Lizards?

Hello,
I'm new here. I have a question about reptiles, such as lizards and DE. I formerly lived in Colorado where there are basically no bugs. Too darn cold! However, I now live in Texas where the roaches are as big as a small dog! Not really, but they are very, very big. I'm using DE inside of my apartment but I was wondering about outside around my front door. There is an adorable little lizard that lives under the step. He/she pokes his/her head out and stares at me when I come and go from my apartment. I don't want to harm him/her with the DE. I consider him/her a friendly neighbor. So my question is, Will DE harm the lizard in any conceivable way? I appreciate any pointers that you might have. At this time I have not seen any roaches in the apartment, but last night I saw one on the steps in front of my human neighbors door which is mere inchis away from my front door. Yuck!
Thanks, Shantelle:0)
Eco-conscious but practical all the same.
Will defend my den from threats.

Welcome to Permies, Shantelle!

I would think it would take a LOT of DE to harm a lizard. Reptile skin and insect cuticle are two different things; if the insect get cuts in its cuticle, it can lose body fluids and dry out, the reptile has a circulatory system with blood that will clot and plug the cut. Also, the insect breathes through its skin. Roll the insect in DE, and it can't get enough oxygen and suffocates. The lizard can continue to breathe until he can go clean himself off.

I have lots of anoles and skinks living on my property. Occasionally a palmetto bug will make it through the gauntlet and into the house, in which case it goes in with the chicken feed, but not very often.

Shantelle Jenning : Welcome to Permies, With over 25,000 fellow members World Wide, you should be able to come here 24 / 7 and find someone who wants
to talk about what you want to talk about !

Yesterday Kathleen Payne asked a question about D.E., in this forum, you can find my answer there ! There is a Food grade of D.E. that is added to much of the
cereal grains for people's and live stock's consumption to kill of the insects that would other wise eat much of our non Corn syrup carbohydrates !

Speaking about Corn Syrup(s) D.E. is also used as a filtering device to guarantee purity ! Some people even eat Food Grade D.E. and have a long list of benefits
they claim for ingesting the stuff !

I believe that the principle difference between Food Grade and regular D.E.has to due with purity and removing all heavy metals ! Your Lizard may end up eating
insect jerky if it fed on a bug from your house but I respect the people that believe it is a safe product ( While not eating D.E. myself, my Coat, and my nails are
strong and shiny enough ! ) For the Good of the Crafts ! Big AL !

Very good. Thank you John. And thank you for the welcome too.

Hey there Allen, thanks for all the great info. I looked on my bag and it looks like I have the bad stuff. IT's 85% silicon dioxide (if I'm remembering that right.)
I'll need to locate some food grade. I saw Paul's recommendations. I do care about the whole food chain impact as well, so thanks for pointing out that part too.
There are a few angles to consider here.
What a great resource this community is...I appreciate it.
Blessings, Shantelle:0)

Shantelle Jennings : Please refer to the Wikipedia article Diatomaceous Earth, In this case the 85% Is a combination of the two most common ingredients on the
planet - Silicone and Oxygen ! It is only the 'other percentages' that you need to worry about as all living organisms long ago adapted themselves to these super
common eliments!

There is a quick and short paragraph on the hazards of Long term inhalation 8+hours of daily exposure over 5 years, if that worries you, you can wear a mask,
this is not a problem for your Lizard !

The only question is what is in the 15% that is not 'food grade' This may be fillers or non filtered heavy metals, your job is to find a local expert whose wisdom and
experience you can trust ! I am sorry if my well intended missive has left you with more questions than answers ! For the Craft! BigAL !