Quote Originally Posted by egsnow View Post
....I don’t know what airborne irritants she could be smelling because the sealant cured for over a week and I cleaned it thoroughly and then cleaned it again with just water in order to make sure there was no abrasive chemicals or smells in there for her. The only thing that’s new to her in that enclosure aside from the enclosure itself is the heat panel and the substrate. Everything else came from her tub after it was cleaned, rinsed, and dried. Do you think it might be the substrate?
FYI, by "sealant" do you mean the silicone aquarium-type sealant? It gives off highly-irritating acidic (vinegar-like) fumes & can take LONGER than a week to cure, depending on how thickly it's applied. It dries slowly from the "outside" meaning the thicker you apply it, the longer it takes for it to dry all the way through. Remember our snakes have a more sensitive "nose" than we do.
Cleaning- wiping sealant won't make it cure any faster- only time & ventilation will.

Heat panels are known to off-gas when new- most ppl say they break them in on high heat to get rid of the odors before ever using them with the snake in residence.

Substrate- who knows? Possible, I guess, but that wouldn't be my first guess. Sealant & heat panel are tied for my "first place" guess.