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Ronald7232 said:
I used just normal expandable Foam you can see there! My inspiration when making this build.
Click to expand...
Was going to say, it looked like something dart keepers would do. Been considering something similar for vampire crabs, but I worry about the leeching of chemicals from foam. Not really a concern for chams/most reptiles, but in a semi aquatic/paludarium set up for inverts and amphibians… been trying to find the *safest* option out there.
 
jamest0o0 said:
Was going to say, it looked like something dart keepers would do. Been considering something similar for vampire crabs, but I worry about the leeching of chemicals from foam. Not really a concern for chams/most reptiles, but in a semi aquatic/paludarium set up for inverts and amphibians… been trying to find the *safest* option out there.
Click to expand...
I do believe seeing various palladiums using expandable foam with no issues. I want to see where you saw leeching of chemicals was a concern... Dr plants made a Vampire crab palladium and he does updates on it. Maybe check that out for a idea.
 
Ronald7232 said:
I do believe seeing various palladiums using expandable foam with no issues. I want to see where you saw leeching of chemicals was a concern... Dr plants made a Vampire crab palladium and he does updates on it. Maybe check that out for a idea.
Click to expand...

There are loads of conversations on dendroboards about this, as foam is very toxic when curing and overtime will break down from UV/water/etc. a lot of people will seal with silicone to help prevent this. The concern isn’t as much about an immediate effect, like the animal dying, but could potentially lead to reproductive/other issues(as these chemicals can do with people). This isn’t to say any of this as fact, it’s just a consideration. To me, it’s more of a concern for a long term set up exposed to high humidity/water/heat/uv. In my case, I want to build large and beautiful displays(regarding amphibians inverts) that would safely last years down the road, especially if I was to breed anything.

Once again though, I’m not concerned about it with chams. I’ve used it with my Cham enclosures. I know people use it for inverts/amphibians as well, but me being a little bit obsessive, I like to avoid any potential issues down the road as best as possible.
 
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Anyway, didn’t mean to take away from your post here. Getting a little off topic talking about frogs and crabs haha. I didn’t want my post to insinuate any issue with you doing this in your Cham setup, I think it’s really cool and I use foam myself for chams and have done bioactive enclosures with it. Never had problems. Just never used it in a high humidity/aquatic setting. I think I still would even with a good sealant, whether it’s silicone or something else.
 
jamest0o0 said:
Anyway, didn’t mean to take away from your post here. Getting a little off topic talking about frogs and crabs haha. I didn’t want my post to insinuate any issue with you doing this in your Cham setup, I think it’s really cool and I use foam myself for chams and have done bioactive enclosures with it. Never had problems. Just never used it in a high humidity/aquatic setting. I think I still would even with a good sealant, whether it’s silicone or something else.
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No dont worry about it, I love talking about enclosure builds! I never actually knew it could be toxic since so many reptiles/amphibians/fish users use it, so its good to learn new things!
 
Ronald7232 said:
No dont worry about it, I love talking about enclosure builds! I never actually knew it could be toxic since so many reptiles/amphibians/fish users use it, so its good to learn new things!
Click to expand...

Yeah I mean, I don’t know of any direct problems it’s caused. From what I’ve read, it’s mainly a concern with breeding and maybe with long term breaking down. Honestly, I don’t know a whole lot about it… just like to hear what other keepers are using and their experiences with it 👍

Anyway, cool build and blog, keep it up!
 
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