# painting an enclosure



## Guest (Oct 21, 2010)

i am going to be building an enclosure soon.i was letting my dad do it but he doesnt have time so im taking over. :mad and i ran into the problem of figuring out what to cover the wood with.i was thinking of staining it but the fumes would most likely kill the little ones.and there is the paint option.but i dont want it to look like crap.any ideas? :roon


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## Guest (Oct 21, 2010)

Are you talking about painting the INSIDE or the OUTSIDE of the enclosure?

For the inside, I'd HIGHLY recommend using about three to four coats of Drylock. It'll seal everything up nicely. There are tints that you can add to it, or you can just paint over it with a nice colored latex-based exterior paint. For ours, I painted the inside with four coats of Drylock, then three coats of latex-based exterior paint in a color of my choice, and the outside I stained and sealed.

Regardless of what you do, you're going to have to let it sit until you can't smell any more of the fumes anyway, to make sure that it'll be safe for your little one.


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## Guest (Oct 21, 2010)

hmm sounds good.but my dad who is in conctruction say that even tho u cant smell the fumes they are still there.idk he mgiht just be messing with me but i wanted to know if there was an alternative.how much does the drylock cost?ill definatly have to picksome up. thanks for the advice tho =]


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## Guest (Oct 21, 2010)

Well, I'm not in construction (anymore), so I can't say if he's right or not.

It's the VOCs in paint and such that are the source of smell, and are what can be harmful to your reptile. Which is why you use latex-based products; they have a lower VOC level. 

Here is a link to a thread about the enclosure that I built for our two hatchlings:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://thetegu.com/showthread.php?10011-quot-The-House-That-Spite-Built-quot-%28EXCESSIVE-pictures!%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://thetegu.com/showthread.php?10011 ... ctures!%29</a><!-- m -->

I can't quite remember how much a gallon of Drylock costs (check your local Home Depot or Lowes), but I do know that you're going to need a whole gallon.


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## Guest (Oct 21, 2010)

wow thanks.=] i think ill use this as a model for my cage if u dont mind =]
this is a great enclosure.


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## Guest (Oct 21, 2010)

I don't mind at all, glad you like it!


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## Toby_H (Oct 21, 2010)

Reading the can of Drylok you will see that it is labeled as safe for sealing fish ponds... meaning once cured nothing bad will leach out of it...

I've used Drylok on many aquarium/vivarium/enclosures over the course of several years... it is perfectly safe, once cured...


Just like Nordica, I stained the outside and Drylok'ed the inside...


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## Guest (Oct 22, 2010)

well thats good getting humidity up is a pain.when winter rolls around im gonna use a humidifier.


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