Waterproofing a Wooden Reptile Vivarium
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ต.ค. 2024
- In this video I explain how I waterproof vivariums to help protect from substrate moisture.
There are many other ways to do this including Epoxy, glass, drylok (USA) and other sealants but this for me is the quickest and easiest.
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/ norwichreptileshed
Excellent!!! Just the information I was looking for. And looks easy enough for someone as inexperienced as me to do. Thanks for this!
Late to the party, but wanted to see if there was ANYTHING easier than using left over pond tarp. Thank god for this video. Tore it out and started again.
Glad it helps! I found this much easier than using pond liners
@@norwichreptileshedTYSM, I just finished lining and sealing my Viv with no issues. ❤️
Awesome! This helps me a bunch to build my own, thank you!
Glad it helps!
I just found your site. I was looking on how to make a more water-resistant enclosure. Thank you for posting this video.
You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed it
Awesome video answers a lot of questions for my own build. I prefer the all black look for the inside any reason I couldn't use the black lining for the whole of the inside?
Thanks! You can use this stuff to line the entire Viv yes, I have done it on some vivexotic vivariums.
Appreciate the video!
Tidy job man. Looks really well!
"Doesn't like me, want's to kill me" LMFAO Yet we continue to keep these wonderful creatures.
Haha! Definitely a love / hate relationship with most of my snakes
Why don't you use a pond liner?
I have nothing against using plastic sheeting / liner and have done in the past. I prefer this though as it's cheaper and neater
Have you tried leaving the front and back strips connected to the bottom and just folding it? Couple of less joints to possibly leak in the future?
I do fold the front up in my vivexotic vivariums due to the aluminium plinths they use. It would be two less joints but I would still recommend running a bead of silicone on the fold as it'll be weak.
this is perfect for what I need for my BRB’s. can you let us know if this has held the test of time before I go ahead with the project?
Yeah it's all still going strong, with no issues. I've followed this exact same technique 8 times since this video.
@@norwichreptileshed Lovely, im so tired of all my vivs warping despite the sealant 🤣
hey bud, love the way you waterproof the vivarium, im needing mines sealed its 6ft x 4ft x 3ft melamine vivarium. Im going to use your method as it looks great and tough as I have a yellowfoot tortoise, Just wondering apart from this and HA6 would I need to add more to the melamine? above the plastic?
Hello! Thanks and I'm glad you found it useful. This should be ok for a tortoise although I haven't used it on one personally. The plus side is it's cheap and easy to pull off and do again if your tort managed to tear it.
i want to get a proper sized enclosure for an ackie monitor when he gets older... cant seem to find one that has enough depth for burrowing? know of anyhwere in the uk where i can get one or build one for me?
There's quite a few companies that build custom vivariums, ND Aquatics is one. Check out Google and Facebook reptile groups 👍
@@norwichreptileshed thanks :)
Thanks for this. I know I am a bit late but would it not be easier to cut it bigger and fold the longer sides up the back and front of the viv ? That way you have a decent deal front and back and just need to silicone the side seals ? If that makes sense
No worries! I thought about this and it would work of course, I just didn't want to crack sheet as it's very thin.
@@norwichreptileshed ahh, I didn’t realise it was that thin but yea it might crack if folded. It is a great video and I will defo be doing this to all my vivs. Thanks very much
Wants to kill me 😂😂
It's true 😂
Question on smell of the sealant. I sealed a viv a few years back and it was aquarium sealant and it stunk. How do the other animals react to the smell? Also be using this to seal 2 new vivs I just picked up great idea easier than pond liner lol
I find the ha6 sealant stops smelling quite quick and is fine for little jobs just this, I don't see any change in the animals but am always aware of the problem and make sure if I do jobs like this where I create this kind of smell/toxic viscosity, I always keep a window open and allow a breeze.
I find the varnish worse and can only do one enclosure at a time so as not to overwhelm the room. One reason I switched from yacht to polyethylene too as I find it slightly less bad smelling.
Thanks!
@@norwichreptileshed thanks for info. :)
Hi, What is the name of the plastic/product?
Hi, in Wickes it's called proplex floor protection sheets, but there is a few brands that make the same thing
I am in the US and having trouble finding that... Is it the same or is it safe to use like: GoBoard 3-ft x 5-ft x 1/2-in Waterproof Polyisocyanurate Backer Board
Or a cement backer board type thing?
