Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have built a cage using 1/2 inch MDF and sealed it with Minwax Polyurethane. My question is that it has been 5 weeks and it stll smells, so I assume it is still outgassing. I have kept it above 60 degrees as manufacturer states, should I wait until I can no longer smell it to consider outgassing to be complete? I hate to put anything in there if it is still harmfull.

I think the correct term is "off-gassing", but yes, if you can still smell fumes, that means there's still vapors being let off by the finish. If possible, you might want to blow a fan on the cage or increase the heat if possible (higher temperatures can help some finishes cure faster). But if you can smell it, (and the human sense of smell isn't that keen) - enclosing your animal with those fumes would definitely not be good. It must be disappointing that it's taking so long, but being patient now will avoid problems with your animal's health.
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Lauren Madar - OphidiaGems.com
1.0 Ball Python, 1.1 Hog Island Boas, 1.1 Hypo BCI, 1.1 Surinam BCC, 0.1 Green Tree Python

Standard off the shelf polyurethane can take over a year to offgass, I'm afraid to say. A recent poster here has some cages well over a year old that still smell.

I would still consider it harmful and in fact it's not recommended for use on the inside of cabinets that will hold food, utensils or even clothes.

The problem is that due to VOC restrictions manufacturers have been forced to reduce the amount of solvent in products like polyurethane. Now well less toxic solvents may sound like a good thing, it causes the products to go on too thick which sometimes makes them offgass basically forever.

You should absolutely wait until you or someone with a "fresh nose" can detect no odor. Unfortunately that could be a very long time.
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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)