What exactly is wrong with using calcium sand for arachnids?

[Moakmeister]

I ask because, they don’t eat the sand. They can’t, can they? They can only ingest liquids. Is the calcium sand toxic to the touch? I just read a bunch of mixed opinions on it.

 

[Wolf135]

From what I've heard it blocks their lungs.

 

[Moakmeister]

From what I've heard it blocks their lungs.

0_0 where did you hear that?

 

[Wolf135]

0_0 where did you hear that?

Here, their lungs are on the outside of their body so they kinda just absorb air.

 

[TarantulaMan138]

I ask because, they don’t eat the sand. They can’t, can they? They can only ingest liquids. Is the calcium sand toxic to the touch? I just read a bunch of mixed opinions on it.

Being that their lungs are on the underside of their abdomens it makes sense that it would block or partially block/clog the lungs hope this picture helps.

 

[Dry Desert]

I ask because, they don’t eat the sand. They can’t, can they? They can only ingest liquids. Is the calcium sand toxic to the touch? I just read a bunch of mixed opinions on it.

I ask because, they don’t eat the sand. They can’t, can they? They can only ingest liquids. Is the calcium sand toxic to the touch? I just read a bunch of mixed opinions on it.

There is nothing wrong with using calcium sand with inverts.

In fact there is nothing wrong with using calcium sand period.

There were cases of scare mongering when the product was first sold.

"Oh, my lizard / whatever has died due to impaction etc. etc. "

Firstly the only time you will have any sort of impaction is due to, once again, bad husbandry.

Temperature too low , dehydrated, lacking initially in calcium.

If husbandry peramaters are correct any animal will pass whatever it eats.

Vertebrates kept incorrectly will eat calcium sand, due to being low in calcium, vitamin d, and sense the need to add it themselves.

After speaking to several vets, who have also agreed there's no such official thing as impaction , say there have been cases of gut blockages with ordinary play sand, where the animal hadn't been able to pass the sand due to incorrect husbandry.

If inverts / vertebrates are kept correctly, whatever they eat they will pass.

PS.
There have been comments about calcium sand clumping in the stomach due to not being very soluble in water.
This again is due to the animal eating huge amounts of the sand being defecient in calcium, or when it's dehydrated and then given a water dish whereupon the animal will drink excessively clumping the sand that's already in the gut.

Calcium Sand is NOT a problem.

 

[The Snark]

Gnorfs. Calcium sand is beach sand. It contains the ground up remains of shellfish in the form of calcium carbonate along with ordinary silicate sand. If you want real -pure calcium 'sand' the most common source is ground oyster shells. Or ground up calcium rock AKA marble.

 

[ScorpionEvo687]

I currently have both my DHS (H. arizonensis) & my Devil Scorpion (P. spinigerus) on a mix of calcium sand/eco earth with a bit of dried mosses mixed in and they're doing perfectly fine. The DHS it's only temporary though while I'm drying out the Exo Terra Desert Sand/Zoo Med Excavator Clay mix I have in the other terrarium. I realized pretty quickly with the DHS that a sand/coco fiber mix wasn't gonna work for a burrowing scorpion. The only reason I had got calcium sand instead of regular sand in the first place is cause the pet store didn't seem to have any regular sand in stock and as far as desert substrate is concerned it was that or english walnut shells and I KNOW walnut shells are toxic to arachnids. The calcium sand has worked fine.

 

[darkness975]

Waste of money.

 

[ScorpionEvo687]

^That basically sums it up. It's probably not really harmful in most instances, it's just that regular sand is probably better. Like I said, only reason I had bought calcium sand in the first place was cause it was that or english walnut shells at the local Petco. The DHS will be getting a 60/40 mix of actual sand (Exo Terra Desert Sand)/excavator clay once it's fully dried. Also, with regards to tarantulas, does anyone actually use sand as substrate anyways? I've always thought virtually everyone uses stuff like coco fiber or potting soil at various degrees of moisture for anything from arid to more moisture dependent Ts. People will use sand for arid scorpions & centipedes, but I rarely hear it used for Ts.

 

[The Snark]

I can understand calcium sand as diatoms would have been washed away, first dispersed by the sea then the washing cycle sand is put through to remove dust. But why would the animal care and keeping business take the chance of having black walnut presence in an enclosure?
Just sort of seems like dicing with potential dangers at the animals expense.

Calcium sand. Ever seen those sparkling white beaches in travel brochures?
Black walnut getting into a terrarium from unthinking or disreputable sources selling the stuff: pretty good herbicide but deadly directly or indirectly to herbivorous insects.

 

[Taffy]

I ask because, they don’t eat the sand. They can’t, can they? They can only ingest liquids. Is the calcium sand toxic to the touch? I just read a bunch of mixed opinions on it.

just a waste of money. calcium sand is a prettier way of saying beach sand. it has no benefits to your animals, it’s just sand. i don’t see any problem with using it for arachnids. good luck.

 

[me and my Ts]

I’ve always mixed calcium sand in with my T’s substrate and have never had any problems. My first tarantula has had calcium sand in their enclosure for almost 3 years now, I do use it in very small amounts though so maybe it’s dangerous in larger amounts. But at least for my purposes it’s fine.

 

[The Snark]

just a waste of money. calcium sand is a prettier way of saying beach sand. it has no benefits to your animals,

You're going up against fancy packaging and a smooth sales pitch. Like pissing up a rope.

 

[Taffy]

You're going up against fancy packaging and a smooth sales pitch. Like pissing up a rope.

yea, no way i’m winning that fight hahaha