Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Has anyone ever used MDF for a rack system before? and how well did it work?

Paul

Works great. Melamine is better though!
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Greg Holland
G&M HERPS
www.imageevent.com/gmherps
gmherps@sbcglobal.net

I bought this because of the price. Is it durable? I know the melamine is coated but cutting it is harder and it leaves bad edges...

paul

I built one and have had no probs with it. I did spray a polyeurethane sealer first.

If it's just a typical sweater box rack then MDF will work fine. If it's for a very large box or is designed for more than one box per tier it may have some sagging problems.

It will be a bit heavier than a melamine rack.

The underside of the MDF shelves will need to be sealed. Rubberized contact paper is cheap and easy to apply before assembly. This stuff is so convenient that I even use it on melamine racks. But I keep species that require high humidity so I do see some bubbling of my racks over time. The contact paper solves this problem.

For species requiring dry conditions it might just be easier to use melamine from the start instead of MDF contact paper.

The boxes in a melamine rack will slide slightly easier than in an MDF rack.

Can the lids for thew boxes be used with mdf? and will this help? I have already bought and had the mdf cut so this will have to do.

I am keeping 1.3 western hognosed snakes and ball pythons in this rack.

thanks for your help

Paul

In other words, a rack system where the lid of each box stays on while in the rack?

I do not recommend this except for hatchlings of some colubrid species.

If I were you I'd just paint the MDF or seal the underside of the shelves with the contact paper. Contact paper is what you line drawers with.

Do either before assembling the rack.

thanks for your help I just bought contact paper.

thanks again...Paul