# new tegu enclosure help.



## telsa.the.tegu (Feb 22, 2013)

im going to be building a custom cage for my tegu and i need to know what type of wood is non toxic to them. ive heard that pine and cedar are both toxic to tegus. first is this true? and second what if im sealing it with drylock will it still be toxic. also if you have any types of wood you know for sure are safe please let me know.thanks


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## Raicardoso (Feb 22, 2013)

telsa.the.tegu said:


> im going to be building a custom cage for my tegu and i need to know what type of wood is non toxic to them. ive heard that pine and cedar are both toxic to tegus. first is this true? and second what if im sealing it with drylock will it still be toxic. also if you have any types of wood you know for sure are safe please let me know.thanks



There are a lot of different threads over this, go check them out.


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## telsa.the.tegu (Feb 22, 2013)

thanks your a great help. if you have no advice or anything helpful to say don't even bother replying, your just wasting everyone's time


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## bfb345 (Feb 22, 2013)

I know melamine is safe for sure that's what mine is made of.


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## Deac77 (Feb 22, 2013)

telsa.the.tegu said:


> thanks your a great help. if you have no advice or anything helpful to say don't even bother replying, your just wasting everyone's time



Wow defensive much? He was simply saying that this has been asked on several accounts and the forum does have a search option.

Pine and cedar are not recommended for being toxic.
Drylock you'll want to at least 4 coats and allow to dry for a solid 48 hours before putting the animal in it


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## Tannaros (Feb 22, 2013)

telsa.the.tegu said:


> thanks your a great help. if you have no advice or anything helpful to say don't even bother replying, your just wasting everyone's time



While I understand that not getting a response you desire is frustrating, there's no need to berate the person who responds to you so. That usually just leads to fewer responses overall, not to mention the negativity associated with your person.

Pine and Cedar are mostly considered "no-nos" when it comes to the reptile community as a whole. There is some debate as to whether or not pine causes as adverse reactions within reptiles as cedar, and that question the toxicity of it entirely.

I've read a large sum of literature on wood chemistry and the aromatics, oils, phenol, and acid content, and reported toxicity or questionable reactions there of. However, I've also met a number of breeders who use exclusively pine without issue.

Some say that pine is safer to use than cedar - though it's mostly recommended to use only kiln-dried, dust free wood. Again others say that even using those woods have produced some sort of problem in their pets.

As a whole it's most likely best to avoid any woods treated with any copper compounds or arsenic as well.

As to my opinion? 

Why risk it?


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## Dubya (Feb 22, 2013)

Pine is actually OK if it is kiln dried or if it's plywood. the oils are all dried out. Coating it with Drylok will seal it anyway. Stay away from cedar, though. Hardwood ply is much nicer and gives a better finish.


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## Raicardoso (Feb 22, 2013)

What a rude response for a genuine comment. This question gets asked about 3 times a week. The search option is a great tool and it's there for a reason. There is a great number of helpful threads on this already out.

edit- I did give advice. Use the search option


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## Orion (Feb 23, 2013)

Raicardoso said:


> What a rude response for a genuine comment. This question gets asked about 3 times a week. The search option is a great tool and it's there for a reason. There is a great number of helpful threads on this already out.
> 
> edit- I did give advice. Use the search option



We have these forms to promote discussion about our hobby. Different people will ask the same question 100 time, ,but it is our duty as a community to support them. When I came to Tegu Talk I was intimidated by folks like you. But I had specific questions I didnt find answers to in other threads. Also some folks ask questions because they cant find the answers or they have trouble navigating the web site.


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