For ages regular plywood custom enclosures have been accepted for large breed snakes, now all i see is plywood is toxic and you either need pvc or special plywood. Regular pine plywood is $40-50. Oak is $80-90 and pvc sheets are now $450. When you need 6 sheets, that adds up. When and why did pine plywood become toxic? I always knew cedar was, but pine too now.
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Pine is very harmful to animals (including reptiles), and inhaling any of the dust can be very, very dangerous. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t use it. If you covered it with an epoxy or something similar the snake would never come in contact with the pine.
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Most pine that you buy as lumber for building has been kiln-dried, which removes at least most of the harmful sap and oils. Though it may still be unsafe for reptiles, I’m not sure. I just know that kiln-dried pine is safe for most rodents, who also tend to have pretty sensitive respiratory systems.
Laminated particle board might be a cost-effective material. I’ve seen quite a few people make enclosures with it. It would also stand up to moisture better than unfinished wood (though it still wouldn’t last as long as glass, plastic, or PVC).
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A coating or epoxy would help with this too. I think that with any wood project it should be covered with something.
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By laminated particle board do you mean melamine? If so I can share some pics
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Yes, that’s exactly what I mean! It seems to be a pretty popular building material for reptiles, both pre-made and DIY, I assume because it’s inexpensive and fairly durable. My old roommate had a nice enclosure for her beardie made from it.
Only thing I don’t like about it is how heavy it is. I’m also not sure how long/well it would hold up if you needed a more humid environment, though I suppose if you sealed all the seams with silicone or something similar, it would probably hold up pretty well.
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Use either epoxy or clear water based polyurethane and there is no way it could possibly harm the snake. Done right it’s going to be completely non porous and effectively the same as the snake being in contact with glass.
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Where on earth is PVC 450?!? We sell it from our shop for 150 a sheet and that’s not very cheap.
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I saw pvc for 450 online somewhere. That may have included shipping, which for me , i dont know of any place to find it. Also i would definitely be doing some type of waterproof epoxy because it will have a waterfall and pond. I am also wanting to create a rock wall using Styrofoam sheets, so my python wont be touching wood anyway. I even thought about doing some type of lament sheet inbetween the wood and epoxy/drylock/Styrofoam
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Not sure if I can put links here, but if you check out Home Depot they sell 1/2” thick pvc sheets people use for trim on houses, I’ve built an enclosure out of it. A 4x8 sheet was something around $100
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Awesome, thanks
okay so what you could do easy 60 dollar tank is by some cheap pine 8 feet 1x2inch those are a 1.78 each and get find window screen mesh with sicicone coating 50 feet is 25 dollars ive been making reptile tanks for 10 years now never had any issues with pine