Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i am building a "false floor"for my tegu because the like to burrow so its like a big burrow under the floor.i sealed it with shellac and i was wondering how long before it can go in the cage.the reason i used shellac is because my dad is a painter and he said it dries the quickest and it was a thick sealer.it did thisyesterday annd i left all the pieces outside over night to dry and air out.im getting the tegu today.can i put it in today???

Shellac is no longer a specific of term as it was many years ago. In it's purest sense shellac is a resin (secreted by some sort of insect) dissolved in alchol.

Today there are synthetics and blends so variable I don't even try to keep them straight.

Not knowing exactly what you are using the best bet is to simply test for yourself when the material stops offgassing.

What I do is take a glass (real glass as it does not absorb odors) and place it upside down on one of the finished surfaces.

Once a day I check the inside of the glass for a solvent-type smell. I've found this to be a more sensitive test.

Note that I do not start this until a day after the normal drying time for the product I am using. Also, I don't take a big breath or anything as to avoid inhaling solvent fumes.

Be careful and be smart about it - I'm sure my technique is not recommended

i can tell you excactly what the product is if that will help at all???its called bulls eye shellac seal and finish

Like I said, I really don't keep track of all the different things called "shellac". However, Bullseye shellac has been around for a long time and I doubt it's changed much. I'm pretty sure it's plain old shellac.

I just don't know what to recommend. The solvents probably dissolve very quickly but there may be some residual solvent left in the solids part. Also, there may be a hardening process that ocurrs with the resin that only starts once the solvent has evaporated.

If the surface is no longer tacky and you cannot smell any solvent odor, I think you're okay.

When in doubt, give it some more time.

Hopefully BigTatto will chime in, he knows more about this stuff than I do.

ok thanks for the help