Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does OSB weigh more than MELAMINE? (assuming a 4' by 8' sheet)
Is it good for making custom cages?
Does it crack or break easily?
What kind of sealant/stain is good for OSB?
Does OSB that is treated with sealant/stain rot easily?
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0.1 Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 ball python (felix)
1.1 feral cats (Fuzzy, and Bear; it used to be fuzzy, wuzzy, bear)

Personally OSB would be a bad choice for any type caging due to the heavy amounts of formaldahyde based glue .The OSB is havily ladened with this as its main source of stability, it would be hard to seal and has a very uneven surface.so i would not even consider it as a source for building cages with and its just MHO
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Ok. So definately not the OSB then. I really liked the pattern of it. Is there any tpes of wood besides plywood and Melamine you recomend for a Big cage (6' by 3' by 2')?
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0.1 Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 ball python (felix)
1.1 feral cats (Fuzzy, and Bear; it used to be fuzzy, wuzzy, bear)

well only choice left would be solid boards ...
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Buisnesses come and go everyday, what keeps you here is how you treated the customer the day before....
Check out the new website at www.junglehabitats.com and www.junglehabitats.com/forums/portal.php

what do you mean by solid boards?
the oak, birch, and maple you use?
also what would material would you recomend for making a 6' by 3' by 2' cage?
if it is a non sealed/stained surface what sealant/stain should i use?
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0.1 Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 ball python (felix)
1.1 feral cats (Fuzzy, and Bear; it used to be fuzzy, wuzzy, bear)

there is nothing wrong with using plywood as a cage material all depends on the look you want the cost you want to put in it and the overall finished product.
I like to use Oak , Birch & Maple plywoods in cages i build out of wood there are many sealants you can use to seal them with a rock hard durable finish that just require some time to cure before using with your reptiles all depening on the animals . I said Solid Boards because you said you didnt wanna use melamine ( which i cant blame ya ) or plywood so really the only other would have been edgegluing solid boards to make your cage , But for cost and time itwould be lengthy not to mention sanding etc etc on edge gluing .
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Buisnesses come and go everyday, what keeps you here is how you treated the customer the day before....
Check out the new website at www.junglehabitats.com and www.junglehabitats.com/forums/portal.php

sorryi had to go read you last part lol
i would use burch and use a minwax stain and there are various sealants ( oil bases , water based , and many others in which to seal the wood once its built Maybe chris will answer to the type he uses in his cages i cant recall the name right now ...BRAIN FART lol
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Buisnesses come and go everyday, what keeps you here is how you treated the customer the day before....
Check out the new website at www.junglehabitats.com and www.junglehabitats.com/forums/portal.php

Thanks for the replies. So i probably am going to use plywood to build the cage because in my area you have to drive like 50 miles (1-2 hours) to find the closest lumber yard (stupid subburbs).
What thickness plwood do you recomend?
if the cage was all plywood except the front which has sliding doors would the top of the cage sag? would it sag with like an extra 25 lbs on it?
should i drill pilot holes for the screws if i use plywood?
What grade plywood is the best for building herp cages?
does plywood hold heat well?
would 3 or 4 coats of a polyurethane stain/sealant work well for making it water proof?
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0.1 Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 ball python (felix)
1.1 feral cats (Fuzzy, and Bear; it used to be fuzzy, wuzzy, bear)

>>Thanks for the replies. So i probably am going to use plywood to build the cage because in my area you have to drive like 50 miles (1-2 hours) to find the closest lumber yard (stupid subburbs).

Hopefully, you'll be visiting a real lumberyard rather than a Home Depot or Lowe's. In any event, take your time and select your plywood carefully. If you buy from a big box home improvement store, watch out for bowed sheets...

>>What thickness plwood do you recomend?

For a cage that large, you want 3/4" thick plywood

>>if the cage was all plywood except the front which has sliding doors would the top of the cage sag? would it sag with like an extra 25 lbs on it?

Don't remember your exact dimensions, but plywood is stiff enough that the cage probably won't sag under its own weight. Of course, some of this depends on your exact construction technique...

Placing weight on the top, front, center of the cage will make it more likely to sag than placing the weight anywhere else. Keep that in mind when setting things up.

>>should i drill pilot holes for the screws if i use plywood?

Yes. This is a MUST! Unless you buy special "self-tapping" screws, that is. Even then, I'd probably pre-drill just for peace of mind.

>>What grade plywood is the best for building herp cages?

Anything that doesn't look like crap... Typically, you'd want one face to have an A (or maybe B) rating and the other a B, C or C-Plugged. Avoid CDX, which is designed for outdoor applications and is full of knots.

>>does plywood hold heat well?

Not especially.

>>would 3 or 4 coats of a polyurethane stain/sealant work well for making it water proof?

If you want waterproof, you should probably consider MDO (medium-density overlay). It's a plywood core, but the outer layer is sort of MDF-like. MDO is designed to be used outdoors to make signs, so it is manufactured with waterproof glues/binders. I've been lead to believe that this also leads to less formaldehyde out-gassing than other engineered sheet goods. The outer layer is designed to have a smooth surface that can be painted with minimal prep work. Downside is it doesn't look anything like wood... Haven't used it myself, but if I wanted a waterproof cage or I was going to paint my building material, I'd give MDO a hard look!