Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does everyone agree about the earlier post that playsand causes respiratory problems????.....The playand I bought is from LOWE'S so has anyone else used it and experienced any problems????

Every particle substrate that can be eaten, inhaled or somehow finds it's way inside the body can be harmful. This is a very debated subject, and people have their own ideas and idealizations. If your so scared about things being ingested go the reptile carpet route. I even use non slip plastic shelf liners. The liners come in 6 foot rolls for 2 bucks I cut to the size of the cage and spot clean daily, and wash and replace weekly. I am afraid of impaction. There for I do what I can do to avoid it. Seems like to me there is no in-between. Anything small enough to be swallowed can and will sometimes be ingested. This weeks safest substrate will be next weeks most deadly.
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Mystical Dragons

i think that is the stuff u can use safely it is cheep to go to lows or home depo and get it there

Are you talking reptile carpet or actual indoor outdoor carpet?
A few years ago when I was driving truck, we were given warning when hauling carpet, that all carpet was treated with formaldahide and that the heat made this toxic to breath. There was somthing on the news a year or two ago about trying to make them stop using it, but I never heard the outcome. Anyone out there know about this? I would be afaid to slowly poison my critters.

Thanks,
Sky

.I'm not sure if this question was for me or the person who said home depot has it cheaper. I was talking about the reptile carpet which are little mats that fit inside the cage. Different from a regular carpet that would be used in your house. I know that the carpet in the house is treated with some crap styrene and some other stuff. I was referring to the reptile carpet made specifically for reptiles. I don't use this anymore anyway. The stuff I use now is just like a plastic tablecloth material a little thicker so there is no wrinkles when I lay it, and it has more padding then a regular table cloth would. It's been working great so far. Real easy to clean, sanitary, and cheap
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Mystical Dragons

It could very well be true.

I worked in the linen industry for a couple of years and 99% of all bedding and clothing are finished with fomaldehyde so that they can withstand moisture when they are shipped back and forth.

A lot of things are made in one country, shipped to another country to assemble and than back to the US. Also, in linens, there are sheets that are 100% cotton that are processed with formaldehyde so that they can resist wrinkling.

Good reason to wash everything before you wear it.

Sorry, kinda off topic.

If you look in the back of a lot of the packaging, there's usually warnings regarding exposure. It should be something along the lines of:

"Long term exposure may cause silicosis."

Or.

"Use respirator masks to prevent inhalation of silica dust."