Which wood to use...

[Reptileguy92]

Hello everyone. So I'm going to build a 6'X2.5' wood table for my juvenile Sulcata Tortoise. I am confused on which wood I can use that is non-toxic and harmless to my tortoise. I was looking around but I couldn't find much on it so I thought I would ask the people on here...

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't think you need to worry about that. Most lumber that you buy has been dried and the oils aren't that harmful anymore. Maybe stay away from redwood or cedar, but I think anything else would be ok. You are going to either cover it with a plastic liner or paint it with something anyway, so it doesn't matter.

 

[tortoisenerd]

I agree with Yvonne. For example, I believe it is ok to use pine for an enclosure, and I did so, but some people would disagree with me. There are some old threads on the topic if you want to browse them. Otherwise, just stay away from redwood and cedar to be extra safe as they are quite aromatic and buy away! Pine, oak, or plywood were the only options I had at Home Depot when I was building a tort table. Oak was too pricey and plywood was too cheap looking for me. I used both a polyeurethane sealant and a liner, but later took out the liner since I wasn't using moist substrate. I would use the pine wood enclosure even without sealant (I don't think it is unsafe, only aromatic substrates), but for longevity you should seal it. If you do seal it, allow extra time for it to de-fume (I felt good about letting it sit for a week). Best wishes.

 

[GBtortoises]

There's absolutely no reason that plywood or pine cannot be used. Both are perfectly safe. On most "construction" grade plywoods the outer plys are pine anyway. Cost wise plywood is usually cheaper than the same amount of pine boards. 3/4", 5/8" & for some uses 1/2" is the most durable. 3/8" and 1/4" is too thin and flimsy for something like tortoise enclosure or any big box structure without being framed. The advantage of pine boards for the average person that may not have alot of tools or desire to do alot of cutting is that it can be found in widths suitable to use. Most of the big home centers will cut it to length for you too. The furniture grade plywoods such as Oak, Maple, Cherry and Birch are much more expensive and often have a much thinner outer ply, actually a veneer which will not hold up as well to tortoises scrapping. It is furniture grade so can look very nice on the outside if stained or clear coated as opposed to construction grade plywood. Pressure treated plywood is fine to but pricey and designed for outdoor use. There is really no point in using indoors for the cost of it. Construction grade plywood is the same material, just not treated with preservatives to withstand weather conditions.
Many people use liners. I just paint mine with a good quality semi-gloss enamel paint. It's easy to keep clean. I've found that even with the biggest, most restless tortoises I only need to repaint the interiors about every 5-7 years. A few have been in service for 20+ years and only needed repainting once. I've used this same finish with Redfoots that have been kept very humid and never had any problems with mold or anything else.
Sealing any wood with either a good quality hard finish paint or clear coat is a good idea because it will keep moisture and wastes from directly contacting the wood fibers which will absorb it causing a growth bed for mold and bacteria. Sealing wood also makes it much easier to keep clean.
Cedar, oak, cherry and many of the exotic woods have natural oils in them that act as a natural insect repellent and/or fungus inhibitor. The oil residue has been minimized in most cases when the boards are kiln dried but the wood begins gaining a certain amount of moisture content once exposed to various air/humidity conditions even after kiln drying. That's why you see even kiln dried wood at lumber yards and home centers warped and cupped. You'd probably never have a problem with the oils in the wood but better safe than sorry.
Particle board or flake boards regardless of density grade do not hold up well to extended contact with moisture. If not well sealed most will degrade with medium to high moisture contact-i.e. expand, crumble and fall apart! They also tend to be much heavier than plywood or milled boards. Many also still use formaldahyde as an ingredient in their adhesive. Fine in plywood where it is between layers and not exposed but not the case with particle boards that are one big piece of sawdust and glue mixed together.