How long should I wait for silicone to cure?

[OrangeDragon]

I just put my background into my bearded dragons enclosure using silicone. I wanted to know how long I need to wait before putting everything in. I opened the window and have a fan running. The stuff in there is just to brace it and will be removed.

 

[Claudiusx]

Unfortunately, curing time is not synonymous with the time it takes before it's safe for your beardie to be inside the enclosure.

Most silicones have a 24-48 hour cure time (your particular silicone should state on the packaging) however, the silicone will continue to offgas VOC's long after this time.

So to directly answer your question, refer to the box. But to answer the question on when it will be safe for your dragon to be back in the enclosure - It's safe once you can no longer smell the silicone. Sometimes this can be up to a week or more.

Dragons have very primitive respiratory systems and are very susceptible to poor air quality. The high VOC's that the silicone is off gassing even after being cured can really build up in an enclosure causing some distress to your dragons system.

Enclosure looks great though!

-Brandon

 

[ChileanTaco]

At the time I did that, I didn't have my dragon already. I let it stand around for 2 weeks just to be safe, and then brought my dragon home. (Less than 2 weeks might be possible. But the dragon I brought home was still a baby, an I myself are very sensitive so smells, so I wanted t to be sure.)