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I am making a new enclosure for my iguana and need to know what to seal the pine wood with asap. Let me know were I can get it and what price I will be looking at.

>>I am making a new enclosure for my iguana and need to know what to seal the pine wood with asap. Let me know were I can get it and what price I will be looking at.

That really depends. Are you using sheets of pine plywood to make a solid cage or strips of pine to make a frame that will be covered with screen.

Do you prefer a clear coat, painted surface, or will a plastic laminate be okay?

The easy/safe choice is fiberglass reinforced panel, aka FRP. You can find it in the showerboard section of your local home improvement center. It certainly is the best choice for the floor of an Iguana cage regardless of what else you prefer to use.
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

I am looking for something clear and will be using strips of pine and then a sheet of osb (the stuff with large chips glued together)for the back and floor. What should I use?

Tyler

Like I said, I would strongly consider FRP board to cover the floor.

For a clear coat you could go with something super durable like West Systems Marine Epoxy or something that may need to be recoated every few years such as an oil-based polyurethane.

Understand that with a poly you need to apply several thin coats and possibly let it dry for weeks until it offgasses. OSB has a lot of surface area so you're looking at a very long time until the cage is ready to use. I'd plan on at least a month.

If this is a project you need to complete soon and have hold up for the long term epoxy is your best choice for a clear finish. If you do go that route then you really don't need the FRP floor. An oil based poly, on the other hand, won't be durable enough for the floor. In that case you'll need the FRP.

I would avoid water-based polyurethanes - they simply won't hold up to the scratching and moisture requirements of an Iguana.
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

How long will the marine epoxy take to dry, how cold can it be to apply (its about mid 40's here during the day), were can I find it (Mendards, home depot, etc..), and what should I be looking to spend on it?

Tyler

Hi Tyler,

Curing temperature can be very important to epoxy. I'm not sure what the exact range is for West Systems or other marine epoxies. Two different epoxies can have very different ranges.

You could try Home Depot, Menards, etc., but my local stores don't carry them. I would start at boat shops.

Epoxies can cost up to $50 per gallon. West Systems is supposed to be cheaper.

Read back through several pages of posts. There was a recent epoxy thread. In that thread I recommend Envirotex or it's equivalents. Unfortunately, I've never used it around a scratching species nor do I remember what it's curing range was.

Alan from Jungle Habitats may have had some more specific information in that thread.
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)