't dehydrate anything.

The DE doesn't dehydrate directly. They cause dehydration due to slicing the exoskeleton. That's how they kill insects.

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[Swayback]

There's actually no proof that inhaled DE is premature unless it's prolonged exposerure to extremely high levels of it.

Its currently considered safe for all vertebrates!