Is Nylon Mesh Safe??

[Bearnandos]

Hi,
Decided to start my 7th and 8th Vivarium for a Christmas/birthday treat lol.....this time with a false bottom using egg crate. Been told that using fibre glass mesh is safe for frogs but in UK I can only find them in 50M lengths! I know that stainless steel mesh is out of the question - so is nylon a safe option?? if not what else could I use??
These new 60"x45"x60" Viv will be a upgrade for my Maranon darts (Excidobates mysteriosus) and D.auratus.
Thanks

[John]

You can use Nylon but be aware that Nylon will lose its strength if exposed to light all the time, so don't put weight on it.

[Kurt]

Needlepoint mesh works well.

[Bearnandos]

Thanks

[Kurt]

You're welcome

[SludgeMunkey]

Hi,
Decided to start my 7th and 8th Vivarium for a Christmas/birthday treat lol.....this time with a false bottom using egg crate. Been told that using fibre glass mesh is safe for frogs but in UK I can only find them in 50M lengths! I know that stainless steel mesh is out of the question - so is nylon a safe option?? if not what else could I use??
These new 60"x45"x60" Viv will be a upgrade for my Maranon darts (Excidobates mysteriosus) and D.auratus.
Thanks

Nylon works fine in the short term, but as John said it will degrade over time. Nylon has a tendency to absorb moisture which contributes to its demise. Also, much of it has not been light stabilized.

Rayon works exceedingly well but is generally only available in micron mesh sizes.

As Kurt stated, plastic needlepoint mesh is an amphibian keeper's best friend.

Another option is window screening. The plastic cloth type is moisture and light damage resistant. It is also very inexpensive and readily available at most hardware and DIY stores. Many of the stores sell DIY window screening kits which are fully customizable and work great for making screen lids and doors for enclosures. In the past I modified six kits to make the entire enclosure our of window screening. All that is needed is the kit, a bit of time and some ingenuity.

[Kurt]

I just want to point out that crickets can chew through the plastic screen mesh Johnny speaks of. So you may want to keep that in mind.

[John]

If you're smart about where you put the mesh, the crickets shouldn't be able to get at it. I use the fibre glass window mesh all the time (that's what Johnny's talking about - it's not actually plastic).

[Bearnandos]

Ahhhhhhh lucky I do not usually feed crickets as the crickets available in UK are the species that can attack back and kill my dartfrogs....lost 3 dartfrogs in the past to micro crickets.
If there is any mesh showing after I completed my tank I would be pretty upset at my own craftmanship.
Have just finished laying the mesh and carving out the background and roof and coating them with silicon and moss.......but had to stop to cook my 6 kids and husband christmas dinner..bah! lol