outside paint or varnish?

[alejandro2004]

i made the frame for the new cage for my new veiled chameleon it is 25x25x50 it will be outside in my backyard so to protect the wood what should i use latex paint? or varnish? also i havnt got the screen yet because i dont know wich one tu buy. at home depot they just have the normal metal screen and the one made of some type of soft plastic. they also have metal screen with 1/2 holes and a type of screen for gardens that is made of hard black plastic that has 1/2 holes. what should I use?

 

[Marc10edora]

I'd go with the latex paint because it is definetly safer. You could probable go with the varnish, but I would probably wait a month or so until you put your cham in it. There is also a possibility of the cham getting sick from it. I've also heard stories of chams licking the wood. So that might be bad too. Someone just posted a thread about building their outdoor enclosure in pvc pipe. It is really cheap to make and you don't even have to paint it.