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Making a viv, need wood suggestions!

legitimatehypnotist

legitimatehypnotist

New member
So, I'm making a DIY viv and currently coming up with specs, but i'd like to know what safest woods to use are?
Is oak safe to use? I just don't want to accidentally use ANYTHING that excretes oils or fumes, so if anyone has and tips or tricks, or even unrelated advice to making your own viv, let me know!

I have also heard of people getting linoleum or tile or vinyl tiles for the floors of the tanks. Anybody had success with that?
i'll also be sure to post the specs and pictures of it while it's being built for anyone who's curious. I'm not afraid to go all out for this piece, either. I want it to be a snake palace as well as an attractive piece of decor for the room.
So i'd love to hear if anyone has used SAFE stains or paints, and ESEPCIALLY what type of wood is best for corns. Thanks!
 
I have know clue what the answer is, but I am excited to so you creativity and how awsome you design your tank :D
 
I've made a vivarium for my Bearded Dragon. The best wood to use is good old cheap plywood. It's much cheaper then oak planks and easier to drill/glue together.

With plywood you just measure out the planks, cut them, and then I glued them together with Liquid Nails Wood Glue.

For the front plank I used an electric handsaw to cut out a place for the glass but I left a border for the plywood so it'd be easier to glue onto the rest. I can't really explain how to make a glass sliding door well but there are a lot of DIY tips and tricks out there on the interwebs.

You will also have to use the handsaw to cut out a spot for the vents and holes for the UTH cord.

If plywood isn't attractive for you, you can stain it or spray paint it, there are also higher qualities of plywood that are easier to stain and paint. You can also cover the borders of the plywood with regular home wall trim to make it look like a picture frame.

Krylon is what most people use. It's a non-toxic spray paint. They also sell texturized spraypaints which absolutely looks cool on the inside.

When you use tile, if it's not thick, you can use an UTH underneath it and thread the cord out with a drilled hole that's tight enough not to allow the snake to get out. Though snakes do appreciate burrowing so I'd do a half/half sort of deal. Half tile on the warm side and on the cool side have aspen/coconut husk/etc.

If you are ready for more labor you can make awesomely realistic decorations (bio-tope maybe?) out of polythrene Styrofoam + grout. With the Styrofoam you can carve literally anything you can think of.

Just my two cents. :)
 
Seal it properly and any wood will work. I've known people who have built out of pine plywood.
 
As far as the floor goes, you might have to get a little creative with under tank heating to get good heat transfer and dispersal, or just install a radiant heat panel.
 
AshWolFF, I'm planning on doing this too, but wouldn't plywood potentially cause a problem with a snake's belly rubbing on it? I've gotten some pretty nasty slivers from some plywood sheets I was making a shed with.
So would sealing it make for a better finish and prevent this from occurring?
 
You need to seal just about anything you plan on using. Just about anything porous that can absorb moisture will need to be sealed anyways.
 
Yes, just about any wood will do. As has been mentioned, you will want to seal it. Seal it and sand it so you get a super slick finish, especially the floor of the viv. I always let my wood vivs cure for about a month after the final coat of sealant to ensure all of the nasty fumes and vapors have fully leached off.

Urates/poop will get absorbed which is unsanitary and will ruin your viv if you don't seal/protect it. So you want that good seal so you can just easily clean up any messes.

Another option is melamine. It's crazy heavy, but has a nice plastic coating on it. Then you can just seal the joints and corners with a bead of sealant and have a super easy to clean viv.

Check out my DIY viv: http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72880&highlight=display
 
I personally used aspen for my viv, it's an attractive wood and of course safe for herps of all kinds. I stained it and also sealed it in polyeurathane and have had no problems at all. If you look me up you should find a link to mine.
 
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