Habitat - Indoor :: ATBA material?

[JimmyJam]

Okay, I am planning on buying the materials soon, but forgot about a minor concern. I know some herps can die from the oils produced by certain woods, so my question is quite simple.

What type of wood should I use? I was thinking of a particle board of some kind or perhaps plywood both would probably be 3/4" in thickness since I will be inserting a viewport so we can see her.

Oh, another question would be what kind of primer and paint should I use? It's been about 6 years since I worked at my local reptile store and forgot what the basics were. All I can remember is that the pain should be water based. I will be painting the inside of the ATBA aswell so water doesn't damage it that quick.

[Daniel3507]

not real sure about the paint but be sure to get wood that isnt treated with anything

[megcornell]

I'd make the bottom of the basking area plexiglass or at least put a sheet against the wood on the water side. That will really lengthen the life of the basking area. I'd also put something on the inside bottom where the turtle will be basking. Particle board is rough and you don't want him to be discouraged from basking.
As for paint, I wouldn't paint the inside, I'd just paint the outside for aesthetics if you want to.

[untsmurf]

We used plywood and MDF to make ours. The sides are plywood, the back is MDF, and the front frame is plywood and plexiglass. We painted the outside of ours and planned on putting up an aquarium background on the inside, but never got to it.

[PcBuilder14]

What I'm going to do when I build mine is set tile down in the slots frame of te tank and surround it with plexi and use the turtle dock as a ramp.