Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have burmese pythons in cages i built a couple years ago. for the bottom and sides of the cages, i used smooth white tileboard from Home Depot. My experiance with Burms is that their piss can cut thru ANYTHING. The tile board has been great, but the slightest scrath will allow moisture thru and i have several spots that are bubling up. I am thinking of using epoxy to seal them, but how will it hold up to the burm urine? Also, even with the smooth tile board, the urates seem to adhere to the surface and leave behind a residue that is almost impossible to get off without a scraper. Does the epoxy you use clean up better than this?

Attached is a pic of my cages. I used ChoiceDeck that i planed to remove the slight peak on one side and MDF. I will NEVER use this again. I wanted something that was sturdy and would not warp, but each cage weighs about 250 pounds.

>>My experiance with Burms is that their piss can cut thru ANYTHING.

LOL. Their urates are about as bad as I've seen. I'm not surprise d the tile-board is not holding up.

>>Does the epoxy you use clean up better than this?

I've used two types of epoxy in reptile cages, probably three if you include fiberglass resin. I would say all would clean up better than tile-board, what I'm not sure about is which would be the best. I know the West Systems Epoxy is used in Monitor cages so I think that would work. Check with local boat/marine shops.

I'm trying to think if I've ever housed a burmese in an epoxy sealed cage. I probably have but I'm sure it was only a small one as I've never used epoxy for an entire large cage. So it only would have been for the short term and I can't report and long term success or failures.

Hope you find something.
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

Thanks for your reply. I am also thinking about using Rust-Oleum Epoxyshield garage floor covering. It holds up to anything that drips from a car, so it might have a change against the burms. I have never seen it applied to anything, but for $75, i can cover all my cages. I'll let you know what i end up using and how well it works.

David Cocanougher

The rustoleum products seem interesting but a bit expensive. If I remember correctly the kits are less than one gallon, making for a pretty expensive epoxy.

They also come in water-based or solvent based. I'm not sure the water based would be very durable.

I'd also consider replacing the floor of the cage with FRP or expanded PVC. Both will be easier to clean up than the tile-board.
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

Good points about the Rustoleum. My problem lies in the fact that the floor cannot be removed. The way i built the cages, the floor is sandwiched between glued wood at the perimeter and under the tile board on the warm side is 2 feet of heat tape. Expanded PVC on top of it may still allow the heat thru, but adhering it to the tileboard may take some work. I've never used it before, so will sanding the tileboard and an adhesive work, or do you recommend another method?

Thanks.

David Cocanougher

I'm sure there's a way to adhere expanded PVC to tile-board... I just don't know what it is.

Regarding the heat transmitting through, there are ways to deal with this. Simply cut a hole out of the tile-board that is a bit bigger than the heat tape or heat pad you are using. Attach your PVC or FRP over the entire floor and tape the heat source underneath.

However, since this is a large cage for a burmese python you might need to go with 1/4" thick expanded PVC which starts to get expensive. If you live within driving distance of a plastic distributor you MIGHT get it for $35 per sheet.

In that regard FRP might be a better choice. Given it's for a burmese it might be a better choice anyways.

>>Good points about the Rustoleum. My problem lies in the fact that the floor cannot be removed. The way i built the cages, the floor is sandwiched between glued wood at the perimeter and under the tile board on the warm side is 2 feet of heat tape. Expanded PVC on top of it may still allow the heat thru, but adhering it to the tileboard may take some work. I've never used it before, so will sanding the tileboard and an adhesive work, or do you recommend another method?
>>
>>Thanks.
>>
>>David Cocanougher
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

After much consideration, i think i will go with the PVC. I think i can use a thinner piece since the tileboard is mounted on top of 3/4" MDF, so i don't need to worry about support. I think i left that peice of info out earlier.

Thanks for all your help and good ideas.

David Cocanougher

>>I think i can use a thinner piece since the tileboard is mounted on top of 3/4" MDF, so i don't need to worry about support.

That will probably work. If the area over the floor cutout seems weak you could always brace it from underneath. I say this thinking you'll be making your cutout through both the MDF and tile board.

I also assume you're using a fairly large heat source for a Burmese Python so in theory that entire area will be unsupported.

I know there are PVC cages popular among the Burmese Python crowd. You might check and see how well the urates clean up from it.
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

You guys have some good threads going here, but if I could just interject a small one. I've kept a big burm in a huge cage and I used vinyl floor laminate and sealed the edges with tub/tile caulk (black only white will discolor) quite a bit less expensive then thother ideas and less work I believe. The heat will transfer fine and because it is coming through a barrier there is no need for any special mods.