Painting in the lizard room

[bowsertime]

Hi all.

I recently moved into my new house and will be painting the walls in the next month or so. The lizards (a golden and a leopard gecko) and my newt (a firebelly newt) are all in one of the bedrooms, which has been deemed the 'lizard room'. When these walls are eventually painted, will it be safe for the geckos to remain within the room during and immediately after, or should they be evacuated to another room for 24 hours or so while the fumes dissipate?

Thanks in advance.

 

[katie_]

I personally would let the fumes air out first.
Especially with the newt. I know a few people who lost fish in their aquarium after painting a room.

 

[bowsertime]

I personally would let the fumes air out first.
Especially with the newt. I know a few people who lost fish in their aquarium after painting a room.

Wow, I was the least concerned for the newt. I figured his being in a lidded tank and in water meant he'd have the least exposure to the fumes. Thanks for that.

Any idea how long I should wait until the room is safe for all scalies to return?

 

[katie_]

Maybe a day or two.

 

[Russellm0704]

I painted my whole room(2 separate coats) and my 9 leopard's and my beardie were all fine.

 

[katie_]

The toxins can settle in aquarium water. You can cover the tank with plastic, or just remove the tank from the room.

 

[Sunrise Reptile]

Yeah, you have to be careful with the amphibians, since they breathe through their skin.

 

[geckochick89]

I would definitely move them out of the room for a few days, especially since there are only 3 of them to move, if you had a whole crazy system with racks and such, then that would be a different story.

Good luck!

 

[bowsertime]

Ok, thanks a lot everybody. I was planning on moving them out, but didn't know how long. Sounds like three days with the room being aired out will be safe, but I'll judge if it should be longer by the smell in the room.

Thank you!

 

[Crunchewy]

I've got a sort of related question. I vacuumed the room our leo is in and he seemed terrified by it. Should I take him out of the room when I vacuum or will he get use to it? I felt pretty bad.

 

[bowsertime]

I've got a sort of related question. I vacuumed the room our leo is in and he seemed terrified by it. Should I take him out of the room when I vacuum or will he get use to it? I felt pretty bad.

My girl hates when I walk in the room, because my floors are very creaky. She often runs off in a dead heat, sometimes so fast that she goes nose-first into the side of her cave instead of into her cave. At first, this really alarmed me, because I thought it would stress her out and cause her to stop eating. It doesn't. She comes out and lays in front of her cave all day, everyday, no matter how often she gets scared in. Her appetite doesn't wane and she never seems stressed. It's not that she's gotten used to it, because she still runs away every time, but she doesn't seem to suffer from it at all. If anything, it's good exercise for the chubber.

 

[GeckoCrossing]

I've got a sort of related question. I vacuumed the room our leo is in and he seemed terrified by it. Should I take him out of the room when I vacuum or will he get use to it? I felt pretty bad.

Will probably get used to it. I have a Kirby vacuum that is very powerful and very loud, and none of my geckos are bothered by it at all. Most of them just sleep through it... others wake up to me moving around and making noise in there.

 

[Crunchewy]

I hope he gets use to it because he sure was scared. He was running all around and trying to climb the glass.

 

[GeckoCrossing]

Some are just more skittish. My female, Hera, is usually very calm and chill. During breeding season, however, she is jumpy and skittish and barrels around her tub knocking things over and making a mess in general lol.