What to use to seal a plywood cage?

Hi,
I'm building a tank for my prospective ball python and I was wondering what I would use to seal it from moisture and the inevitable snake presents that will most likely touch it at some point. Any ideas? I've looked on the forums and researched a bit and so far everyone seems to be suggesting water-based polyurithane and PolyShades. However, what about using white melamine paint? Like for cabinets? Is that safe? Also, how long should I wait for it to cure? I was planning on putting the flewatt underneath the cage so it can get adequate ventilation.

Hi,

Are you sure the flex would be able to heat well enough through plywood?

I would be tempted to plan on putting it inside and silicon sealing a piece of vinyl flooring or something over the top of it to keep it away from liquid doins.

As to the sealing I don't know enough about the melamine paint to comment but, as long as you let it cure well, I think polyurathane would be ok.


dr del

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,

Are you sure the flex would be able to heat well enough through plywood?

I would be tempted to plan on putting it inside and silicon sealing a piece of vinyl flooring or something over the top of it to keep it away from liquid doins.

As to the sealing I don't know enough about the melamine paint to comment but, as long as you let it cure well, I think polyurathane would be ok.


dr del

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I'm not sure if the flexwatt will heat well through the plywood. I was going to test that later since I won't have the snake for a bit. The vinyl is a good idea, but I wonder drilling holes into the bottom of the cage and maybe use plexiglass sealed with silicone instead of vinyl would work just as well? This way here, it gets air flow and it will be closer to the snake. I wish I knew whether or not melamine paint would be ok or if anyone's used it. It seems to be a cleaner and less moist alternative to polyurithane. thanks for your reply :)

No heat source will go through wood. What you have to do is install the flex INside the cage, then put vinyl flooring over it and silicone seal the edges. The cord for the heat source (and the probe for the t-stat) can go through a hole cut in the floor of the cage, which will be covered over by the vinyl.

To treat the wood, use about 3-4 coats of Polyurathane (one coat of polyShades if you want color). Make sure to let it cure in the sun for a few days before you start using it, though. Not sure about melamine paint, but you would probably have to let it cure outside longer.

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Originally Posted by Argentra

No heat source will go through wood. What you have to do is install the flex INside the cage, then put vinyl flooring over it and silicone seal the edges. The cord for the heat source (and the probe for the t-stat) can go through a hole cut in the floor of the cage, which will be covered over by the vinyl.

To treat the wood, use about 3-4 coats of Polyurathane (one coat of polyShades if you want color). Make sure to let it cure in the sun for a few days before you start using it, though. Not sure about melamine paint, but you would probably have to let it cure outside longer.

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Ok thanks. hmm sounds like the general consensus is putting the flexwatt inside. I was just concerned about the instructions I have seen that say not to sandwhich it, but I can drill air holes for it through the bottom. I don't mind letting the melamine cure longer. I have a while. I know people use melamine wood, but I'm not sure if anyone's used the actual paint. :-\ I might just go with the poly since most people seem to have used it with success.

You're welcome. :) I love building and working with wood...

And the hole for the cords is the ventilation for the heat source. ;) You could add a few more small holes, but don't overdo it since you want more heat going up than down.

Even though you seem mostly set, if you're curious, here are some links to my plywood tank build and humidifier.

My sealing probably wasn't as good as you should do it - I did try to coat the inside pretty liberally with some nontoxic sealant, the name of which I forget, which is supposed to protect well for humidity (but not actual soaking in water). I haven't had a problem yet, but my walls and floor are also all covered with regards to the humidity output.

The main design point you might want to consider is a false bottom. Mine is aluminum, which is pretty inert and water-safe, as well as super easy to clean. i like being able to put heaters and such under it ( i have a 2" space underneath), and for heating I use a combo UTH (with thermostat) and radiant heat panel.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=60582

Humidifier, and finished tank w/ deconstruction pics
http://www.herpcenter.com/general-co...age-heavy.html

I prefer homemade tanks, personally, they always work exactly as you want them to, at least thats the hope. The gaps in the doors provide plenty of ventilation for me, as well as maintaining humidity.

