MDF wood

wiseman001 · 01-25-06, 07:13 PM

Im planing on building a 7 X 3 X 3 foot encloser for my Boa 's they are 6 foot long now I have them in a 100 gal hagen tank.. Wood was free.. but im unsure about puttin them in it .. the MDF Wood has a paper finish on it....

Now for the heat.. I use a 100 watt bulb..... tank gets really warm

MDF wood is all COMPRESSED paper..

ANY OPINIONS Please ????

boidboi · 01-29-06, 09:48 PM

ya my brother has a MDF encloser for his beardies 7" X 3" X 2" and he has had it for about 3 years and its in amazing shape it's great against heat and water. in my opinion go for it

galad · 01-29-06, 11:41 PM

mdf is good and will last along time as long as you seal it properly.to be safe i would use aquarium silicone to do all the edging in the enclosure. If water spills and you dont have the silicone the water will seep into the cracks where the mdf does not have paper protecting it and over time will rot from the inside. A solid silicone job will stop that and it should last you for years. Id still be carefull not to let water sit on it to long though.

Them and Us · 02-14-06, 11:35 PM

welll....i know that MDF is great for speaker enclosures. unless you have a leak in your trunk and it rains and destroys the mdf like it did mine. i personally wouldn't use it. if its free then i suppose its fine. but if you are going to spend money and decide that a really damn heavy enclosure is what you want then i'd choose melamine over mdf ha.

Jayson · 02-15-06, 11:03 AM

The Humidity requirments for a Boa will distroy MDF in no time, you would have do more then just seal the edges, you would have to seal the entire thing with an epoxy of some sort.
It probably would work for a beardie inclosure be cause they are more of a desert species.

Gareth · 02-22-06, 02:52 AM

mdf is ok for building big vivs i use it for my burmese pythons and retics, i seal all the edges and line the floor with lino which is like a plastic flooring mainly used in kitchens but is great as you can clean it very easily.

this is 1 i built 3 yrs ago and still using today

http://ssnakess.com/photopost/showph...cat=997&page=1

wiseman001 · 02-22-06, 09:24 PM

I really though about it hard and for a long time... But............

No im not using it...im worried that it will rot over time.... the poop that the snake puts out will rot and SMELL really bad... over time.. so I guess I'll stick to glass for now ... I posted this to get other ppls opinions

and thats what I got ... thanks alot.. guess i'll be building a new book shelve !!

Todd Peddle · 02-23-06, 01:04 AM

Just wanted to let you know that you would have to build that cage inside the room you want to keep it in.7x3x3 well never fit through any door.I almost made that mistake once and the cage builder let me know.I thought id pass it on to you.I use cages that are 2 ft wide and thats plenty.I have 3 ft high cages for boas and find its a waste of space but make great display cages.My other cages are 1.5ft ht.

wiseman001 · 02-23-06, 09:35 PM

I would build it right in the room just be a big mess... I think i'm goin to look into a 150 glass tank instead

Ganoderma · 03-13-06, 05:28 AM

MDF works great, i have used it many times. FAR superior to melamine!!! Melamine is usually a very crappy wood. Then again you could jsut paint the melamine on top of your mdf..... I dont liek melamine personaly but if your a fan jsut buy melamine and paint away......stinly stuff though! use a respirator.

I always have and always will back up plastic laminate. Best product i have come accross. 100% water PROOF and cheaper than an aquarium..... Full sheets (8x4) cost me from $30 (CDN) up depending on the picture they use inside it. simple solid colours being cheaper. Silicone the joins and you have a water proof enclosure. I have even had small ponds inside cages made with plywood/plastic laminate. Great stuff.

Always seal MDF, it will rot. Still far better with water than that chip board garbage though.