Wooden DIY Reptile Hides?

Yes like the ceramic-ish ones? Or the heavy ones...
I know I have this: Buy.com - Petco 3 Level Reptile Hideaway
Like these right?

I would stay away from those ones, go for the exo terra ones! Someone had some problems a few weeks ago with the smell.
Hagen Exo Terra Reptile Cave - Medium
They are great, nice and short and dark, they are also open on the bottom so the leopard gecko will benefit from the belly heat.

Okay Ill get to buying some. What do you mean by the "smell"? Is it the hide?

A member returned theirs because of the smell like off gassing!

I make hides for my ball python out of large sections of poplar tree bark. Unless anyone can give me a good reason not to do this anymore I plan to keep doing it; he loves it because it is wide and low so he fits very snugly under it. I half-bury it in cypress mulch which it matches very nicely and you can hardly tell, other than an appropriately-sized hole for him to crawl into, that there is a hide in his habitat at all. I just bake the section of bark I want to use at 300F for 45 minutes to make sure there are no mites or anything like that hiding in it. The poplar bark comes from sections of a poplar that was cut down about a year ago. Since poplar isn't much different from other soft woods like aspen, I don't think I need to worry about resins or anything like that. Once the cut wood has aged a few months the bark easily comes off rather cleanly in solid pieces all by itself, and if I soak it for a few minutes I can bend it into almost any degree of curve. I can break off chunks as needed to make it fit wherever I need it. This would obviously not work in a very humid enclosure because the bark would eventually rot, but I keep my Ball Python enclosure with two hides, one at about 50% humidity on the warm side and the other about about 70% on the cool side, and they have both held up quite well so far. If I should ever need to replace them, I have plenty more poplar bark lying about.

hide.jpg

Originally Posted by mld

A member returned theirs because of the smell like off gassing!

Wow I never heard of that... Well thankfully mine isnt like that.
Actually I was just thinking about possibly buying a bit of Polycrylic anyways
If I do, what "kind" would I get? I mean Semi-gloss, Clear gloss, Satin, or does it even matter. In the hide, which again is just a rectangular box with two sides that goes into the corner of the tank, with a flat roof, and 2 tiny steps to help him climb up as I noticed he sometimes likes to sleep on top of his other hide. There are about 7 very small nails on the roof, but they are only about an inch long, the head or the flat part you hit is very small, not much thicker than the nail itself, and they are buried, (the head doesnt stick out or up.) would I just paint the Polycrylic over them? How many coats would I put? Thank you in advance!
Also, Eclectix, thanks for the tips, it will surely help others as well!

First I would sand off any sharp corners, then you can stain with a water based stain or paint. After that I would apply around 3 coats of Minwax polycrylic (paint on type, not spray on type), I don't think it matters if it's satin, semi-gloss or gloss. Make sure it is cured and not omitting any fumes before using.

I would go with the satin. The gloss and semigloss will be distractingly shiny and slick.

Okay thanks guys, when I get some Ill post pictures!