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Vermiculite = Lupus

D

dispiacere

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So, right now I am cooling my geckos to get them ready for breeding. But when my mom and boyfriend found out what is suggested to use for incubating the eggs they freaked. My mom said you can get lupus from touching vermiculite and now neither of them want me near the stuff. Is there an alternative? And I know the whole gloves option but my boyfriend doesn’t even want me doing that. Right now I have peat moss in their tank as a nesting box, and unless I found something better I was planning on using that as a incubating medium. Can you suggest anything else or does peat moss work

P.S. on a less important Q, My females seems to run from my male when he tries to seduce her. I keep there temps on a lower end, and book said to start breeding I would just need to increase the temp to between 77-82 degrees. This seemed a little high so I thought I would get a second opinion before I tried it.
 
Perlite is a great incubation medium. You can pick it up in the gardening supplies section at most Hardware stores.
 
( im wrong that most dont contain it, haha, but anyway i just meant it as, if you look for them in herp related sites, im pretty sure most wont carry the kind with asbestos....) Sorry for the misinformation there! last post i swear :p
 
Thanks very much to all the replies, it has been a very big help. I think i am going to go with a cypress/perlite mix
 
dispiacere said:
Thanks very much to all the replies, it has been a very big help. I think i am going to go with a cypress/perlite mix
Click to expand...


LOL really all of them :p :p sorry bout that, i wish there was an edit button for mistakes like that. Alas.. too much damage could be done with that. Youre welcome though, i hope it helped a little at least.
 
jpatino said:
there is also a new product out called hatchrite. have never used it but i plan on trying it this year. with ball python eggs.
Click to expand...

I was informed NOT to use this as it does not list it's ingredients (major red flag) and it has to have some moisture retention gel in it which causes cancer when it breaks down (if it's a certain type). So until they are willing to post what keeps the moisture in my business is staying out.
 
I've been handling vermiculite for years. I never heard of getting lupos from it. And I certainly haven't got it yet. Is there any evidence to actually support this or is this another one of those online urban legends?
 
According to http://www.lupus.org/education/cause.html : The cause(s) of lupus is unknown, but there are environmental and genetic factors involved. While scientists believe there is a genetic predisposition to the disease, it is known that environmental factors also play a critical role in triggering lupus. Some of the environmental factors that may trigger the disease are: infections, antibiotics (especially those in the sulfa and penicillin groups), ultraviolet light, extreme stress, certain drugs, and hormones.

Asbestos exposure (not vermiculite) may be linked to autoimmune diseases: http://www.ehponline.org/members/2006/9203/9203.html . The mine in Montana that produced the asbestos containing vermiculite was closed in 1990 (http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/factsheets/vermiculite.htm). Vermiculite itself does not contain asbestos; it was just the Libby, Montana mine which was contaminated because of the presence in the mountain of a secondary mineral called diopside which contains asbestos (http://www.schundler.com/verm-asb.htm).

To the best of my knowledge the vermiculite available today, is safe.

-Alice
 
My sister has severe systemic and discoid lupus. At this point in time, no one actually knows how a person developes lupus. It is not contagious and the current THEORY is that one must be genetically predisposed then have an event trigger it to actually develope.

Please be assured handling vermaculite is not going to make you develope Lupus.
 
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