Is perlite toxic to red eyed tree frogs?

[ackeon]

Hi there, one of my new retf died the other day, and I am wondering if it could ha e had to do with the substrate? I did not even realize until today that perlite was bad for them! If it is tomorrow I will switch it out. Thanks for any insight!!

[Heatheranne]

If there are fertilizers in the substrate, then yes, it would be toxic. Perlite if accidentally ingested can cause an intestinal obstruction.

[UncleChester]

Sorry for your loss.

Perlite is inert and non toxic but it is an impaction risk as mentioned and should be taken out. Anything in the cage that's small enough to be swallowed needs to be small enough or soft enough to easily pass through the frog.

[deranged chipmunk]

If there are fertilizers in the substrate, then yes, it would be toxic. Perlite if accidentally ingested can cause an intestinal obstruction.

i tend to disagree a bit here Heather. it really depends on the fertilizer. something like worm castings or bat guano (or i could name more..LOL) are all natural and have chemical compounds in them that the frogs frequently encounter on a daily basis in the wild. but those fertz they put in stuff like Miracle gro, i would agree, very toxic. but not from the actual chemical compound of the fert, it's the binding agents they use that are severely toxic to animals.

[Heatheranne]

True . I was thinking more on the lines of the little fertilizer balls mixed in with the potting soils.

[deranged chipmunk]

oh, osmocote, would most certainly be toxic if they ate it. that's timed release, so concentrations are high, just like in cialis (or so i hear) LOL

[Heatheranne]

Haha! Thanks! I'll not be eating any osmolite then .

[ackeon]

I ended up buying some ecoearth today and taking out most of the dirt... Then I put a thick layer on so that no dirt was showing. Hope this will solve the problem! Hope I didn't stress the little guy out too much asi was rooting around the terrarium!