silicone for the wooden and plastic based habitat

[Youssef1994]

hello i have a big wooden habitat for my two greek tortoises


i want to if i can use cilicone to make my enclosior water proof,the base is made out of plexiglass and the size is made out of wood,its been 5 years since i made it and its starting to take damage leeting water flow out :S

can i use silicone ? even on the hot end of the cage ? is there a special kind of silicone i can use ? if i cant use silicone what can i do to make it water proof ? is there a danger of intoxicating my tortoises ?
thank you

 

[ascott]

RE: cilicone for the wooden and plastic based habitat

So you are wanting to silicone the plexi glass or are you wanting to silicone the wood?

 

[Youssef1994]

RE: cilicone for the wooden and plastic based habitat

So you are wanting to silicone the plexi glass or are you wanting to silicone the wood?

both,cause they are attached ,its liking so ...

 

[Youssef1994]

RE: cilicone for the wooden and plastic based habitat

the sides are made of wood *** im a sillicone both of them..glue them shut

 

[John]

RE: cilicone for the wooden and plastic based habitat

In my experience this is not a good idea the silicone will eventually come free from whatever surface it was adhered to, torts will sample eat it, early on I tried using silicone but quickly decided to remove it. Your best bet will be some type of plastic lining, old pool liners work well for this.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

RE: cilicone for the wooden and plastic based habitat

I use a water-proofing compound (Thompson's Water Seal) to seal the wood of my tort's indoors enclosures and silicone at each internal edge, but I let the enclosure sit out in the sun for about a week before bringing it inside, so as to insure that the fumes will not affect the torts or my canaries.

 

[chairman]

Several of GE's construction grade 100% silicones are used in the construction of aquariums. You'll need to special order them. I believe that the GE I and GE II silicones found at home improvement stores are acceptable, though not as durable, alternatives.

Adding a product like bondo to the corners to "round" them out and then coating with fiberglass resin could work as well.

For any solution, make sure that your wood is adequately braced so that whatever seam you apply doesn't split from the weight/pressure of the substrate.

 

[ascott]

I think the suggestion to use a liner would solve your problems, or one of those pre shaped black plastic pond liner....

I would have to say that if you did use silicone (I would only use the fish aquarium sealant designed for fish aquariums) it likely would not adhere equally to the wood as it would to the plexi glass, which would indeed again leave you with a seam? Maybe a plastic soft or pre shaped pond liner would be a good way to go to assure no moisture displacement
(in my opinion that is)