Looking through a bunch of sites when I came across the small caption in a general care sheet at www.tarantulas.com
That doesn't sound good and I have never been a fan of vermiculite for it's ability to stain inverts metallic gold. I have acquired a L. quinquestriatus with shiny gold legs once and that did not make me very happy. Just thought I would post this as a cautionary warning against vermiculite for users.Warning: There is new evidence that some commercial grade vermiculite may contain harmful levels of asbestos-like substance. This substance has been implicated in causing serious lung disease in humans.