Good luck!

Jim

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Originally Posted by jspuds

Even though you seem mostly set, if you're curious, here are some links to my plywood tank build and humidifier.

My sealing probably wasn't as good as you should do it - I did try to coat the inside pretty liberally with some nontoxic sealant, the name of which I forget, which is supposed to protect well for humidity (but not actual soaking in water). I haven't had a problem yet, but my walls and floor are also all covered with regards to the humidity output.

The main design point you might want to consider is a false bottom. Mine is aluminum, which is pretty inert and water-safe, as well as super easy to clean. i like being able to put heaters and such under it ( i have a 2" space underneath), and for heating I use a combo UTH (with thermostat) and radiant heat panel.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=60582

Humidifier, and finished tank w/ deconstruction pics
http://www.herpcenter.com/general-co...age-heavy.html

I prefer homemade tanks, personally, they always work exactly as you want them to, at least thats the hope. The gaps in the doors provide plenty of ventilation for me, as well as maintaining humidity.

Good luck!

Jim

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Ahh a false floor. I didn't even think of that one. Thank you :) The links were very helpful as well. what a great idea with the humidifier and how it's concealed. Thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Argentra

You're welcome. :) I love building and working with wood...

And the hole for the cords is the ventilation for the heat source. ;) You could add a few more small holes, but don't overdo it since you want more heat going up than down.

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Yeah I know, I don't want to go nuts with the drill and have too much ventilation haha. I understand what you mean though. I could just make the cord hole bigger than it needs to be to allow for ventilation instead of attacking the bottom of it with a drill. haha Thanks again :)

I have used a water based sealant with much success to seal wooden cages. I've found it to be better than oil based ones. With either one though, let it cure as long as possible. I would let mine cure out side for several weeks, just to make sure all the fumes and possible toxicity was gone.

you can also use contact paper... the vinyl kind. i've done that on a couple cages.

Ok, i can check for vinyl contact paper and water based sealant at the store. I'm hopefully going to get to the store today or after the 4th at some point. Does the water based sealant or polyurithane make the cage fairly easy to clean periodically? I typically use vinegar and peroxide to clean my corn snakes tanks. Maybe that's just not something I can do with a custom one though. We'll see I guess. Thanks :)

Yeah, if you do it right the cage is easy to clean. Just make sure that you do a good job prepping the wood and get it as smooth as possible. Then just apply coats, let dry, lightly sand, apply another coat. Continue doing this until you have a silky smooth surface. If you don't get it silky smooth, then it will be a pain to clean, but so long as its done right it works very well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Argentra

No heat source will go through wood. What you have to do is install the flex INside the cage, then put vinyl flooring over it and silicone seal the edges. The cord for the heat source (and the probe for the t-stat) can go through a hole cut in the floor of the cage, which will be covered over by the vinyl.

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Have you considered using a radiant heat panel? I think this would be an easier solution than trying to figure out how and where to mount flex watt inside of the cage.

Radiant heat panels might be an option too :) I'm looking eveyrthing up and comparing everything at the moment so I can decide on what I'm going to do. I've gotten a lot of great tips from everyone so far, so that's helped a lot.

Radiant panels are great, but $$$ compared to flexwatt. If you can afford them then it is easier to do. But flexwatt isn't that hard to do correctly in a viv. Good luck!

Yeah, they are a bit pricey, but they have the _huge_ advantage that you can simply drill them into the ceiling of your plywood enclosure, hook up your thermostat, and forget about it. :)

yeah I just looked up the prices on the heat panels. It does sound a bit easier to manage. I'll see what happens as everything is being built.

I LOVE my radiant heat panels and will put them into my three boa cages when I move them up to their 6x2x2 cages. They are easy and cheap to run. The initial cost does not bother me since it is one variable that I don't need to worry about ;)