Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am building a new cage for my Uroplatus gecko. I want to use wood walls, stain it with a common wood stain, waterproof it from humidity with a couple of coats of outdoor furniture lacquer and seal the corners with 100% silicone. My question is will the lacquer harm the gecko because of chemicals or any other reasons I might not know about?

I know this may sound counter-intuitive, but you actually want to avoid exterior varnishes or lacquers. They are more likely to offgas potentially toxic solvents since they have solids that are designed to stay slightly flexible over time and impede the release of the solvents.

I'm sure most of them would be fine but it can be very difficult to figure out which are safe and which are not.

I used Envirotex Epoxy to sealed a stained oak cage for Uroplatus geckos. I built this cage with/for Ben who is a common poster over on the Uroplatus forum.

Ben used an oil-based stain. Given enough time they do offgas completely. Water-bases stains will be "safer" more quickly than oil-based.

Here's a picture. You can see the Envirotex used on the interior is pretty shiny stuff. There are ways to give it more of a flat/satin appearance if you prefer that. The exterior was sealed with water-based polyurethane only.

So does the oil based stain repel enough water not to warp or rot the wood? Cause a Uro's lair needs extreme humidity.

No. The the final coat is a layer of Envirotex Epoxy.

In the case of this cage two coats of stain, two coats of water-based polyurethane and one coat of Envirotex were applied in that order.

The two coats of water-based poly are not absolutely necessary. But it does save money as it reduces the surface area that the epoxy has to coat (fills in the texture of the wood). Since you need it for the exterior of the cage you might as well use it as a precoat on the interior.

Hi Chris

Is it the Envirotex or the Envirotex Lite epoxy that you use?

I notice that the lite is supposed to be much thinner (which, to me, indicates it might be suitable for brushing onto the wood). If it could be brushed on, with the same 24-hour cure time, that might be even more exciting than the "pour, spread & pray" method...
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Justin, Julie and the menagerie...
www.baskingwonders.com

Envirotex lite is the pour on finish. In fact I don't believe there is a regular Envirotex produced anymore.

But the Lite can be brushed or poured. I've done both and much preferred pouring it one. If I ever do any rock work I may try thinning it with isopropyl and brushing it one. Can't exactly pour it over textured rockwork.

At any rate, whether you pour it one or brush it on it still has self-leveling properties. The problem with brushing it one is that you have to wait even longer for the bristle marks to level out before you can torch off the gas bubbles. Makes for a very inconsistent finish.

Let us know if you use it and how it works.

Hi Chris

I probably won't be using it real soon (too many other projects, first), but, when I do, I'll definitely post results!
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Justin, Julie and the menagerie...
www.baskingwonders.com

This is for ChrisHarper2 also. He gave me advice on this epoxy:

If it can be thinned out, I guess with isopropyl alcohol, use that as a final coat. Apply the first coat and just after application, gently but quickly blow on the bubbles causing them to pop. Once completely, and I mean completely, dry, sand lightly with extra fine steel wool. Use damp cloth to remove dust and apply second coat. Sand again with steel wool, then apply final, thinned coat. Less bubbles will appear, it will even out nicer and your finished product should be incredibly smooth.

Whatcha think Chris?

Tell me more about the cage you used this on? What species are in the cage, how is it holding up, etc?

If you don't have access to a torch I think your idea might be a good one. What we did was to apply two coats of Polycrylic in order to reduce the surface area of the wood.

Then we simply calculated how much of the epoxy to mix up based on the sq. in. of the panel we were working on. After pouring it one and trowleling it on with small pieces of cardboard we used a propane torch to bring the bubbles out.

We continually checked with a bright light and used the torch on any bubbles that popped up. This did take a while but the results were stunning.

Next time I use this product I'd like to try their satin finish and see how it looks.

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This is for ChrisHarper2 also. He gave me advice on this epoxy:

If it can be thinned out, I guess with isopropyl alcohol, use that as a final coat. Apply the first coat and just after application, gently but quickly blow on the bubbles causing them to pop. Once completely, and I mean completely, dry, sand lightly with extra fine steel wool. Use damp cloth to remove dust and apply second coat. Sand again with steel wool, then apply final, thinned coat. Less bubbles will appear, it will even out nicer and your finished product should be incredibly smooth.

Whatcha think Chris?