Hi, it is me again lol

Now I have decided to build a tort table, will have to make sure boyf is ok with that as it was him to paid for the tort and viv etc........
(If I am honest I have been telling him he can't have one for quite a while but eventually gave in cos I love him aawwww)

I have looked at Katie's sticky (caring for med torts) which includes the picture of her table and noticed it was laminated, I know they say the table looked liked a bookshelf on it's back but didn't think that you could get away with just turning an old bookshelf into a table.

Is there any type of material I should avoid when building it or can I just take the bookshelf I don't use anymore and go from there, obviously waterproofing the bottom (or back if it was upright) ???

I hope all these questions aren't becoming annoying, I am reading up torts too x

You can use an old bookcase as a table no problems, people on this forum have done it before. As for materials, just use hardwood and coat it with waterbased (and water resistant) varnish. If you go to B&Q I think they will cut the lengths of wood for you so you can just screw them together.

Not at all

__________________
Thanks,
Carl

0.0.1 Testudo Hermanni Boettgeri

Thanks Carl, at last I have a use for my empty book case, lol

See, problem solved

__________________
Thanks,
Carl

0.0.1 Testudo Hermanni Boettgeri

the sidesoff a book case are great to use, but most people find that the backing is too flimsy. you can get ply from b and q for about £6 and thats plenty strong enough. you can line it with lino off cuts or tarp to stop any seepage from the substrate. and if you have cats or dogs, or little kids, use a mesh on top to stop them getting petsered.

__________________

Looks like I have landed myself with a few diy jobs .... will post a pic or two when I have had a bash at it ....... B&Q here we come

that tables not mine hun but a fantastic table and set up that Petzoo.co.uk sell..quite pricey some would say but well worth the money if the prospect of diy fills you with fear.

for my old table i got a bookcase, reinforced the back with 2"x 4" (i think thats what it was better half did it for me lol) and then used varnish to help water proof it. Let it air and dry fully before tort goes in obviously. You could also get a large piece of plywood and attatch it the bookcase to reinforce it further.

some book cases aren't very deep on the sides so you could extend those too if you wanted but that's more diy. you can get extra deep ones from places like argos though, which have a nice depth as book cases go.

As for materials to avoid, personally i'd avoid pine. I know it's toxic to snakes and what not so decided to never risk it with mine. Have been told by some its toxic to torts and from others that it's not. nothing like tort keeping for confusion

__________________
"The worst sin towards are our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that's the essence of inhumanity" George Bernard Shaw

your really doing a great job getting things right for your tort, an under bed plastic drawer works well to...and cheap at about 6/7 quid

after watching the way he was running, and it was running lol, I think I better make sure that whatever I build is big enough to accommodate, I think he is going to be a bit of a delinquent when he gets going.

I am not worried about diy, had to more or less strip my house to the bare bricks and start again over the last few years. Secretly I enjoy it but sshh ... lol