Particle board and Bearded Dragon enclosures

Mike91

New member
I recently got ahold of an old TV entertainment center, and am planning on turning it into a custom bearded dragon enclosure. It's made out of some kind of particle board and I've seen some people say that it can create dangerous fumes when heated and isn't suitable for bearded dragons.

Is this true, and if so, is this something that can be worked with, or is it best to find something else to house him in? My plan was to seal all cracks and seams, paint the entirety of the inside and apply a few coats of clear coat.

I'm more of a mechanically minded person. In my mind if everything is primed and painted and double coated with reptile safe sealer, it should be fine. He can't come into contact with the hazardous material, and any fumes created will dissipate into the house, and not his enclosure. I don't know their biology though, (the dragon is my mother's) and I've never built an enclosure for one so I figured I'd ask people more knowledgeable than I am for their advice.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
What kind of particle board is it? Is it MDF, OSB, or something else? If you don't know, posting a picture of it would help.

Generally speaking, if the interior of the enclosure is sealed, it will be fine. Paint in and of itself is a form of "sealing". You don't need to apply sealent over paint unless you have other reasons for doing so.

-Brandon
 

Mike91

New member
Original Poster
Picked the thing up at a local goodwill and it seems to be entirely made out of this stuff. Looks like 2 dense layers sandwiching one less dense layer.
 

Attachments

  • 20220222_220922.jpg
    20220222_220922.jpg
    98.5 KB · Views: 147
  • 16455858766561462934127580178478.jpg
    16455858766561462934127580178478.jpg
    104.3 KB · Views: 120
  • 20220222_184843.jpg
    20220222_184843.jpg
    138 KB · Views: 133

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Ok, that's MDF with a wood veneer. Any part that is going to be the interior you'll want to paint/seal. Just lightly sand it (it's a thin veneer, if you sand too aggressively you'll sand through into the MDF). Any of the exposed MDF (the parts without a wood veneer covering it) that are going to be on the interior, I'd just pay extra attention to and make sure that part is sealed over well.

-Brandon
 

MerithD

Member
Beardie name(s)
Calypso(rip) Pickles(rip) Ragetti Lenny Vash Fridae Gemma
I picked up an old ethan allen wooden tv cabinet and found that a regular 40 gal breeder fit perfectly in the openning. Bigger would be better but works.
Sounds good. Thanks for the info!
 

osbergtm

Member
Beardie name(s)
Lizzy Lizardton
Picked the thing up at a local goodwill and it seems to be entirely made out of this stuff. Looks like 2 dense layers sandwiching one less dense layer.
I know this is an old post...but hopefully you'll see this and be able to respond. I'm going to repurpose a similar entertainment center to the one you had pictures of - my questions are:
1. What did you seal it with?
2. How did it work out for the beardie?
 

Members online

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

So to any reading this, how on earth do I post a thread 😅 New here, possibly too old for this
IMG_20230830_154209678_PORTRAIT~2.jpg

Just Hazel in a filter I need so not posting on forums.
On a quest for pristine beats, I struck gold during a casual coffee shop jam session. The music maestro there ushered me to VOLUMO — New generation electronic music store for pro DJs. Revel in its vast array of tracks and rejuvenate your playlists!
I have questions about bubbles on our bearded dragons eye.

So he’s gotten bubbles on his eye. We wiped them off and it’s only been twice in the last few weeks. Should we be concerned? No coughing or congestion. He’s very hungry and sleeps well. He’s 8-9 month range. His humidity is 30-40 day time and as high as 50-55 at night to early morning.
Should we be concerned?

Forum statistics

Threads
155,233
Messages
1,249,169
Members
75,675
Latest member
neelaluoma
Top Bottom