Yes. Ask him where he got that soil. If it is from a bag bought at a store, then there could be anything in that bag. Oleander, azaleas, yard clippings with any sort of lawn chemical sprayed on it, etc... Plus whatever additives they put in it to make it the right consistency to grow plants with. There is no way to know. Soil can work if you make it yourself from known safe ingredients, but if you buy it at a store, it is made from composted yard waste, and anything could be in that bag. They make it to grow plants, not for animal to live in or on it in small indoor enclosures.
I raised several of these on coir and never saw eye irritation. All of mine would eat literally anything I put in front of them, including my fingers. One tried to swallow my finger. He grabbed it and I just let him out of amusement to see what he'd do. He literally started swallowing my finger while hanging vertically a couple inches above his substrate. I thought he'd realize it was too big and let go, but he walked himself up my finger with his mouth and I could feel it enter his stomach. It was fascinating.
None of mine refused food during a molt cycle and I never really noticed when they were molting. They did it on their own time when I wasn't looking.
