Varnish

[BoomTime]

Hey guys,

Sorry to use you for information in a way, but i've tried doing searches on this and come up blank so thought i'd ask the experts (some very cool pictures of enclosures on here )

Im building a new indoor enclosure for my girlfriends horse-field tortoise and am trying to use odd bits of wood we have lying around the house. I have some really good pieces of pine wood, off a children's bunk bed, however, it has a varnish coating on it, which doesn't look clear (which i've read is okay for torts?)

The varnish is obviously okay for humans and children, hence it being on a bed but would it be risky to use the wood as part of the enclosure or should i just stay clear of it?

Her current enclosure is this one from the tortoise shop http://www.thetortoiseshop.com/products/details/69.html which looks like it has a varnish but it does not say.

I can provide pictures of the pine i want to use if that would help, just ask!

Thanks in advance, and im sorry that i wont be an active member of commuinity, but theres slight problem that i dont have a little tortoise of my own

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Boom Time:

Welcome to the forum!!

I'm not a wood worker, but in my OPINION, because the varnish has been on the bed for quite some time, it probably is ok to use that wood in your project. Do you plan on getting it wet? We sometimes spray the substrate to make the tortoise more comfortable. Or, they spill and walk through their water, getting the habitat wet. I don't know how old varnish would hold up under these conditions.

 

[BoomTime]

The wood must be about 5-7 years old. Its going to be inside and i dont think she sprays it as such, so the only water could be from tortoise walking through his water bowl. However the pine (the varnished wood) will only be used for the sides and not the floor, the floor will not have any product on it.

 

[GBtortoises]

I am a woodworker and I agree with Yvonne. Any "off the shelf" finish is safe for use as a tortoise enclosure finish once it is cured. Some finishes are better than others. The finish on the bunk bed, if it was commercially produced, is probably a lacquer finish. Many furniture companies use lacquer because it is a fast drying, self leveling finish. If it's as old as you say it was cured a long, long time ago. It may not be clear due to a stain color under the finish. That shouldn't be a problem either. Tortoises aren't going to be chewing on the wood. They may dig in the corners and wear some of the finish off but that shouldn't be a problem either. Spraying any cured finish with water for the tortoise's sake shouldn't be an issue. If the water were sitting in constant high moisture it would become a problem.