Posted by:
chris_harper2
at Thu Mar 27 18:51:58 2008 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by chris_harper2 ]
A few comments:
In a typical reptile cage there will be a significance difference in the temperature and humidity inside the cage compared to outside the cage. As such the tendency for solid wood to expand and contract can be exaggerated.
The upshot is that you should use some sort of engineered panel for most of the carcass of the cage. By engineered panel I mean plywood, melamine coated particle-board, medium density fiberboard (mdf), or other similar products.
I assume you want a wood look most of the above come with very thin real-wood veneers pressed onto the outside.
Use as little real wood as possible, like for the face frame of the cage.
Next comment: seal all parts of the cage, inside and out. If you're spending time and money it makes sense to do something to protect the material you are using and make it a cleanable surface.
By sealing all parts of the cage your choices are wide open, but limited to what you can find as a veneer on the plywood or whatever you choose for the structure of the cage.
I would still avoid some of the oily woods like cedar, redwood, etc. Almost all woods are toxic in the form of airborne dust but not necessarily toxic when solid or in the form of a veneer.
I would start by going to your local lumber yard and looking for a plywood or MDF with a wood veneer you like. Then look and see if you can find the solid-wood to match if you want a face frame. In many cases you don't even need a face frame and can just use strips of leftover plywood to accomplish the same thing, although a real face frame tends to look better.
If you're then worried about toxicity of the wood species you select do a google search. There is a ton of information.
My guess is that any wood veneered plywood you find will be fine, especially once sealed. Plywood comes with all varieties of veneers but the stuff you are likely to find locally will be the common stuff that you can research easily. Some of the rare woods that can fume a bit are very hard to find in plywood form so I doubt you'll run into a problem.
-----
Currently keeping a small collection of various Gonyosoma. Both G. janseni and G. oxycephala.
[ Hide Replies ]
|
RE: Woods that should NOT be used for ca - chris_harper2, Thu Mar 27 18:51:58 2008