Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I seem to remember reading somewhere that pine is bad for beardies. I don't want melamine. What type of wood should we use? I'm hiring someone to make an enclosure. Can I stain the wood? Or would he get sick?

Thanks!

Yeah dont use pine. It gives snakes respiratory problems when you keep them on it. I also wouldn't stain the wood, at least not on the inside.

Why don't you want to use melamine?

Phil

Honestly, I don't want melamine because I don't like the way it looks. This will be in my son's room. He has light wood furniture. I want it to look nice in there, since it will be in there for the life of the beardie.

I wonder if it is possible to put a veneer or something over the melamine? Or if I just need to find a wood that is appropriate.

Pine timber 2x4s or ply etc.should be fine for a cage assuming it has good ventilation,i think the scary thing about pine is the shavings that reek of turpentine when you open the bag.
sun dry your boards for more safety
pick the light white wood instead of sappy or PT(pressure treated)

Thanks

whats wrong with pine? just curious since i made a new enclosure for my little girl out of plywood. she's been running around in there for about a week now happy as can be.

Pretty much any wood planks are fine to build a bearded dragon cage out of, except Cedar.

Spruce plywood is fine but buy the higher grade so its not so knotty. There are other types of plywood, depending on location etc. and how much you want to spend on the wood. Melamine is a common building material because its typically cheaper and with the vinyl coating has an already finished look without the need of painting etc. However it has its own drawbacks...heavy, hard to cut (really dulls saws after awhile, much faster than wood does), if too wet, even with the vinyl, can swell and deteriorate.

To finish, any acrylic paint or varnish is fine. Urathane too, just make sure the cage is allowed to completely air dry, preferable outside for a good 24 hours after the last coating is dry, to allow all remaining fumes to go away.
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PHLdyPayne

Thanks. Your post is very helpful.