Wood protection advice

[Crabbityjoe]

I folks. Im Putting the finishing touches on my first tort table. I need to protect the wood from humidity. Is there any safety reasons to not use polyurethane? What have people used sucessfully?

 

[wellington]

Just make sure it dries and cures and smell is gone before putting tort in. Lots have also just lined with plastic, shower curtains, pond liners.

 

[Crabbityjoe]

I have the bottom/lower sides lined with a shower pan liner. I'm concerned about the sides since I used untreated plywood. It's not anywhere the tort would come in direct contact.

 

[Tortilla1989]

Home depot sells a sealant that is for aquariums that is Non Toxic, I am trying to seal the insides off unfinished oak and plexiglas, haven't got to that step yet so not sure how it works but It's an option to seal the cracks and crevices. Hope that helps!

 

[GBtortoises]

I use a good quality alkyd enamel latex paint. One primer coat and two coats of paint. I have used this finish exclusively for nearly 30 years on over 20 indoor enclosures that have soil based and cypress mulch substrates in them without a single problem. It's easy to refinish when necessary, not dangerous to the animals and very easy to keep clean.

 

[immayo]

So is polyurethane fine if it's 100% cured before putting the tortoise in? This is what I just used on my enclosure because I didn't realize it could be a problem.