I made a terrible mistake...

[AvaRose]

This morning I did something really stupid and reckless... I saw a cockroach on my dresser and I tried to kill it manually but it ran underneath the dresser. Then I (like an idiot) decided to spray Raid in a circle around the dresser. Of course after that I look over and see my lovely BTS Dandy staring at me. His tank is right across from the area I sprayed!

I opened and closed the front door a few times before I left, and I left the air conditioner and the fan on. I also wiped the sprayed area off with a dry paper towel. I hope it is enough. I won't get home again for another 9 hours. I feel really terrible and worried for the poor little guy. Have any of you had to deal with something like this before? How do you deal with pests while keeping a BTS? It's especially hard for me because I am in a small apartment.

[splashy07]

Well, first of all I would never use any type of insecticide because for one I am highly allergic to insecticides/herbicides and I keep certain insects as pets (mantises, katydids, stick bugs etc.) and I breed others to feed my reptiles, some of which are blapticus Dubia (a species of cockroach) so a loose cockroach would not even make me take a second look...I have never used such products so do not know how it would affect a reptile, but I know it could have some ill affects on humans..so I'd keep an eye on your BT to make sure he/she is not acting differently since the event. Hope all goes well and you capture the errant insect...if that were to happen here he'd just be someone's dinner! Just thought of something that happened years ago, I bought a type of roach as a feeder that seemed to have a knack for escape so I fashioned my own type of inoffensive trap, a water bowl with a ramp (ice cream stick or the like) leading into it, with a piece of dry dog food dropped in. I trapped many errant roaches without using anything offensive.

[AvaRose]

I have returned home, Dandy is being his usual self, and the smell has worn off so I think I am probably OK (although I am still curious what other people think or if someone has dealt with this before).

Thanks for responding Splashy! Unfortunately I cannot recruit Dandy and his appetite in the war against the cockroaches in my apartment - even when I'm not spraying roaches I know my apartment building is a regular host to some pest control guys, so I am sure all the bugs in the building are all full of poison anyway. Not wanting to contribute to the pest problem was a big reason why I chose to get a BTS instead of a beardie - didn't want to risk those crickets getting out! That's an interesting idea for trapping roaches, I think I have heard of a similar trick for trapping slugs by leaving out dishes of beer.

[Forcep]

As long as your BTS was not sprayed directly it should be fine, just clean up the enclosure/dishes/whatever was contaminated. The major active ingredients of Raid are pyrethroids and those are not highly toxic to typical vertebrates except for cats.

As a pest control license holder I don't recommend any over-the-counter sprays for cockroach control, it's just a waste of money and hazard to health. Save your money by maintaining a clean and tidy apartment, if there're still roaches hanging around you can apply some gel baits and diatomaceous earth.