# Painting



## marissa.peterson (Apr 16, 2015)

I am turning a piece of wood furniture into a double cage. If I paint it, will this hurt the hedgies? Would it be okay once it has aired out? 

The surface they are on will be fleece liner over contact paper. The paint will be above and on the sides of them.

Thoughts?


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## tony21 (Apr 8, 2014)

Well I won't say wether it will hurt your hog or not, but I will tell you that the wood will absorb all the pee, and nasty smells. It's going to be to much work to really bother to be in my opinion. Why not just build a c&c cage? Your plan may very well work, I've never done it or seen it done, but I work with wood on a daily basis (I'm a carpenter) and of its a soft wood it will absorb the smell and pee much faster then hard wood.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

You can seal the wood (and seal it after painting, which would help keep paint from chipping off so that hedgie could eat it, etc.) to keep it from absorbing urine. Just look for a sealant that's considered child-safe. Make sure you leave the cage to air out for quite a long time after painting & sealing - I would leave it for at least a week, maybe two, before you try to set it up for your hedgehog. Paint & sealant are both strong smells, which wouldn't be good for sensitive hedgie noses.


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## marissa.peterson (Apr 16, 2015)

Thanks!! The cage is built and they're in it. I may paint it later on. Currently the wood is protected by contact paper, and then their fleece libers.


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## AlexandPersephone (Nov 14, 2014)

If you have the access to shellac, use that. Parts of my custom cage were wood and my dad sealed it with enamel to prevent the wood from rotting out. Those parts have been removed since I'm moving so I can't vouch that it'll work long term but I had zero issues with it before


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