MDC_Ophiuchus
StudentoftheReptile
Okay....we have this thing called the "green wall" in my reptiles dept at work. I've been commissioned to re-design and maybe imprive the design. Here's what I have to work with:
The entire wall is made of wood and drywall. The insides of the compartments are covered in this formica-looking stuff and have grooves for sliding glass partisians as needed for separating animals.
The problem with this wall is that its nearly 15 yrs old. The wood is slowly deteriorating and of course, has always harbored mites. Also, with the exception of the top row, which allows dome lights, none of these compartments allow for any sort of ideal heating for reptiles, limiting what species can be housed within them.
My plan is to somehow re-paint and seal the insides of the compartments, mount new lighting and simply slide 10 and 20g glass tanks inside these compartments to house the reptiles. Having the tanks in there will use up less bedding, allow for easy cleaning (tanks can simply be taken to our huge sink in the back), and better control of temperatures/humidity, etc.
Here is my main obstacle. After painting these things, what substance would be ideal for coating the compartments effectively to decrease exposure to mites? Any ideas?
The entire wall is made of wood and drywall. The insides of the compartments are covered in this formica-looking stuff and have grooves for sliding glass partisians as needed for separating animals.
The problem with this wall is that its nearly 15 yrs old. The wood is slowly deteriorating and of course, has always harbored mites. Also, with the exception of the top row, which allows dome lights, none of these compartments allow for any sort of ideal heating for reptiles, limiting what species can be housed within them.
My plan is to somehow re-paint and seal the insides of the compartments, mount new lighting and simply slide 10 and 20g glass tanks inside these compartments to house the reptiles. Having the tanks in there will use up less bedding, allow for easy cleaning (tanks can simply be taken to our huge sink in the back), and better control of temperatures/humidity, etc.
Here is my main obstacle. After painting these things, what substance would be ideal for coating the compartments effectively to decrease exposure to mites? Any ideas?