Exposure to neem oil!?

[Otis1288]

I have a current group of 3 red foot tortoises. One is a cherryhead.
I was in the process of building new outdoor pens, got far enough along to let them explore the new area. (40in x 25ft)

While I was working in my blacksmith shop, one of my sons had sprayed some old organic Neem oil all over the new enclosure! I imeadiatly cleaned the torts off (less than 5min later) and have sprayed down the entire elcosure for hours. My son just thought he was helping but, oh jeez! We don’t even use Neem in the vegetable garden any more!

My question is how serious is this potentially? I have emailed the manufacurer and they do not know of the potential impact it may have on a reptile, most studies are dogs and cats only. I have also called the local(ish) exotic vet and will probably have to wait until morning for a response.

Will the pen be unusable for a season (in the better of situations)?

Thank you

 

[Otis1288]

Not sure if I put this on the proper catagory. If so, I apologize. kind of rushed!

 

[Otis1288]

If it is in the incorrect category, I would appreciate the help getting it to the proper place

 

[wellington]

I know nothing about neem oil. I think @Elohi uses it for fire ants, if I am remembering the right stuff. Maybe she can help.

 

[Otis1288]

Thank you

 

[Kasia]

Hi
From the chemical point of view oil is composed out of typical natural triglycerides (almost 99.5%) the rest are active ingredients (but in very low concentration) so washing it off the torts after 5 minutes does the job. I hope you used a bit of organic soap to wash it off - it’s oil so pure water will not get rid of it. I would do the same with the enclosure - organic soap low concentration water solution to get rid of oil from whatever and water to rinse it off.
http://vertinnov.fr/fic_bdd/mag_pdf_fr_fichier/12731575420_SAFETY_EVALUATION_OF_NEEM.pdf
Amount of oil that would cause acute oral toxicity in rats it’s over over 5ml/kg, I do understand that reptiles have different metabolism but if they don’t show singhs of poisoning now in my opinion they will be fine. I would trim all the weeds/grass so no oil bits will be ingested by torts. Plant new ones. Maybe I would wait a 2-3 weeks before putting them in there but otherwise I would not worry. Reptiles are not used in toxicology studies, that is why the information are very hard to find (or impossible).

 

[Otis1288]

I did used an organic soap to wash them.
I will immediately wash the rest of the pen with it as well. Thank you for that tip, I didn’t think of that.

The manufacturer told me that the potency of the oil should also be greatly diminished. Cold and heat degrade the effectiveness as a pesticide. It was stored in an old spray bottle in the detached garage for many years. I didn’t know I even had any left.

Just down right stinks the pen is not useable at the moment. I started planting and prepping it last spring for an enclosure
Thanks for the reply

 

[Otis1288]

Just an update.

It’s been over a month and no issues or problems with any of my torts. Moved them to some temporary enclosures until next year just to be safe.

Thank you again for all the replies and help