Styrofoam cooler safety?

[SimplyG]

Just curious if old but clean coolers would be safe to build with in a viv?

They were used for shipping frozen goods on dry ice if that makes a difference...

I have access to a lot of them for free and would rather use those than have to buy sheets, unless it would be a bad idea.

 

[SimplyG]

I should note, the part that actually concerns me is the fact that the coolers used to have dry ice in them...

 

[wendytx]

Dry ice is just the solid form of carbon dioxide and once it sublimates...it turns into gas form and does not leave residue.

However, styrofoam can change shape under high heat...even when grouted. I think it would be hard to mount the lamps if you plan on building the whole viv out of styrofoam.

 

[SimplyG]

Thank you. Wasn't sure if it would leave anything toxic to beardies.

Oh the viv will be wood but the entire interior will be grouted foam, like Dragonov's.

 

[Megan1961]

I recently made a pretty big basking spot + stairs for my dragon out of styrofoam like from lizard landscapes. In the beginning i was discouraged i couldn't find any old styrofoam laying around, but in the end i am glad i bought sheets! it was much easier to put everything together and measure everything since it was already all flat and shaped. Just a thought!

 

[rafa2k]

I'm moving my baby beardie out of his 20L to a 40B in a week or two. So this weekend I'm going to build him a basking spot/cave and some stairs. I'm going to use the Styrofoam that my daughter's ceiling fan came in and a piece of left over tile that I cut for the flooring.

I'll let you know how it turns out after it's grouted and sealed with modpodge. I don't figure there will be an issue since the viv I build a few months ago was grouted and sealed in a similar fashion for all the interior walls.

My 1y7m old beardie climbs on them and the heat lamp is hitting a portion of it with no issues.

 

[rafa2k]

So I finished the basking spot I mentioned I was going to build.

I used a corner and an edge of the Styrofoam box the ceiling fan was packed in. Used some spray foam for texture and cut a piece of leftover tile into a triangle shape for the platform. Used 3 layers of grout with some very light coloring added and sealed it 6x with modpodge.

Here is the end result....

I completed the upgrade to his new viv last night so he's only been in it for a few hours. I'll post an update in a week or so to let you know how it's holding up.

 

[dkrukosky]

My daughter and I are building a rigid foam background for our dragon enclosure. We are using the Pink foam insulation. She is worried that the dragons will try to eat the foam. has anyone had any problems with using foam backgrounds and the health of their dragons?

 

[rafa2k]

@kdrukosky This is the 2nd time I've used foam for either the background or a piece of furniture in the vivarium. I have not had any issues. Just make sure you seal it well. I use Modpodge to seal everything since it is non toxic and I know several others here use the same.

The foam is really just the mold, if you will, that shapes it all for us. The grout layers harden it so it's not all smushy and pliable and the modpodge seals it so the beardie doesn't get to the foam or the grout.

That's my experience with it, others please chime in with your experiences.

 

[dkrukosky]

@kdrukosky This is the 2nd time I've used foam for either the background or a piece of furniture in the vivarium. I have not had any issues. Just make sure you seal it well. I use Modpodge to seal everything since it is non toxic and I know several others here use the same.

The foam is really just the mold, if you will, that shapes it all for us. The grout layers harden it so it's not all smushy and pliable and the modpodge seals it so the beardie doesn't get to the foam or the grout.

That's my experience with it, others please chime in with your experiences.

is it a specific type of grout? I was going to use elmers wood glue and sand to cover the foam thats what I have done for modeling applications in the past then seal the sand with a non toxic clear coat.

 

[rafa2k]

I use Polyblend non-sanded grout

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1380344&KPID=1129568&cagpspn=pla&CAWELAID=109377569

 

[ju5t1n]

Check this out at the bottom of the page I put a link on the polystyrene I bought.

http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=75&t=180581