needing advice on sealant for tortoise barn

[meacreynolds]

We are building a 16 x 20 barn for our 4 sulcatas and 1 russian and we want to seal the osb flooring. I have read that waterproof polyurathane is the only safe way to do that. Does anybody have any advice on what is safe and will work?

 

[Missy]

I can only tell you that when I get mine done I plan to either tile it or put down lenolium (sorry don't no how to spell that, lol) That way clean up will be easy.

 

[meacreynolds]

Thats what we started to do and then we read some information that the sealants u would use to seal it all can be toxic to the torts.

 

[Laura]

i have rubber stall matts as my flooring. Local feed store carries them.

 

[exoticsdr]

Sealing OSB is going to be much harder than either a tile or linoleum floor. Using linoleum is easy and requires no sealing except around the edges where water could penetrate under and soak the subflooring. Torts that like to dig could easily damage linoleum, so that must be considered. If you decide on on tile, you can get a rubberized grout that is commonly used in veterinary clinics and hospitals that will generally be impervious to urine and fecal matter. Just a design thought, make sure to make a good floor drain system or side-wall drain system so it is easy to clean (and sterilize/disinfect) the flooring if needed, make sure to waterproof the walls also, at least up to 2-3 feet so hosing the floors won't affect the wall structure over time. Remember, flooring texture can have an effect on proper footing (usually not a problem in adult torts) so the slicker the flooring, the more problems. There are also self-leveling poured concrete floorings available that can be installed to specs. Just my 2 cents.
Doc

 

[meacreynolds]

Thank you so much for ur advice. I appreciate any advice anyone can give that will help me provide a better habitat and life for my torts.

4-Sulcata
1-Russian
4-Red eared
2-musk
2-cats
2-dogs
2-hermit crabs
5-kids
1-hubby

 

[chairman]

I would recommend using drylok. It is a concrete sealing paint but works very well on wood. Some folks even use it to seal the interiors of plywood fish tanks. (Visit monsterfishkeepers.com for more details.) Make sure to use a thin coat as your first coat and then follow up with thicker coats. I have used drylok on a couple enclosures, including for my hingebacks (they get misted at least twice daily) and my plywood is still in great shape.

 

[yagyujubei]

You could use a 2 part epoxy paint (like for garage floors) instead of osb, what about 3/4" t&g plywood + epoxy. It would hold up much better.

 

[GBtortoises]

OSB on the floor? It's going to be tough keeping moisture out of it, especially from underneath. It puffs up like a sponge if it comes in contact with water or excessive humidity. Plywood with a good epoxy paint or Alkyd enamel would be more stable and moisture resistant.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi meacreynolds:

Welcome to the forum!!

May we know your name and where you are?