New here and need a little help with my indoor enclosure

[jd61285]

So i got my enclosure 3/4 the way built then i saw the posts about using pine on a enclosure. So I have a 8x3x3 out of pine the inside is completly covered in vinyl flooring i have not done any thing to the outside is there a way I can make this work or do i have to start from scratch again. Hopefully there is something i can do, this is to house one of Bobby's extreme males. :fc

 

[ashesc212]

So i got my enclosure 3/4 the way built then i saw the posts about using pine on a enclosure. So I have a 8x3x3 out of pine the inside is completly covered in vinyl flooring i have not done any thing to the outside is there a way I can make this work or do i have to start from scratch again. Hopefully there is something i can do, this is to house one of Bobby's extreme males. :fc

Hello, I did the same thing! As long as you lock it in with several coats of water-based polyurethane it should be okay. I would take out the vinyl flooring and redo it after you seal it. The pine vapors could be lethal. Also, just make sure you completely vacuum out all the pine dust and shavings so that your reptile cannot breathe them in. My bearded dragon has been in her enclosure now for about 2 months and she's doing better than ever.

 

[jd61285]

The vapors will go through the vinyl??

It was press board for the walls i put the vinyl on the pre treated side do you think that is fine or treat them again as well but i will definitly take the vinyl off the supports and treat them. I am worried about taking the vinyl off the walls that is all glued on and i have let it dry for about two weeks now the vinyl on the supports are just stapled (with the staples were the tegu can't get to them)

would that be good?

 

[ashesc212]

Hmm ... that I'm not sure of...maybe Tux or someone else can answer that.

 

[jd61285]

Hopefully they will see it thank you for the help.

I have a little time to get this figured out he is a extreme that hatched 08 and he is in a 40 breeder right know so i have some time.

Thanks again
Nice job on your beardie tank

 

[alewis0890]

I believe serious sealing would be in order on both inside and out so the vapors of the outside heated would wouldn't find its way through your air flow. make sure the sealant is fine under heat.... just to be on a safe side, I would assume that the vapors could rise through the vinyl just to cancel the risks.

 

[jd61285]

Ok makes sense i guess i will do what i have to do.

Thank You Guys

any further advice also appreciated.

 

[olympus]

I sealed mine and everything worked out fine. I currently have an 08 hatched extreme from Bobby in the cage and he is huge, but hibernating.

 

[jd61285]

Did you seal under the vinyl or just the out side and caulk all of the inside corners?

 

[olympus]

I sealed the inside and the outside of the cage no vinyl and chaulking.

 

[jd61285]

thank you

 

[RehabRalphy]

I would take out the vinyl and put in Linoleum, but thats my opinion. Linoleum is more heat resistant than vinyl. It is somewhat fire retardant and does not produce harmful fumes, unlike vinyl, which, while not highly flammable, does give off some toxic fumes.

 

[jd61285]

I guess what I am trying to ask is if you completly cover the inside with linoleum will that work as a substitute for sealing it or do you have to seal it no matter what you do?

 

[mr.tegu]

i dont understand why some people use linoleum at all. its another added expense to the cage building process. the bottum of my enclosure is plywood with a roll of plastic cut to fit then my substrate [multch/bark} what ever you want to use lays on top of that. when i clean the enclosure i grab each corner and everything stays in it like a garbage bag. super easy to clean and remove substrate. some will say i bet that the tegu would burrow under the tarp, ''NOPE'' with 2 or 3 times the thickness of your tegus thickness their is no need for the tegu to attempt to try and get under the plastic tarp. just my opinion....SAVE YOUR MONEY ON THE LINOLEUM BRO..

 

[jd61285]

I got the linoleum from lowes where i know someone. Somebody special ordered it and never picked it up so the roll that is 12x12 cost me $20.00.
I thought it would look nicer and easier to clean, the idea with the plastic is great i will propably do that as well. Is the plywood under the plastic sealed??

Thank You

 

[RehabRalphy]

Advantages about using linoleum vs. paint.

Linoleum-
Heat resistant
Easy cleanup
Wont chip
Cheap
Wont cause warping to the cage
Water resistant
No paint fumes
Clean look
Lots of different designs.

Paint..
chips
smells
takes forever to dry
takes forever to air out
Needs primer, paint, then clear-coat
Has to be repainted yearly
expensive

So technically, paint will cost more in the long run.

 

[jd61285]

So you don't have to seal the wood under the linoleum??

 

[LouDog760]

Awesome post!

 

[COWHER]

I have to give my two cents here. I Painted and used linoleum in my tegus cage.
when she dug in her substrate she got to the linoleum and kept digging and she tore it up in that corner. I ripped up all the linoleum and now just keep the painted surface.

 

[mr.tegu]

LOL!!! you have a serious burrower on your hands to dig through that stuff. i agree with you i dont see any reason at all to go through all that extra work and money with sealing and installing linoleum, i just dont see why. unless im missing the point but humidity is cool around 60-70 for tegus and thats really not wet condition levels, not enough to rot plywood or create mold/fungas problems. so if im missing the point im sorry but i didnt do any of this to my custom enclosure and have not had any problems with it or reptiles that have lived in it. i just stained it and let it set in the garage a few days to air out. if you wanna check it out its under arg blk n wht page 3 i think and labeled pics of custom enclosure. so i dont know, my enclosure was built in a few hours and in the house in like 3 days so i dont know why everybody tries to turn a enclosure into a piano!!