Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am building a plywood enclosure for my savannah Monitor which will hold about 10" to 12" dirt. Are any brands of sealant products better then others? I live in SO.CA, and will most likely be getting products from home depot or Loew's.

Thanks for any ssuggestions

asd

Have you posted this on the monitor forum? I ask because that forum is a great reference for use of FRP board as well as fiberglass and epoxy resins.

You should access the archived monitor forum (aka "the old forum" and do a search or post a question on the new forum.

If it were me I'd either use FRP board (fiberglass reinforced panel) or polyester fiberglass resin painted directly onto the plywood.

The later will be cheaper but a royal pain in the ***. However, it will be an extremely durable surface for the constant scratching and abuse from dirt/water.

Hi,
I have 4x4x8' enclosures with 18" of dirt and use epoxy resin to seal the plywood - it works great and holds up extremely well, is less expensive than the FRP and not that hard to apply. I have Varanus Flavirufus monitors and am in San Diego, CA.
I agree with Chris that the FRP is a good product also but will take you longer to apply it to the plywood than painting on the epoxy resin. You do have to experiment with the epoxy a little to get the right consistency and hardening time but it is not that difficult.

TK

Just make sure you do your sealing in the morning, before the wood starts to do its outgassing, or you get bubbles... Then moisture seeps under the sealant and the wood swells... Competely ruined what would have been a *REALLY* nice ig terrarium that way... But, I had some really nice wood to take out to the range for target practice...
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Justin, Julie and the meangerie...
(Bobbing igs, snapping macklots, exploring ball, hungry kings, hyper grey rat, quacking tribs, hissing roaches, wriggling worms & chirping crickets)
Vermont Herpetological Society Online
www.vermontherps.org