Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been searching around lately for a new home for my Dumerils. He has outgrown his 20 gallon tank, and I don't want to keep using aquaria for his enclosure as they are expensive and heavy and awkward to deal with come cleaing time. I was looking at melamine to make the enclosure, I have the plan in my head, and am ready to build, I do have one question though that I hope someone can answer. Once completed, I had planned on using silicone to seal the joints (inside) to avoid the moisture build up and eventual wood destruction. I know aquaria use silicone to seal. Ok, after all that long winded babble, should I allow the silicone to set and then let the enclosure "air" out for a while? And are silicone fumes toxic to the animal? Is there another option beside silicone I can use to seal up the cracks and crevices?

Thanks a ton for any info you can provide....

-Matt

P.S. How would a new BCC look in that 20 gallon once it is vacated by the current occupant?

Yes, let it air out for 24 hours or so. I build alot (when I get bored) of my own cages and seal all edges on the bottom so it does not leak etc.
Good luck with them......I think it is fun to design your own. I built a "two in one" unit some of my baby/yearling boas. Overall cage is 4x2 and I put a devider in the middle so I have 2- 2x2 cages. Kind of neat...I thought.
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Brian Oakley
Phoenix, Arizona
BrianOakley@cox.net

Hey there,
As far as the silicone goes, definitely let it air for at least 24 hours. A couple of suggestions. Melamine can make a great cage material but eventually the bottom will wear out with water spills and heat underneath. It cracks and bubbles after time. One solution is to line the bottom and first few inches of the sides with plastic. The plastic can be glued in place with a water based adhesive. The other suggestion I have is to minimize the amount of silicone you put in the corners, it picks up dirt, substrate etc... and becomes a pain to clean. Good luck and congrats for doin it yourself!

Thanks for the tips....

I had actually thought about lining the bottom with some sort of plastic sheeting....But didn't think of the first couple inches up the sides....If I get it done soon I'll see if I can figure out how to post a pic.

-Matt