Diatomaceous earth update

ZEROPILOT

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I had been doing a little side study on D/A used in the prevention of worms mostly by placing some in food for my Red Foot population and was recommending it, However, I purchased a worm riddled female recently and she did in fact give three of my other four tortoises her roundworms. (They are now all being treated with Panacur.)
The DE is not the miracle and natural wonder that I had hoped. Now, it may be true to say that maybe because of the DE, my other tortoises did not get badly infected...But they did get infected.
I will no longer advise anyone to feed DE to their tortoises.
 

leigti

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I have read that it can be fed to dogs to prevent parasites. But then I also heard it was very dangerous because the particles that it is made out of are very sharp. I never did feed it to my dog or my tortoise or anything else. I do though put it in my enclosure and around the enclosure outdoors once a year.
 

G-stars

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I have read that it can be fed to dogs to prevent parasites. But then I also heard it was very dangerous because the particles that it is made out of are very sharp. I never did feed it to my dog or my tortoise or anything else. I do though put it in my enclosure and around the enclosure outdoors once a year.

Yes it can be sharp if you use the commercial grade one, as it contains fiber glass particles I believe. If you use food grade DE you should be just fine. It is used on many grains like rice and beans to prevent insects from eating it.
 

leigti

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Yes it can be sharp if you use the commercial grade one, as it contains fiber glass particles I believe. If you use food grade DE you should be just fine. It is used on many grains like rice and beans to prevent insects from eating it.
I thought the food grade one was also sharp. But I could definitely be wrong. I know the other one is poison.
 

N2TORTS

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Diatomaceous earth is made from the fossilized remains of tiny, aquatic organisms called diatoms. Their skeletons are made of a natural substance called silica. There are thousands of non-pesticide products that contain diatomaceous earth. These include skin care products, toothpastes, foods, beverages, medicines, rubbers, paints, and water filters and this is where you might find the “ fiberglass” that was mentioned. Most disposable filter units for consumer potable water consists of an inner core filled with activated carbon and surrounded by a body of porous material (fiber glass or asbestos) impregnated with diatomaceous earth. An outer layer of diatomaceous earth is formed on the porous material, but in itself does not contain fiberglass nor poisonous in itself. DE does not have to be eaten in order to be effective. Diatomaceous earth causes insects to dry out and die by absorbing the oils and fats from the cuticle of the insect's exoskeleton. The Food & Drug Administration lists diatomaceous earth as "Generally Recognized as Safe" with most hazards are cause by inhaling the fine dust and irritating the lungs, eyes and other mucus membranes. One of the first patents on the purification bennies of DE was announced in 1971. I was involved with my father on one of these types of systems called “Sweet Water”. You will commonly see DE as one of the main sources in swimming pool purification.
https://www.google.com/patents/US3705651
 

ShannonC

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Food grade DE could do harm if you inhale it. It will not hurt you to ingest it. Most people that ingest it for their health are NOT doing it to prevent parasites. It supposedly contains a lot of natural minerals that we don't normally get in our food, and many people swear that it has improved their health. DE has to be dry to "do its thing" on bugs of any kind. The digestive tract is not dry, therefore my belief is that it is useless in preventing INTERNAL parasites. I have used it ON my chickens to help ward off mites and such. I mixed it with wood ashes for a dust bath, so they effectively treated themselves for mites. Now, I have no idea if they didn't have mites because of the DE, or they just didn't have them because they didn't have them....lol.....I have no strong opinions about it one way or the other, but I don't believe it does any harm, and I do actually use it for some things. I sprinkle it on and around my garden plants, I put it in my outdoor potted plants, etc.

NON-food grade DE is dangerous to inhale OR ingest. It is used in pool filters and other commercial uses. (can't really recall what else off the top of my head......not info I felt the need to retain...haha!)
 
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