Is vermiculite safe?

[Tfghvghxhjj]

Hi all,

I've been keeping tarantulas for a few years and recently changed my choice of substrate due to the shop I get it from no longer stocking what I used to get. I use pro-rep eco earth now and have realised it has a very small amount of what seems to be vermiculite mixed in. Many people on the forums refuse to use it whatsoever over safety concerns. It is safe? What're the reasons for believing it's unsafe?

 

[Arachnoclown]

I've been using a blend of coco fiber and vermiculite for over 20 years. Never had a single problem. Vermiculite is safe as long as it has moisture. If you use it wet it is fine. If you use it dry it will wick the moisture out of everything...including a spider. People have a problem with it because they don't understand how it works. Of course you would use way less for a arid species but for a moisture dependent tarantula you would use alot more. It slowly releases moisture Into the soil which allows you to have to maintain the soil less then straight coco fiber. It doesnt mold either and it aerates the soil...win, win.

 

[Tfghvghxhjj]

I've been using a blend of coco fiber and vermiculite for over 20 years. Never had a single problem. Vermiculite is safe as long as it has moisture. If you use it wet it is fine. If you use it dry it will wick the moisture out of everything...including a spider. People have a problem with it because they don't understand how it works. Of course you would use way less for a arid species but for a moisture dependent tarantula you would use alot more. It slowly releases moisture Into the soil which always you to have to maintain the soil less then straight coco fiber. It doesnt mold either and it aerates the soil...win, win.

Good info - so a very small amount mixed into the soil of my terrestrial tarantulas won't be an issue. Cheers for the advice. It makes sense that a substrate specifically designed for spiders shouldn't harm them.

 

[FrmDaLeftCoast]

I'm new to this hobby, but I've worked at a growing media plant for the last 6 years. Is vermiculite the same as perlite (volcanic glass)?

If so, we generally apply perlite in our soil mixes to be used for aerators. In other words, it helps the soil from becoming to compact.

I never knew many of the raw materials I handle on a daily basis is also used as substrate (coir pith, sphagnum peat moss, perlite, sand, topsoil ) for T's.

 

[Tfghvghxhjj]

I'm new to this hobby, but I've worked at a growing media plant for the last 6 years. Is vermiculite the same as perlite (volcanic glass)?

If so, we generally apply perlite in our soil mixes to be used for aerators. In other words, it helps the soil from becoming to compact.

I never knew many of the raw materials I handle on a daily basis is also used as substrate (coir pith, sphagnum peat moss, perlite, sand, topsoil ) for T's.

If I'm honest I'm the wrong person to ask if it's the same as perlite! If it is, it's interesting to know it keeps it loose. A cheap hobby made even cheaper when you get all your substrate free

 

[Arachnoclown]

Perlite and vermiculite are very different. Perlite is volcanic glass...it has very good aeration but doesnt hold water well. Introducing glass too my invertabrates is something I'm not sure is a good idea (Worried about their booklungs). Vermiculite is not as good as aerating the soil but holds water much longer than perlite (like a sponge).

 

[FrmDaLeftCoast]

Perlite and vermiculite are very different. Perlite is volcanic glass...it has very good aeration but doesnt hold water well. Introducing glass too my invertabrates is something I'm not sure is a good idea (Worried about their booklungs). Vermiculite is not as good as aerating the soil but holds water much longer than perlite (like a sponge).

Thanks for the knowledge...glad I asked instead of just assuming.

 

[FrmDaLeftCoast]

If I'm honest I'm the wrong person to ask if it's the same as perlite! If it is, it's interesting to know it keeps it loose. A cheap hobby made even cheaper when you get all your substrate free

Well that cancels out perlite...but I can still use coir pith (arrives on pallets w/about 50 or so blocks per pallet) and peat moss...now to find myself a sling or 2.

 

[Whitelightning777]

Vermaculite is safe. I mainly use it for my arboreals because they don't walk on the ground much anyway.

The problem is that tarantulas absolutely hate walking on it. That literally drives any of my terrestrial Ts up the wall, across the lid, down the other wall. You get the idea.

I will use it in a bottom layer of substrate to help drainage but for what the tarantula has to actually walk on, I use 100% organic peat because it's mold resistant and holds together pretty well if you compress it.

Keeping Ts on straight vermaculite or only sand is something people used to do more in the 1980s and so on. Today, better substrates that your tarantula will enjoy using much better exist.

If you want to discourage burrowing, a trick is to use vermaculite high percentage mix for the substrate but only use straight peat or maybe straight EcoEarth for the top inch or two of the substrate after compressing it and making it a little damp.

Since tarantulas generally hate how vermaculite feels, they'll stop going and deeper when they hit that layer.

Of course, if your spiders don't mind it, that won't work.

My Lasiodora klugi, T stirmi and Pamphobeteus sp machala all actively loathe and are disgusted by the slightest trace of the stuff. Any feeder that makes it down that far is totally safe from capture until it emerges.

 

[Arachnoclown]

 

[Whitelightning777]

That's exactly what they do if I try to put them on it. My klugi actually managed to look miserable when I changed her substrate and mixed just a little bit in, laid a big-time guilt trip on me and everything.

The only clear-cut reason to even try it is money, cost cutting. I think that's pretty short sighted.

 

[MassExodus]

That's exactly what they do if I try to put them on it. My klugi actually managed to look miserable when I changed her substrate and mixed just a little bit in, laid a big-time guilt trip on me and everything.

The only clear-cut reason to even try it is money, cost cutting. I think that's pretty short sighted.

I've never used pure vermiculite, but I know many long timers that swear by it. I've never heard that some tarantulas hate it, that's interesting. I used to mix it in my moisture lovers substrate, but I didnt use a lot, or even enough to really bother any of them, or see a difference in behavior. I mostly relied on false bottoms for moisture.

 

[MassExodus]

View attachment 32021

When I was in a bad mood my mom always said "He's got his ass in the air about something, just leave him alone." I showed her this and she laughed and said thats me in spider form.