Typically when I hear "rack system" I think of a lidless rack systems built around plastic boxes.



But you mention a Bearded Dragon which is not a suitable species for a rack system so I'm not sure if I know what you mean.



Regardless, I do not recommend plain particle board for any cage. Primarily because you'd have to spend a lot of money on either a laminated, epoxy, or paint surface to make this material easy to clean due to the excessive surface area. This surface area gives more places for bacteria to grow, etc.



Even if you worry not worried about the surface area you'd still have to put some sort of top coat on particle board and that might make up the price difference alone, not to mention your time and effort.



Perhaps you really mean MDF board which would have a much smoother surface, but would still have to be coated.



So given the choice you gave I'd go with melamine coated particle board. I'm not a huge fan of melamine, but I have and would build a cage or rack out of it. I would never use plain particle board for any project. I might use MDF, but only for limited applications. It is not the best at accepting nails, screws, etc.



Lastly, it's not only humidity you need to worry about. You also need to worry about the times your animals crawl through or spill their water bowl and get water everywhere. With plain particle board or MDF one occurance of that and your cage could be damaged pretty bad.

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