Argus Monitors Safety

Question

I wasn't sure which volunteer to ask my question to, so I apologize if you can't answer this.  If you can't, I would appreciate if you could direct me to someone who could.  I have an Argus monitor (Varanus panoptes horni) of about 2 years.  I recently bought him from a young boy and I don't have the size of an enclosure I want for him.  I plan to build him(or her) a nice, large enclosure, but I'm building it out of wood.  Another lady suggested I should build it out of expanded PVC board, which I may do should finances permit.  However, being the holiday season, that may not happen.  So, pertaining to a waterproofing a wood-type enclosure, I have a few questions.  I don't know what I should seal the wood itself with to make it waterproof.  I think a water based polyurethane is my best bet, but should I add another layer of some kind of paint?  If so, is it necessary, and what kind of paint?  With any possible cracks or leaking points, I was going to use an aquarium-safe silicon to seal them off.  What do you suggest would be best to waterproof the wood for my lizard?  And how long do you suggest I should wait for the enclosure to dry, cure, and air out and leftover fumes?  Also, do you suggest any extra precautions or tips for cleaning?  Remember I'm building a large enclosure, so any tips, especially of cleaning the wood enclosure, whatsoever will be greatly appreciated.  Thank you for your time.

Answer
Hi Brittany,
I have iguanas so basically the same "rules" would apply with sealing wood, etc.With the igs, their cages are about 7-8 ft long, 4-4.5 deep and 6-7 ft high...Everything I've listed below are products I've used in their habitats.
I like the Behr paint that is safe for kids rooms. You can purchase this paint at Home Depot.  Any paint that is kid safe can be used. For sealing, you are correct, a water based poly.  What you may want to do is get an inexpensive piece of vinyl flooring that you can cover the floor with and curve it up the sides. This will help greatly with cleaning the part that gets the dirtiest and also helps save the joints in the wood on the sides of the floor. I got mine at home depot or lowes..was about 35$ for a piece that was about 9x6 if I remember corectly. Also, checking with flooring dealers, they have remnants off of big roles that you can get really cheap. Aquarium silicon is also safe.  If you go with the vinyl flooring, I can't remember if it was Home Depot or Lowes, but I got a glue for the flooring that had no smell at all..it was wonderful and works fantastic. For cleaning, general cleaning I recommend the HEALTHY HABIT cleaner made by the company called NATURAL CHEMISTRY.  It is completly organic and safe. Of course follow directions. It is avalable at most pet stores.  For heavy duty disinfecting the best is Nolvasan, which may have to be ordered on line but some better pharmacies may carry it also. The important thing is to always rinse well.
As to curing paint, etc..the best is if you are able to sun/air cure it for a few days. Even in cold weather, this still works.  Once you bring the cage indoors, add your heat source and humidity if needed and allow it to cure a few more days with that addition. Generally it takes about a week for everything to cure and get rid of all the smells of paint, etc.
Hope this helps you out!!