Food safe diatomaceous earth

[edenofgarden]

Hi,
We’re having a major infestation of soil mites in our Russian Tortoise’s substrate, and they are crawling all over him as well. They do not jump or hop, they are microscopic in size; and move very fast. He has a large indoor enclosure, the substrate is a combination of organic topsoil and coco coir. Rather than completely change out the substrate, we were thinking about possibly using food safe diatomaceous earth. But we’re concerned about the respiratory risks to our RT. We were thinking of moving him to a smaller temporary enclosure while we treat his substrate with the food safe DE, then return him after a while. My questions are: is food safe DE truly safe for tortoises, if they inadvertently ingest it in the substrate? And how long should we wait before returning him to the enclosure, is there a safe timeframe? Also, when using food safe DE, do you mix it into the substrate or does it lay on top of the substrate? Thank you in advance for any insight.

 

[Toddrickfl1]

I'm not sure about the diatomaceous earth but what your describing sounds like springtails and they're completely harmless to your tortoise.

 

[Len B]

Food grade DE is a very very fine powder. If you take the tortoise out of the enclosure as you sprinkle it in it wont bother the tortoise after it settles on the surface. What I do is put some DE in a small glass jar and then stretch a piece of nylon stocking over the opening and hold it in place with a rubber band. Then hold the jar upside down and tap the bottom to get the powder to sprinkle out. It doesn't take much to do the job.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

D/E certainly does a good job. But in very dry areas.
I've never found it helpful in:
1) humid south Florida.
2) humid tortoise enclosures.
I have several bags of it in my garage.....which is also too humid for DE to remain effective.....
I've also dusted a LOT of it up in my attic as a roach and termite barrier. That also failed.
The nitial application does kill some bugs. Then it becomes clumped together. Washes away or becomes a cement like substance

 

[edenofgarden]

Thank you! That is helpful. How long would you recommend leaving him in the temporary enclosure before returning him to his enclosure if we use the food safe DE?

 

[edenofgarden]

I'm not sure about the diatomaceous earth but what your describing sounds like springtails and they're completely harmless to your tortoise.

I’ve heard that springtails hop, or “spring” but these don’t jump or hop at all, they just race around super fast, never stopping anywhere..

 

[Len B]

Thank you! That is helpful. How long would you recommend leaving him in the temporary enclosure before returning him to his enclosure if we use the food safe DE?

As soon as you are finished sprinkling it in the enclosure he can go back in.