Need help with building custom lid for reptile tank...

[Tigergenesis]

I plan to house a Uromastyx in a 75 gallon aquarium. I've been unhappy with the choice (or lack thereof) of premade lids for the tank - so my boyfriend offered to make me one out of wood. He's going to add a nice hinged front door so that I have access to the inside of the tank. My question is: do we need to avoid any particular type of wood for this high heat low humidity species? Is there a better type of wood to use? I want the top to be black - is it okay to paint it?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Invictus]

You need not worry about any type of wood for LOW humidity environments. It's the high humidity environments that require proper sealing. Allow the paint a few days to dry, and it should be fine. Any type of wood will be fine, as the paint will seal in any potentially harmful resins; just make sure you paint the inside of the lid too.