# Reptile Cage Enclosure - Wood?



## Dellian (Jan 12, 2012)

I'll be putting together two reptile enclosures soon and wondering if any particular wood is better suited for job.
Some of my thoughts:
I'm thinking MDF, melamine or particle board wouldn't be too good with moisture and I believe I read woods like pine can be harmful to animals.
Plywood I can't seem to fault at this stage but these are my thoughts and happy to have them corrected.
The reptiles are an adult bearded dragon and a fully grown carpet python.


Cheers for any assistance.


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## Red-Ink (Jan 12, 2012)

15-18mm plywood is great just make sure you seal it properly.


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## DazTopEndPythons (Jan 12, 2012)

what is wrong with melamine ? as long as you seal the cut edges and joins , we have used melamine in cabints for 10 years and they are still in new condition


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## Dellian (Jan 12, 2012)

Red-Ink said:


> 15-18mm plywood is great just make sure you seal it properly.


I was thinking 18mm. Sealing wouldn't be an issue.



darring said:


> what is wrong with melamine ? as long as you seal the cut edges and joins , we have used melamine in cabints for 10 years and they are still in new condition


I never said anything was wrong with it, I'm just thinking about moisture issues. Do your cabinets have any contact with moisture? For myself it's a 'what-if' scenario.


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## DazTopEndPythons (Jan 12, 2012)

We keep Quiet a few GTP's and mist their enclosures every week and they are kept at a fairly high humitity as well , not to mention if you use black they look real cool as well


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## Treg92 (Jan 12, 2012)

melamine is fairly good as far as a cage building perspective, as darring said, as long as you edge it and silicone your joints you should have no problem, plus it basically finished, no need to sand and clear finish, plus some wood finishes can be toxic. it is also reasonably cheap in comparison to some of your top quality plywoods (melamine $35 for a white 1200x2400 sheet at bunnings from memory) also melamine is a piece of cake to clean. if still in doubt, remember, they use it to build kitchens which are exposed to water all the time. 
plywood is a good material, but melamime will work if you want a nice clean finish
josh


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## kr0nick (Jan 12, 2012)

Yeh melamine is fine as long as you seal all joins with silicon. And pine is fine as long as it's not treat and sealed to stop odors (spell check) from leaking and also to protect from moisture. Same goes for ply except it is A hell of A lot cheaper and easier to work with, plus you can stain it to not look like ply.


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## Chondromad (Jan 13, 2012)

My experience with this is my brother is a cabinet maker so we made mdf but they have a exp date due to high humidity an the silicon that u have to put in the corners to seal get crap under it. There is a new board that is plastic layers of ti
mber in the middle but I didn't want silicon in the corners. I am a boatbuilder so I built a mould an made one from fibreglass best ever easy to clean nothing in corners for mould to grow on. The plastic ones are just as good I know building is cheaper but in the long run get something that will last


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## Dellian (Jan 13, 2012)

Excellent, thank you all for the assistance. Is 16mm thick melamine going to be good enough for a 4'x2'x2' cage design?


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## JAS101 (Jan 13, 2012)

Dellian said:


> Excellent, thank you all for the assistance. Is 16mm thick melamine going to be good enough for a 4'x2'x2' cage design?


yup it will be fine .


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## DazTopEndPythons (Jan 13, 2012)

16mm should be fine , i use 18mm for all mine but i have a full room stacked so like to have them nice and sturdy


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## Dellian (Jan 16, 2012)

Again, thank you for the advice.


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