Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Alright, so I'm building an enclosure but need some tips because I've never done this before.

I was going to use 3/4" plywood, unless there is something better.

I don't know what I should use to seal the interior to help it stay together and keep in moisture.

To build doors in the front, what should I use for the clear part? Glass, plastic, acrylic? Not sure.

Any other tips would be appreciated Thanks!

For my enclosures I like using melamine board with aquarium safe silicone for sealing the edges. I use glass for the front because it is cheaper.
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0.0.1 Green Water Dragon
1.0.0 Tokay Gecko
1.1.1 Bearded Dragons
0.1.0 Columbian Red-tailed Boa
1.0.0 Yellow Ratsnake
0.0.1 California Kingsnake
0.0.1 Black and White Tegu
0.0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula
1.0.0 Evil Budgie

Glass is fine as long as it's of appropriate thickness for its size. A large tegu can create enough force to shatter standard glass panes. Plexiglass is safer, but is a little tricky to cut/drill and can shatter. Plexiglass will also scratch if the tegu digs at the glass. Lexan is safer, it's similar to plexiglass, but can be cut and drilled with little to no risk of shattering. The downside to lexan is that is scratches easier the plexiglass and will need to be replaced even more often.

Aquarium sealant is used by alot of people, but becareful that it's applied correctly so a digging/climbing tegu can't rip off a bit of sealant and eat it. It could cause a blockage in the bowels.

Plastic, wood, aluminum, almost anything can be used for making the enclosure as long as you keep in mind splinted edges, sharp edges, etc.. Think of anything that could go wrong and fix it before it happens.

Hope the ideas help.
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Rick
theTegu.com

New Tegu Community: theTegu.com - Webcam: Tux.theTegu.com

There's a product called FRP that you can use to cover the interior of your plywood that is completely waterproof. It comes in sheets and is some sort of plastic-like coating that is used for shower stalls, etc. It's not cheap, but it is completely waterproof and pretty resistant to claws. Seal the corners and edges with silicone caulk so there is no leakage.

The problem with melamine is that it will eventually soak up moisture from the environment and swell, and later disintigrate. It takes awhile, but if it gets wet in any way, it eventually falls apart.

Good luck,
Leslie