# Painting inside the enclosure...?



## LuvmyGreenSon (Feb 18, 2012)

So I got the idea from a thread that was just posted, but I am about half way done building Guido's enclosure (and by me building I mean me my boyfriend) and I was thinking... I really enjoy painting (I am terrible at it but I still enjoy doing it) so I was thinking about painting the inside of his walls. One side would be desert and the other side would be grassland. Or maybe you all can help me decide between the two!! Now my question is the paint... I've heard paint is toxic to Torts if they some how chip it off and eat it so is there maybe a way to tortoise proof it or maybe some special none toxic paint anyone knows about? Or am I being ridiculous in thinking that he will chip it off and eat it? I just saw a few comments about how it may be semi relaxing to see that instead of boring ol wood. Any ideas? Is this a bad idea?


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## GBtortoises (Feb 18, 2012)

There are toxic and non-toxic paints and other finishes. Generally speaking most (if not all) that are available for consumer use are fine once they have fully cured. Regardless, your tortoise isn't going to chip it off and eat it. Unless the finish was incorrectly applied or the wood under it is coming apart, the paint is not going to chip off. 
I have used a good quality alkyd enamel gloss latex paint to seal my indoor tortoise enclosures for many years with no problems whatsoever. It's an easy to apply, non-toxic finish that once cured is hard, easy to wipe clean a very durable. A primer coat and two good coats of paint and most of them have only needed to be repainted once in about 20 years:


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## Donna C Kelly (Mar 7, 2012)

Hi my name is Donna!
I too wanted some color inside of my tort enclosure. I am not good at painting however. This is what I did..I bought oaktag (poster paper), cut it to size of my enclosure. I made it 4 inches higher that my enclosure so that the coun't climb out. 

I went to google to find the pictures that I wanted, copied & pasted them into a blank document, enlarged or made smaller and then printed them.

Since my substrate is coir, The first thing that I did was glued a 4inch boarder of coir at the bottom of the entire piece. 

I then made a landscaping scene that suited me. Then glued cactus, flowers, and other desert plants rocks and pots. Then I took the poster to Staples to have it laminated. I have had this scene in my enclosure for 7 months now. It holds up to the heat & humidity with no problem.
According to the clerk at staples the laminate is under 360 degress of heat during the laminating process!!
Have fun making your own scenes that suit you!


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