Reptile & Amphibian Forums

After being out of the snake hobby for 15 years, my wife and I have decided to get a pair of GTP. I have started building the enclosure and I have a question on what to use as a coating on wood to help with humidity.
Obviously looking for something that will stop the wood from absorbing the moisture, is non toxic to the animals, and is in a "paint on" form. The enclosure will be a display piece in our living room. Thanks.
I live in the desert in SoCal. The enclosure will have a small waterfall with a small, shallow, slow running creek. I may install a timed mist system if humidity levels are not kept at a good level.

Crape myrtle branches seem to do well in GTP enclosures with no treatment. They are very attractive as well, and they are relatively straight and cylindrical, making them ideal for chondros. I have heard of people using regular polyurethane sealant to water proof branches. Rob MacInnes (co-owner of Glades Herp) once told me that this works just fine, but to let it dry, set and cure for 30 days before use. Where you live it would probably be a good idea to let them cure out on your porch/patio.

If you Google "crape myrtle", you can find live ones for sale a fairly low prices. We have them all around here in people's yards, but I don't know about where you are. If you buy them live, you will need to cut the branches and let them dry out for a while. It won't take long in your climate. A friend of mine told me he doesn't even dry them. He said he's been using fresh crape myrtle branches in his GTP enclosures for years with no apparent problems.

Remember- when selecting your perches, GTPs prefer to use perches that are no larger than their own girth. They want to be able to coil firmly around the perch. There is a popular GTP book that says not to give adults perches any smaller than their own girth, but my personal experience has shown this to be incorrect. Look at the perches that Rico Walder (signalherp.com) uses. They are considerably smaller than the girth of the animals. He is obviously doing something right... he's the largest and most successful GTP breeder in the U.S.! -p-

make the Cage out of melamine wood. It's like what countertops are made of, it will have the water proof coating just like a countertop and works great! However it is a little heavy and made of particle board, so you would not want any water to get on the wood itself or else it could puff up. Basically just make sure you caulk the edges up good! I used this and it's perfect since it doesn't require painting (unless you want it a different color other than black or white)