Toxic painting gas

[FireFoz]

I finished my new cage about 2 weeks ago. I brushed the inside brown and like 1-2 days it smells like paint, then it was gone.

But after 3 days when I put on the lights/heating and it became like 30 degrees celcius in there, new painting-smell came out.

Now its like 2-3 weeks later and im still smelling paint when the heating is on!!

Wtf..i dont think its very healty for my new boa (which i dont have yet but will be getting in 9 days..!) but for some reason it won't go away!

I got the lights on about 16 hours a day (the cage is empty) to let the smell go out and got the windows nearly closed..just a small gap for fresh air. I can't totally open them because then it won't become warm inside. I also tried to totally close the cage and open the windows totally, but its still there.

Does anyone knows a quick method to get rid of this smell and if its harmfull for my boa? The paint-brush was based on "acryl" paint or something liket hat...


*help* !

[jakejeff]

Assuming you are using oil base (smell) then it takes 2 to 3 weeks to cure for most products. what brand are you using?

[FireFoz]

Originally posted by jakejeff
Assuming you are using oil base (smell) then it takes 2 to 3 weeks to cure for most products. what brand are you using?


Some spray from a local store..dont even know the brand..
Someone told me the real toxic gas is already gone after just a few days and the smell isnt really harmfull for my reptiles...is that true?

[jakejeff]

usually an oil based product will dry in a few day's but to cure fully it takes a couple weeks so I would wait it out just incase also try putting it out side in the sun might speed up the curing time? Next time stick to a water base it will be dry and ready to go in a day or so.

[Linds]

As JakeJeff mentioned, oil-based products take a long time to cure, and can actually continue to offgas for many years afterwards. You can try applying a water-based polyurethane over top, this should help a little bit, but I have heard this still does not fully seal the gasses in :confused: As for spray paints, I have never heard of them being used for reptiles, hopefully someone else will be able to provide you with some better information on the toxicity of those paints.

[Shane Tesser]

There is a product that used to be available on the marker that totally removed the smell of paint...i remember ppl telling me that it worked really well back in my hardware store days. Its been years so the name of the product eludes me...but i remember it was in a small vail and yellow in colour. You basically added it by drops...and i was told it totally cured the bad smell problem. With that said however..now your adding another chemical...who knows what it may do to your pets...and this product is ment for canned paint only. You may however want to check it out...who knows..maybe it is inert and safe to use?