Melamine vs Plywood

[badkittyamy]

What are the pros and cons to each and what would you suggest for an enclosure. Most I see use melamine but I have heard some people complain that it sags in places with high humidity and other such things.

Opinions please.

[PythonGuy21]

melamine bottems, plywood for the rest.

[ChadRamsey]

plywood is absorbant

[spike06]

for my beardies cage i used melamine and its worked out great. theres nothing bad i can say about it. so for a desert reptile, id say melamine.

[stalk]

With Melamine, once the surface gets scratched the wood is like a sponge and will absorb all water and rot from inside.

With Plywood, if you seal it properly scratches won't make a difference and it's significantly lighter. A 6x2x2 cage will be about 50 LB lighter.

There's a lot more work and waiting time (paint and sealant drying) so Melamine is faster.

[luker3232]

It depends on size?

[John_E_Dove]

I use plywood for about everything I build but then it MUST be covered/coated with something to prevent moisture from seeping in. To do this I use everything from shower curtains affixed with adhesives to fiberglass resin.

[badkittyamy]

I was planning on using a primer/sealant latex based

[razeraze]

I would never use plywood with a monitor. They would get there nails under the chips and rip it to shreds. They would also shred melamine by finding the grain and pulling it up. With a smaller lizard either should work if properly treated.


We use MDF (medium density fiberboard) then cover it in pond liner.

[badkittyamy]

I was thinking of using MDF but the local stores don't carry it in any decent sort of size so it would be to small to use for an enclosure.