Reptile & Amphibian Forums

err no one asnwered the first time, ill be more spesific. im wondering what wood to use when making a reptile enclosure. what wood is safe and what isnt?
i already know cedar is bad, anything else?
and is there any wood thats decent with humidity, or would any reptile safe wood work as long as its sealed with polyurithane or what sealant is safe to use?

Even cedar could be used ifit's sealed well, but it's not a good idea reguardless. Plywood of some sort is usually used. Oak is best. More durable. No matter what you use it will need to be sealed with something to waterproof it. Some kind of shellac or paint, epoxy paint works well. It will need to be allowed to gas (air) out for several hours to a couple days to insure all the fumes from whatever you use are gone as this will harm your snake. Go to the 'cage and design' forum and you can get more specific answers. Hope this helps.

Quig

ahh thanks!! yeah the cedar probably wouldnt be a good idea, when i walked by it in the home store the smell was so much more powerfull then the other wood. i WAS wondering about plywood, good to know.

http://www.albinoburmese.com/cageplans.htm

the cage is designed for a burm, but resize it and such and it'll work great. I'm gonna start working on 2 of them for my new peruvian bcc's I'm getting tomarrow Should work well. if you don't use the interior light the cage will run ya about $150...given you have all the tools needed.
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1.1.0 Irian x Jungle Carpet Pythons
1.2.0 Black Rats- Robert, Cady, Kylie
1.2.0 Albino FL Kings-Nick, Jessica, Ashley
1.1.0 Crimson Corns-Kane, Ruby
0.1.0 Het-Crimson Corns-Lola
0.1.0 White-Sided/Pos Het Albino Black Rat-Lita
1.0.0 Albino White-sided Black Rat-Rey
0.1.0 Albino/Het White-sided Black Rat-Stacey
1.2.0 Creamsicle Corns-Vince, Trish, Torrie
0.1.0 Fl King-Bonnie
1.0.1 Green Tree Pythons Biak-Brandon, Aru-Orochimaru
1.0.0 Flame X Blood Bearded-Ruff
2.4.0 Ball Pythons-Kritsy, Gretchen, Alexis, 100% het for albino balls- Naruto, Hinata, 66% het VPI Axanthic-Sasuke
0.1.0 Red-tail Boa-Xena
0.0.1 Savannah Monitor-Izzy

melamine

3/4 inch birch plywood(furniture grade)$$$

they make a child / food safe polyurethane.........find it.......

........ask for it.........
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melamine is what most of mine are made from works great

here is a link about my cages in case you wanted to see what it can look like.
http://snakes.mistysprouse.com/cages.html

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Misty Sprouse Ball Pythons

I've been using a 5/8" nova ply, which is the same stuff used on countertops, then I apply formica to the interior of the cage then an oak veneer to the sides along with solid oak on the face of the cage. All the oak is stained and then sealed with the poly and the interior seams of the enclosure are sealed with an acrylic caulk that has some silicone. The door is an oak frame that has an acrylic window. I use these cages to house my boas, but I really like racks for my Ball Pythons. But building a cage can be fun.
Mike Derks