Indoor wooden tables

TaylorTortoise

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Hello, I have a russian tortoise. Looking to see what the best kind of wood i can get from lowes or home depot how much I need to build a long tortoise and what kind of liner for the inside I can use to prevent molding. Is proxy safe to coat the wood?
 

solidsounds17

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You’ll be fine with untreated wood. If you haven’t bought the wood yet, I’d recommend to buy pvc, and build your enclosure out of that. It’s safer against mold and all of that. If you already bought the wood, you can go with pond liner or even some shower curtains if you’re on a budget.
 

GBtortoises

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Indoor wood enclosures can easily be sealed and protected with a good quality alkyd or enamel based paint. As with any animal enclosure the finish should be well cured before introducing animals. I have used enamel latex paint for a protective finish on all of my indoor enclosures for over 25 years with excellent results. They've held up to tortoises digging, moist substrates and daily sprayings within that time. I've repainted them about every 7 years and have never had any issues with mold or rot.
 

turtlebean

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Same, I went with a safe paint instead of a liner or curtain and it’s held up excellent these past four months!
 

TaylorTortoise

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Indoor wood enclosures can easily be sealed and protected with a good quality alkyd or enamel based paint. As with any animal enclosure the finish should be well cured before introducing animals. I have used enamel latex paint for a protective finish on all of my indoor enclosures for over 25 years with excellent results. They've held up to tortoises digging, moist substrates and daily sprayings within that time. I've repainted them about every 7 years and have never had any issues with mold or rot.
What wood did you use to make the table?
 

Sarah2020

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Alternative is to buy a bookcase and only build the outside and use that flat and then line with a wood base which would be bookcase back. Provides a roomy enclosure depending on what you are looking for.
 

Moozillion

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What has worked best for me was a flexible shower pan liner. It’s been great: strong enough to resist claws when they bury themselves and absolutely waterproof!
 

Moozillion

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I forgot to add that I cut it to size with scissors, turn up several inches at the walls deep enough to hold all the substrate and be ABOVE the tort’s reach. Then staple and cover the staples with duct tape.
 

Tarac

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You’ll be fine with untreated wood. If you haven’t bought the wood yet, I’d recommend to buy pvc, and build your enclosure out of that. It’s safer against mold and all of that. If you already bought the wood, you can go with pond liner or even some shower curtains if you’re on a budget.

do you have a picture of what an enclosure made of PVC pipe might look like?
 

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