No1snotsucker said:
I can only assume that it is harmful to the Leo.
When you said the above, in your earlier post, I figured there may have been more to it than assumption. That is why I posed my question.
progeckos said:
Well, any kind of substrate that is ingested like that can cause impaction. Another reason is I’ve heard that vermiculite has a certain amount of asbestos in it. I didn’t want to take any chances so I changed.
Your reply to my question poses some interesting thought for discussion. It has me wondering why you would choose peat moss in place of vermiculite, that is if you are worried about impactions. It is possible that if the geckos were eating the vermiculite it may have been because of a mineral imbalance or simply because they had a taste for a mineral that may have been in the vermiculite. Or they could have coincidentally ingested it. There probably is a good chance they will also ingest the peat moss, and my somewhat educated guess would be that some types of peat moss would be more likely to be ingested and, then cause an impaction if ingested. Peat Moss, a soil conditioner used for gardening and agriculture (the type that looks somewhat like soil) is probably not easily broken down by digestive processes of Leopard Geckos. Even though it is a plant material, it is probably not digested well by anything. Evidence for this statement is supported by how peat moss is formed. Peat Moss is harvested from peat bogs, and these bogs develop over thousands if not tens of thousands of years. They can use all that time to develop because nothing is eating the moss despite it being made up of plant material. Peat moss is also highly absorbent, and is often used in soils to help maintain moisture. If an animal swallowed this in sufficient quantity, even if pre-dampened, it may absorb all internal fluid and form a plug that is basically indigestible. This could prove to be quite difficult to pass and thereby cause an impaction. I stopped using peat moss in my nesting, incubation and humidity boxes for snakes when I discovered problems with finding the peat moss impacted inside the mouth and throat of a kingsnake that had burrowed into it to lay eggs. I found the same in the mouth of one of my bearded dragons. It is a fairly decent medium for incubation of eggs, but the babies can also wind up like the adults. Bear in mind even a Leo that does not eat it could become impacted by it if the lizard roots around in it looking for insects or possibly if the Leo catches a cricket atop this stuff (it may get the bug plus a mouthful).
Then there is the possibility that you mean you are using long cut Sphagnum Peat Moss, the more decorative stuff used to top off planters. This too could be ingested by you Leo and could pose most of the same problems as would the more soil like peat moss. It too is highly absorbent, and would also be likely difficult if not impossible to digest. So instead of passing it may simply form an obstruction that causes an impaction. This would be, in my opinion, a better choice though than the soil like peat moss. My guess is it would be less likely to form an obstruction because it possibly will not bind up as readily to form a solid plug as would the very absorbent and fine silty soil like peat.
As for vermiculite, I am a bit surprised you used this stuff in the first place if you were concerned about possible asbestos contamination. I would, and do, worry more about the cancer threat to myself from handling dry vermiculite right out of the bag than any imagined threat to a gecko that ingested and then passed it. I believe that the biggest threat of asbestos is when it is inhaled in dry form. I say dry form because when wet, it is less likely that small particles of it will become airborne if wet, and then it would, by my guess, be much less likely to be inhaled. I too am leery about the possible threat of asbestos in vermiculite, and therefore I have not used it in my nesting, humidity or incubation boxes for a couple of years now.
I do use the long cut Sphagnum Moss in my humidity boxes, nest boxes and incubation boxes now. While it may cause an impaction if swallowed, my animals do not eat it. (I don't keep leos, so keep an eye on them to see if they do, if this is what you decide to use.) If a lizard does accidentally mouth some of this stuff, they often spit it out - my guess is because it is so acidic it does not taste too good. Pieces of this stuff come out pretty much whole, as opposed to a mouth ful of the soil like peat moss, which is more likely to be swallowed from what I have seen. A few shakes of the head, and maybe a drag or scrape of the stuff on the tank bottom, and a lizard usually can get rid of a piece of the long cut stuff pretty easily. If it gets a mouthful of the soil like peat, then a good oral examination is required to make sure this stuff is not built up around the gums or impacting the throat. I mention the gums, becaus in my female kingsnake, I noted the gums were extremely red after I removed the peat moss she had gotten in there. It looked inflamed a bit, and had it been there longer,my guess is it would have inflamed badly and maybe become infected.
Well good luck with whatever you decide to use, nothing seems perfect. I almost wonder why no one has made a two level humidity box, with a mesh covered lower level to hold the damp substrate, and the upper level for the herp(c)! Hmm, maybe I should market that one.
All the best,
Glenn B
