offgassing: need to know bout safe materials...

[Nikki Gervais]

Hey everyone, I was just about to build some cages for my herps and I found and old post about offgassing from certains materials.

SO, what type of wood should I use? I was thinking of using pine, what do ya think?

Also, I leave a hole in the lid with wire over it for the heatlamps, I am a worrier and I always worry that one of my snakes could cut themselves on the edge of the wire if they are climb up to the lid, so my question is what type of cauking or glue could I put around the edges to make it safe? Would the glue you use in a glue gun be safe?

I plan on building these next week so it's a good thing I found out 'bout offgassing!

pine is ok as long as you seal it very well. if it smells like pine it is putting off vapors. For the screen, if you are going to be using the area for a heat lamp, don't use a glue to secure it. the easy way is to get wood strips and screw the wire between the lid and the strip. good luck and hope this helped

[sophia]

As with the Rev, pine is okay, we've used it and we've used the luaun panels as well. Maple is smother and easier to finish but cost prohibitive to be sure. For finishing I use clear silicone sealant like you use on the outside of your home, or that like you use in an aquarium, but buy the caulking and gun at the hardware or home improvement store because they 'charge' the crap out of you for those they call 'aquarium grade'. As for the glue gun, yep that's safe and it works in a pinch although it's more time consuming to use, and tends to be messy and stringy, with the caulking, all you do is wet a finger and flatten out the bead of caulk, just cut the tube before you use it, on a nice 45 degree angle and keep the gauge of the hole reasonably small but not too tiny, to reduce waste and waste of time(G).

As for the wire, we use shoe molding or flat wood like furring strips around it. Put the wire in, staple it down to affix it to the frame and then put molding over the top of the raw edges, this you can nail or wood glue down, it's a matter of preference, most times I do both.

Whatever you do, finish the wood with polyurethane, whether you use the brush on, or spray type, or the type mixed with paint or stain, use SEVERAL coats, at least 4 to 6. If you don't the cage will never hold humidity and it will 'hold' mites in the rough surfaces, so bear in mind that where every you have a seam, seal it first with silicone and then poly the heck out of the whole thing when it's built.


Hope that helps,
Tay

[Quervo]

Sophia and Rev pretty much covered it. The only point I would add is .. you didn't mention if you were using plywood or wood wood . If you are using solid wood, keep in mind that pine is prone to warping, so take sophia's advice about multiple coats of urethane to heart. Make sure you use water based urethane (and wood stain if you use it).

If you are using plywood, the exterior grade is a bit better as far as offgassing goes (they don't use urea formeldehyde glue). Make sure you seal the edges of the plywood very well BEFORE you assemble the cage. Silicone all the joints .. let the whole works cure for about a week (preferably with all the heat and lights in the cage going) .. insert pets .. enjoy.

[Nikki Gervais]

Hi everyone, thanks sooooo much for all your information, as for the part I mentioned about the screen, I wasn't putting glue to hold down the screen, i use a staple gun for that. I meant what could I put around it to keep them from scratching themselves when they are out and about. You's answered my questions to perfection. Thanks so much, now hopefully someone can help me with my questions on internal/external parasites.