Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know that aquarium grade silicone is safe. But I don't have access to getting it except for the small tubes Wal-Mart sells. I heard that their is a silicone made called GE11 that is 100% waterproof. Will this be safe to use inside of a cage holding boa's? Thank you for viewing my post. Have a great day. Here are a few pictures of the unfinished cage. I now have the vents installed and also the floor routed out for the plate glass and heat tape. A radiant heat panel will also be installed for heating the cage controlled by a Helix. Take Care.

Eric & Heather Baker

Nice cage! That cage with a radiant heat panel will work out wonderfully and be so much easier to maintain than messing with undercage heat. Good job. That is what I wanted to say.

The rest below is my guess, not fact:

I don't know about the silicon, other than the aquarium sealant doesn't have the additive that kills mold and such. That is why it is deemed safe. I would honestly think that any silicon sealant will be OK, since the boa won't be immersed in it or eating off of it. Heck the chemicals in unsealed plywood may be worse. Substrate will take care of that.
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Mark

GE Silicone I is the same stuff as All-Glass Aquarium grade silicone. GE used to make AGA silicone- they may still. That stuff is completely safe for any application you'd want to use it in around animals. It's also the cheapest silicone out there in the big tubes.

-Ronnie Nocera

I have built a lot of cages, and have never used silicone for sealing anything. I do use regular Polyseamseal caulk or whatever the real cheap stuff is. I basically use it to fill any cracks or slight gaps along edges and paint over it. It is the cheapest stuff in tubes from the Homed Epot. The 100% GE silicone stuff is always like five bucks a tube.
I did have a very large glass aquarium cage I used for a headboard in my batchelor days that held an enormous water moccasin. When I moved, I went to move the tank (without the snake in it at the time) and found to my horror that the silicone had come completely unstuck from the glass, and the whole thing basically fell apart so easily it was like a comedy movie. I had no clue- I thought the thing was really well made and secure. The snake obviously never even tried to push the glass, or it could have easily done so. Live and learn. No more aquarium cages since. And I don’t trust silicone, either…
Your cage looks great. Thanks for sharing. Hope to see it as you complete it too!

Thanks for posting this. Right now I'm at the point with my girlfriends enclosure that I'm going to start sealing it. I picked up the mold proof kind but I wasn't sure if that had harmful chemicals in it or not...anyone know?

Supposedly it an be harmful. I haven't heard of anyone having a problem with it except for keeping fish or amphibians on it, but I wouldn't risk it.

To be on the safe side use the GE Silicone I or any aquarium rated silicone. However, I have heard of many types of silicone being used in reptile enclosures, including those with mold and mildew inhibitors so I'm not sure it matters a whole lot.

Make sure to seal the cage before applying the silicone.
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Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephalum (Javan, mixed colors)

0.0.4 Rhynchophis boulengeri

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.1 Lampropeltis triangulum multistriata

0.0.1 Rhamphiophis rubropunctatus

0.0.2 Morelia viridis (Aru & Merauke locale types)

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

By sealing the cage you mean applying my clear coats right?

Yes. Sorry, I meant to be more specific but am still waking up.

Always apply paint or clear coat to the wall and floor surfaces before applying silicone to the edges. There are times when you can apply the caulk first but this is not one of them.
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Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephalum (Javan, mixed colors)

0.0.4 Rhynchophis boulengeri

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.1 Lampropeltis triangulum multistriata

0.0.1 Rhamphiophis rubropunctatus

0.0.2 Morelia viridis (Aru & Merauke locale types)

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

k good, just double checking. Do you know if there's any kinds of paints i should avoid...right now we're working on the fake rock background made of rigid insul and I'm not sure what to use on it.

Do you mean for the background or for the cage itself?

What is going in the cage?
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Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephalum (Javan, mixed colors)

0.0.4 Rhynchophis boulengeri

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.1 Lampropeltis triangulum multistriata

0.0.1 Rhamphiophis rubropunctatus

0.0.2 Morelia viridis (Aru & Merauke locale types)

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

the background, it's for a venezeulan rainbow boa. the cage is made of 1/2 mdf with 5 coats of clear coat on it

Oil and solvent based paints will cause the foam to break down slightly so keep that in mind. Some people actually use this to their advantage and use it as a way of introducing texture onto the carved foam. Obviously something you'd want to experiement with.

Otherwise, I don't have any experience painting foam so I'm not sure what is good and what should be avoided. Most people put a layer of cement or tile grout onto the carved foam.
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Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephalum (Javan, mixed colors)

0.0.4 Rhynchophis boulengeri

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.1 Lampropeltis triangulum multistriata

0.0.1 Rhamphiophis rubropunctatus

0.0.2 Morelia viridis (Aru & Merauke locale types)

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

i like those ideas, but my girlfriend is really good at art so i'll just let her make it all look like it's textured.

One of the best background I have seen was made from foam covered with Liquitex Modeling Paste. It was then painted with artist arcylics. Sorry, no pictures.

But if your GF is good at that stuff then you should look into it.
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Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephalum (Javan, mixed colors)

0.0.4 Rhynchophis boulengeri

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.1 Lampropeltis triangulum multistriata

0.0.1 Rhamphiophis rubropunctatus

0.0.2 Morelia viridis (Aru & Merauke locale types)

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

will do. now i just need to figure out my lighting and heat and i'll be set.

For what it is worth, the guy who made those foam/modeling paste backgrounds said they were not ideal for super high heat cages. Like what you would use for basking lizards. He said they surface got a bit soft.

But for a Rainbow Boa you should be okay. That's just a guess on my part.
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Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephalum (Javan, mixed colors)

0.0.4 Rhynchophis boulengeri

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.1 Lampropeltis triangulum multistriata

0.0.1 Rhamphiophis rubropunctatus

0.0.2 Morelia viridis (Aru & Merauke locale types)

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

Since this gentleman has brought the subject up for discussion. I was debating on building one of these walls for my cage and I am just trying to figure out how to seal it, since we keep 60% humidity in our cages and also how to safely clean it? Also to answer one of the heat questions, My researching has not only pulled up the fact that a radiant heat panel will not only heat a cage this side but Pro Products say that this heat will not effect the styrofoam wall. Thank you to everyone for answering my questions. Have a great weekend.

Eric & Heather Baker

Pro Products say that this heat will not effect the styrofoam wall.

Just to clarify, the guy who built the background said it was the modeling paste and acrylic paint coating that got soft, not the foam itself.

Sorry for any confusion on my part.
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Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephalum (Javan, mixed colors)

0.0.4 Rhynchophis boulengeri

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.1 Lampropeltis triangulum multistriata

0.0.1 Rhamphiophis rubropunctatus

0.0.2 Morelia viridis (Aru & Merauke locale types)

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback