Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is there a problem with building a rack out of plywood? I never knew why everyone uses melamine instead of plywood. The rack I am building is going to hold four 42qt bins and heated with flexwatt. If anyone has tried something similar, I am curious as to the pros and cons.

Thanks,

Mat

Only real problem with plywood is sealing it. have to keep the moisture out of the wood so it does not swell/rot. Melamine comes with a built in sealed surface.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Is there a problem with using plywood? No

Is melanine a better alternative? IMO Yes

Why? Simply, Melanine (with exception to the raw cut edges) is resistant to water/moisture, which significantly reduces risk of wood warping/rotting.

Sure plywood can be treated. However, why spend the time and money on materials, to accomplish what melamin already does?

Melamin is usually the first choice since it is already sealed so you don thave to worry about the effects of moisture and temp. A couple of things to consider if you use regular plywood is the humidity of the room where the rack system will be and the humdity levels of each tub. Obviously you would have to put a sealant on the plywood if you chose this route. Now, are the comercial sealants that you can buy are they toxic to whatever animal you would house in this rack system? If you use the water and elmers glue trick to seal the wood is this toxic to the animal?
In my opinion the best way for you and your animals to go about this would to be either buy a rack sytem from one of the many businesses out there or to build one using melamin wood. Now, if money is truely and issue then build the frame out of plywood but use melamin for the different levels. 3/4 inch melamin is what i have used to make cages and have never had a problem. Hope this helps you.

One of my deciding factors that no one has mentioned.

Melamine ways a ton!!!! Literally 3 sheets to make a rack is uncarriable by 2 people almost.

The same rack in wood would be half the weight.
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www.BetterBoa.com

4.3 BCIs (Zeus, Athena, Xena, Jocasta, Menelaus, Aphodite, Hades)
4.4 Corn snakes

Weight was also a huge concern of mine. It seems that all my friends and family go MIA when I need help lifting something. For my racks, to help with the weight factor as well as cost, I use the quarter inch melamine. It is a dense fiber board that has the same thin laminate as 3/4" melamine on one side only and it sells for about 15 bucks for a 49" X 97" sheet. I can carry any one of these from my garage into my basement without help.
Milo