An update on my Diotomaceous Earth program...

[ZEROPILOT]

Next Tuesday, 12/16/14 I take my gang of three Red Footeds to the vet for a follow up visit. I posted earlier about the new female arriving with a bunch of worms and every one else catching them..I've fed a bit of D/E to them mixed in their food about twice a week since then. It's been six weeks. I'll follow up with the results.

 

[leopard777]

interested to know the result too , hope it does work on worms .

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I got the all clear on my three R/F! All healthy as I suspected. I was talking with a vet tech that works there about the D/E and she says that it is very commonly used by bird breeders.(I had read that online, also.) I told her about the videos and chats of people who regularly use it on themselves. (Online) So, I can't honestly give the D/E credit for "curing" my torts...I might give it credit for no further problems. They are still living in the same pens with the same soil so I know that some eggs still existed. Anyway, I'm very pleased and will continue to administer a very small amount into at least one day a weeks feeding. And I thank the member who recommended D/E.....Though, I don't recall who it was.

 

[G-stars]

Interesting find. I wonder if DE kills they eggs too if you spread it over the enclosure?

I'm also a bird guy and down where I live there is a large bird store. Long story short, many of the bird community use it to raise fertility rates on livestock birds and parrots.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Not the eggs. It only kills "bugs" with an exoskeleton. The adult stages of segmented worms, etc. And a lot of terrestrial bugs like ants and roaches...

 

[G-stars]

I had way to many springtails in my enclosure. Pretty much killed them all with DE. None of my tortoises have parasites, however I wonder if there are any other benefits to it besides ridding them of parasites.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Pretty much a WIN-WIN to me, huh?

 

[motero]

Thanks for the followup. I have been giving DE to my torts for years. Each spring they get it mixed in their food once a week for three weeks. They all keep growing and putting on weight.

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm just curious - supposedly DE doesn't work if you get it wet, so why does it work when ingested? It's certainly wet in the stomach.

 

[G-stars]

I'm just curious - supposedly DE doesn't work if you get it wet, so why does it work when ingested? It's certainly wet in the stomach.

Interesting. Most folks I know sprinkle it on wet foods then give it to their animals.

 

[motero]

I don't know, Total guess, when it is wet it clumps together making it less effective. But sprinkled and mixed in with food it is not stuck to its self, so it can still work. I think it is the clumping that makes it not work. It has to be spread out.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Yes. My thought is that when used out doors it would cling to the ground instead of clinging to any pests when it is wet. It is very light dust and when weighed down, it just lays there. In the gut it would be forced across and around everything and do it's magic. I mix it in with my Mazuri and greens mush at a rate of about 2% by volume.

 

[leopard777]

so its safe to sprinkle a pinch into their regular diet even they have no worms, any side effects ? by the way @ Zeropilot what type of worms did your RF get ?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Hook worms where the original diagnosis and were treated by the vet. I use the D/A as a prophylactic. I do, however feel comfortable using it now also as a "cure" and have armed myself with knowledge and a high power microscope.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

I'm just curious - supposedly DE doesn't work if you get it wet, so why does it work when ingested? It's certainly wet in the stomach.

I've wondered this too but have not yet heard an answer that satisfies me (not limited to this thread..)

I have had great success using it dry on the ground, so I've suck to using it that way.