Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know this topic has come up and been answered but I cant find them for the life of me, the search tool does not work very well. I'm trying to figure out what to seal my monitor cage with. Its a large `6ft tall enclosure made of plywood. Its going to need to hold up well to humidity. I plan on lining the bottom where dirt and the water bowl will be, with a rubber lining that was left over from lining a pond. What should I paint or cover the walls with?

I dont know why i didnt see it before but reading the post a couple below gives me a few ideas. However if there is anything else that could be added for my application please let me know. Thanks

Monitor cages can have very different needs compared to constrictors (the previous thread mentioned constrictors). This is especially true if you have a larger arboreal monitor.

What species of monitor do you have? If it's a bluetail (like your KS user-name) you'll need to give me a bit of background on that species/subspecies as I don't know a lot about them. I think their arboreals and medium to large in size?

If I'm right, I generally recommend an epoxy or polyester resin. You don't need a very strong fiberglass cloth, just enough to act as a substrate for the resin. Some people just paint a resin right over the plywood but for a larger arboreal I think I'd want some sort of cloth to strengthen the resin.

Or you can just laminate FRP onto the plywood.

If you want to go with a cheap and easy choice and don't mind re-coating once in a while then I think that latex based Drylok might work okay. I have not tried this with a monitor so I can't say for sure how well it will hold up.
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Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephala (Javan, mixed colors)

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

Thanks for the reply. Yes, it is a bluetailed monitor. I dont know what info you would find most helpful but they are from New Guinea, hes about 2.5ft, needs a range of temps with ambient in the mid 80s. They are very active especially during the day so I'm sure the walls will be scratched/climbed on daily. I was thinking about somehow covering the walls with bark to make it look more natural as well as give him more surface area to climb on, althought he mostlikely will just tare it down. He always makes a mess occationally spashing in the water and kicking substrate everywhere so humidity will be very high. Thank you for the help I really appreciate it.

They are very closely related to peachthroats if that helps at all. And hes actually more like 3 feet and full grown over 4

I just needed to know if it's a medium/large arboreal, which I figured it was.

I like the idea of attaching the bark but really don't have any ideas other than the typical silicone & cork bark approach.

You'll still need to seal the wood before attaching the bark. How much you want to spend will determine the best way to go.

I like the FRP approach and think it's popular among monitor enthusiasts. My only suggestion here would be to design the cage so you untilize a 4x8 sheet of FRP without a lot of waste. If you have a size that does not allow this you'll likely save money with a polyester or epoxy resin.
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Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephala (Javan, mixed colors)

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

4x8 should work great being that thats the size of the plywood we used. Sorry to sound like such a newb but what does FRP stand for? And all of these supplies I'm assuming can just be found at the home depot? Once again thanks for all the help

FRP stands for fiberglass reinforced panel. It is the textured plastic you often see as a wall liner in bathrooms, etc.

I don't have a Home Depot in my area but I'm sure they carry it. The FRP in my area varies quite a bit in price and I have read that it varies in quality. But unless you're housing a Komodo or Croc Monitor I think any of them are going to be durable enough.

Post pictures when you are done. I'm a fan of the larger Indonesian arboreal monitors and would enjoy seeing pictures of your monitor in its new habitat.
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Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephala (Javan, mixed colors)

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

>>I know this topic has come up and been answered but I cant find them for the life of me, the search tool does not work very well. I'm trying to figure out what to seal my monitor cage with. Its a large `6ft tall enclosure made of plywood. Its going to need to hold up well to humidity. I plan on lining the bottom where dirt and the water bowl will be, with a rubber lining that was left over from lining a pond. What should I paint or cover the walls with?

There used to be a great site www.treemoniots.com that had tons of information, sadly it seams Bob has failed to maintain the site or has shut it down for whatever reson.

Regardless FRP is probably the easiest to use, its also easy to find. However I would consider covering all the walls in Cork panels. Tree Moniotrs love vertical space and they need lots of it, macraei are no exception.

Along with crok panels You can also get cork tubes of various sizes to mimic hollow tree's. Essentially anything you line the cage with needs to be water resistant before you install the cork panels. Weather that is FRP or not is really up to you.

Cheers
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Jeremy Payne
Owner
JB Reptile
www.jbreptile.com **Coming Soon**

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

0.1 Motley Het Anery **In aquisition**
1.0 Snow "Khal" RTB
1.1 Double Het "Sharp" Snow RTB's
1.0 Ghost RTB **coming soon**
1.0 Hypomelenistic RTB
1.2 Pastel Hypo RTB's
0.1 Suriname RTB
0.1 Anerthrystic RTB
1.1 Cream Golden Retrieviers
1.0 Pomeriaian
0.3 Catus Terribilis
0.1 Spouse
1.0.1 Child

Thanks for the advice, I think I'll be checking out the cork bark at the next reptile show the 14th.