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[rwgsnakes]

i live by a creek that is always overflowing and there is a lot of drift wood, so i go down, get some nice pieces, leave them on my drive way in the sun, put the in the oven if they can fit, and last i give them a NICE coat of poly, this will keep bugs in and die, keep more bugs out, and they are water proof...for the most part

[CrazyHedgehog]

give them a NICE coat of poly,

I too get drift wood as I live 2 minutes away from the beach,....... however..what is 'poly'?

[adamanteus]

I too get drift wood as I live 2 minutes away from the beach,....... however..what is 'poly'?

I'm guessing it's a US term for varnish.

[drache]

I'm guessing it's a US term for varnish.

it is
the "poly" is part of the chemical name

I generally leave wood unvarnished, because I worry about the impact of the chemicals.
any opinions/experiences around that?

[adamanteus]

I agree Rhea. I generally try to microwave branches, if they're small enough to fit. Failing that I pour boiling water over them, repeatedly. Then I disinfect and thoroughly rinse. I never use any form of preservative on them.

[Cazador]

Rhea's right. It stands for polyethylene varnish... just a chemical name.

[adamanteus]

Rhea's right. It stands for polyethylene varnish... just a chemical name.

And in your opinion Rick...good thing or bad thing?

[Sid]

James,

I have two wood enclosures and I varnished the inside of each to water proof them. I have used them for two years with out problems. After coating I left the enclosures open for more than a week before using to insure the varnish was totally cured and not still giving off any odor.

Sid

[rwgsnakes]

if you give it enough time all of the odor of the polyurethane will disapate, i have been using it on wood for almost a year. I also used it on my homemade unit to seal it. I got the idea from other people who have been coating tanks/wood for years and years.....just because they do it doesnt make it right i know, but they told me they have had no problems.

[Cazador]

Personally, I don't do it, but I see how it could be useful. I bake all of my wood accessories for about 30 minutes at about 250 F (121 C) to kill any insects/parasites/bacteria that might be hiding within the wood. I think that if wood accessories are used in a quarantine pen (or wherever new snakes are housed), it would be very helpful to seal wood accessories with varnish (or be willing to pitch them if mites show up). Once mites show up, they're extremely difficult to remove from untreated wood furnishings.

I've read that, as has been suggested, one should let varnished wood accessories air dry for a few days. Then one should also turn the spotlight onto it for a few more days to help dissipate any remaining noxious fumes. Putting it on the driveway or possibly within the oven would have the same effect, but I'd only set the oven to about 150 F (65 C) if it's already been sealed with varnish. The goal would just be to reduce the hazardous vapors.