Reptile & Amphibian Forums

THANK YOU FOR READING.

Background:

I am in the middle of deciding on permanent adult housing for some of my now yearling collection. I was lucky enough to have my next-door neighbour throw out a 5'x3'x2' dresser. It is in need of some work, but for the most part, the frame is strong and in great condition. There are three compartments, all 5' long. One is 16" tall and the other two are 10" tall each. There is no back right now and the three different levels are seperated by thin sheetrock sort of material. Sorry I have no pictures, but just imagine a big wood rectangle with no drawers and some easy to remove sheetrock dividers to seperate where 3 long drawers would have gone.

Questions:

-What is a good wood to use with reptiles (I will only need one or two pieces to replace the sheetrock that will sit below the substrate). I guess I need something non-toxic, light, strong, and able to stand up to humidity... (sounds impossible to find)

-Is peg board a safe back for the housing? I think it would be a good vent for the setup. Can it be waterproofed?

-What is a safe or recommended waterproofing to use on wood for reptiles?

-Do any of you know where I can read up on FlexWatt heat tape or a similar type of setup or would any of you be willing to explain how to use it properly and what I will need? I'd rather not do any lighting fixtures on it.

-What would any of you suggest for the front end or doors? tempered glass, plexi glass, plastic, acrylic, something else? What is the best way to set up the doors - left/right hinges, top down hinges, sliding doors, etc...?

Thank you for reading and helping me out... my project is underway. I have no experience with this kind of construction but I think with the proper education and planning it will be just fine.

Thanks again... I REALLY APPRECIATE THE HELP.
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-Iman
1.1 Sugar Gliders (Gizmo and Nema)
2.0 Ball Pythons (Spot and Speck)
0.1 Colombian BCI (Belle)
1.0 Colombian Rainbow (Rex)
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow (Just arrived!!!)

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Imans House of Herps

No wood is going to fulfill all of those requirements. I'd recommend a plastic but it sounds like you need this divider to have something of a structural element to it. I suppose you could build a wooden frame, or modify the existing one, and then cover it with expanded PVC (available from sign and plastic shops).

Otherwise, I'd recommend a 3/4" plywood or MDO and coat it with several coats of an oil-based paint or urethane. These are safe but can take weeks to offgas completely. There are other products as well.

Pegboard is relatively safe and it can be sealed. It is hard to get the interior of the holes completely sealed unless the product is sprayed on. I have found plastic peg board at Lowes before or it can be ordered. There are other less expensive venting options. I believe you had Tulane in your website sig so I imagine you like a lot of ventilation to cope with the saturated humidity in the New Orleans area. A lot of that is really up to you. I tend to like a lot of ventilation.

How you set up your doors is largely personal preference. I really like double sliding glass doors but that's because I work primarily with fast/aggressive species. It's nice to be able to open the door just slightly to grab a water bowl or just enough to reintroduce a spastic snake.

Others like doors that hinge completely out of the way for cleaning. This is still possible with double-sliders as the doors are so easy to lift out.

I really don't know how to answer that one for you. For more narrow/upright doors where sliders are impractical I have used hinged doors. For those I exclusively use frameless acrlyic/plexiglass.

Regarding the heat tape, there are so many people on this forum and on KS in general who are much more experienced in it's use. I'll let them chime in.

Keep us posted.

You could probably use expanding foam ("great stuff" brand), coated with silicone sealant with a layer of substrate added on top of the wet silicone. Thats what I use in terrarium construction

I have never heard of this before... is it strong? durable? Thanks for the tip... I will look into it.

Thanks again!
-----
-Iman
1.1 Sugar Gliders (Gizmo and Nema)
2.0 Ball Pythons (Spot and Speck)
0.1 Colombian BCI (Belle)
1.0 Colombian Rainbow (Rex)
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow (Just arrived!!!)

Loving to Learn
Learning to Help
Helping to Love

Stimulate debates, stifle arguments.
Please be nice always.



Imans House of Herps

New Orleans has a relative humidity average around 80 in the summer/fall and 60 in the winter/spring. It makes for easy herp keeping.

I will be exploring all of my options and I appreciate the info on plastic 'pegboard'.

I think I will go with slideglass on the front.

The seperator needed does not have to be wood, there are structural brases already in place, but at the same time since the whole structure is wood and needs to be sealed. I figured a wood would not be bad, but plastic would definitely be better.

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it...
-----
-Iman
1.1 Sugar Gliders (Gizmo and Nema)
2.0 Ball Pythons (Spot and Speck)
0.1 Colombian BCI (Belle)
1.0 Colombian Rainbow (Rex)
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow (Just arrived!!!)

Loving to Learn
Learning to Help
Helping to Love

Stimulate debates, stifle arguments.
Please be nice always.



Imans House of Herps