Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm planning to construct a habitat for dart frogs using wood. Because of the high humidity requirements I am concerned about making the wood water resistant. Anybody have an idea as to what I could use to coat the wood that would not be toxic to the animals but would be effective in protecting the wood?
Thanks in advance.
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Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. - Albert Einstein

Do you want a clear coat?

How large of a cage will this be and how many cages will there be?

I can make a recommendation based on answers to the above.
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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Jave local (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

1.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Celebes locale (Black & Tan)

Yes, I would rather use a better grade of wood and cover it with a clear coat.

The sizes will vary. The largest would be 4'w x 3'deep x 6'high, the smallest would be 4'w x 3'deep x 3' high.

Almost all will house tropical herps. A couple will be desert.

Thanks,
Al
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Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. - Albert Einstein

Okay, it sounds like whatever you use would be something you'd want to buy in bulk then.

I have two products in mind. One is the clear Sweetwater brand epoxy sold for aquarium use. Google it to find the distributor. It is solvent based and probably nasty to use, but is perfect safe for potable water and fish once cured. A poster on the Uroplatus forum used it, I'll see if I can get him to post here and comment if it has yellowed or cracked over time, something clear epoxies are known for.

Another product would be the West Systems epoxy, although I think that product definately ambers a bit.

If you use either of these products I would recommend selecting a darker wood as the ambering will look better on a darker substrate.

Also, both of them would work best over plywood, which is more stable than solid wood.

There are also the pourable bar top epoxies. Kleer Koat (again, google will get you to the distributor) is probably the cheapest and best option.

I have also heard good things about:

http://www.epoxyproducts.com/bartop.html

I find their website to be a nightmare to navigate and have never looked into their products much.

The bartop epoxies have a bit of a learning curve and if you mess up you can ruin a project. That holds true for any epoxy, but especially these. I would get very confident with it before tackling one of our larger projects.

It will also get very expensive as these have to be applied pretty thick. But they are less nasty to work with in some cases.
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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Jave local (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

1.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Celebes locale (Black & Tan)

Thanks, I really appreciate assist.

Al
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Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. - Albert Einstein