Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am finish up two sweet chameleon cages and I am on the finishing touches. I read on this board that truck bed liner is a good, and safe material to use for waterproofing. I need to water proof the bottom of the cage which will have about 12" of gravel, charcoal, soil. I can't seem to find the truck bed liner around so I was thinking about just using silicon and kinda just painting a few layers. There will be good drainage, so it wont be standing water, but I want to make sure that it will be good enough to preserve the wood and prevent water damage over time. I'll probably put a layer of water based polyurethane first, as well as with the rest of the cage. I'll post pictures soon,

Something else you could look into maybe if you haven't already commited to your plans... using redwood to make a flower box style bottom for your enclosure. Redwoods don't need to be sealed, naturally resistant to molds and rotting... it's good stuff, and it looks good too... again... just a thought...

It is difficult to get a complete seal this way from what I have been told. Just browse any fish forum and read about the trouble people have with just the corners of fish tanks much less five entire panels.

With the gravel I think you want to seal the boxes with something with a lot of durability. I'm thinking a thick layer of epoxy or polyester resin. Or maybe an actual layer of plastic and then caulk or solvent welding agent used along the edges where the panels join.

There are a lot of rubberized paint type sealers but I don't know much about them.

Back to the truck bed liner example, you could also mask off the bottom 12" or so of the cage and have it professionally sprayed if you're really worried about it. Otherwise, I have heard of the Wal-Mart product being used in cages and tanks.

A professional cage builder who visits this forum uses the two-part garage floor paints and then puts in piles of substrate for his monitors. That should also hold up fine but I believe it comes in two-gallon minimums. He uses the solvent-based variety.

If it were me I think I'd use solid plastic to make a built in tray on the bottom.
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Currently keeping a small collection of various Gonyosoma. Both G. janseni and G. oxycephala.

Walmart! So evil and yet so awesome at the same time. I went around to a number of auto supply stores to find this bed liner, when all I had to do is go to walmart. 7 bucks a can. Word to the wise, this stuff is really nasty so use in a well, really really well ventilated area and make sure to have gloves. Thanks for the tips!

How big is the can? And is it smooth or textured?
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Currently keeping a small collection of various Gonyosoma. Both G. janseni and G. oxycephala.