I currently have the bottom lined with reptile shelf liner type thing, but had to cut extra pieces to completely cover bottom, and so there are slight gaps in-between pieces and I don't want urate or anything leaking through? Does that make sense lol
I’ve used bond it ha6 on my viv. Still smells a little after 6 days. Would it be safe to introduce my animal to it? Can’t seem to get rid of the smell but no way near as potent as when it was first applied
Personally I wait until you can't smell it.
Hiya mate , great video , really helped me. I was wondering though what polyeurthane do you get to protect the wood thats safe for eeptiles , im struggling to find one in the uk
Hi, I use Rustins products now, they sell a few types of toy safe varnish which will be fine for reptiles
How do you find this hold up over time i use a coated plywood for my enclosures that nothing sticks to. so this may be the only option to water proof the bottom for bioactive enclosures for my Australian water pythons. i would do it just like this but then will have to add some flat aluminium to create a gasket like fit along the top
I've been using this for over 18 months now and haven't had any issues. The product I use isn't biodegradable so I'm confident it won't perish.
Did you make a previous video where you went staining and varnishing it with polyurethane etc? I have never waterproofed a vivarium before... I just want to make sure it's completely perfect.
I have a video coming out soon showing my stain and varnish process. Keep an eye out for 6ft vivarium build 👍
How long does it take for the silicone to dry, and this save to use for bearded dragons
It should only take a few days for the smell to go away, this is fine for beardies, I have used it for mine
I used to work at BondIt
Is that corex? Like they use in building to protect floors
It sure is!
Hi what is the black stuff you use please as im going to water proof my wooden 4x2x2 for a baby royal(he will be getting a bigger upgrade as he grows, just dont want to put a 4month old straight into a 6ft haha)
It's sold in the UK as flooring protector and is available in all the big DIY shops 👍
@@norwichreptileshed thank you
Would it be possible to install a heat mat onto this type of surface or would that be problematic?
Hi, so after a little googling I've found out that the melting point of polypropylene used for this has a melting point of 160c so we can assume that heatmat should be ok!
@@norwichreptileshed thanks mate for the reply very interesting informative reply and good to know 👍🏻🍻
What are those sheets called
This particular brand is correx but there are many others.
Is this proplex?
It sure is!
You have really inspired me to waterproof my vivarium! Thank you. Can you please tell me a brand of polyurethane sealant (UK) that’s animal safe and also where to get it? 👍⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🥰
Awesome! Glad I could help! I use a brand called Specialized coatings and finishes (Toolstation), it's not labelled as animal safe which is the same as yacht varish that is also commonly used.
@@norwichreptileshed Super! Thanks so much for getting back to me.
Hi again, I have transformed an old vivarium to accommodate my African Bullfrog Emil - looks FAB! Question: how long did you leave it to air out after you’d used the Aqua Sealant? It’s been 3 days and I feel it’s still quite strong. 🌸🐣
@@beritblackie3168 Glad to hear it's worked and looks good! There's no set rule for how long to leave it, it all depends on how much air flow you have, the temperature of the room and how much you used. I wouldn't image it'll be more than a few days if you just ran beads around the joints 👍
@@norwichreptileshed you’re such a star getting back to me. Thank you very much. Husband just came in from the garage and said most of the smell is almost gone - happy me 😊
Thanks a lot!
I'm glad you found it useful!
Big help!! I’m building an enclosure for a green iguana and was confused on how I was gonna seal it up as they need high humidity plus a big swimming pool haha
Glad it helps! Good luck with your build
@@norwichreptileshed Thank you.
@@norwichreptileshed Just a couple questions. You used polyurethane varnish on the wood if I’m correct? How does it handle the heat from heat bulb? How hot do you have it in your vivarium?
@@carp8662 I have used polyurethane varnish yes and haven't had any problems, the hottest I run is in my royal python enclosure which can see parts get to 32-35c
I've since switched to a different product called rustins exterior varnish which advertises much lower VOCs and is toxic free.
@@norwichreptileshed That’s brilliant. Have you had any experience using rustins varnish with hot temperatures around 35c? Or just what you used before.