Gorilla glue-- is it safe?

[vexy]

Is gorilla glue, once dried and allowed to sit for a couple days, safe for my millipedes? I just got them in the mail today, they're ivories! I'm a first time millipede owner and made my own hide for them after reading elsewhere that gorilla glue is safe, but I just read here that it isn't!

Is the main problem just the fumes? If so, the hide has been dried, allowed to sit, cleaned, and allowed to sit again!

If it is totally dangerous, then I will find a way to deconstruct and then reconstruct the hide. Thank you guys!

I do intend to use a razor to cut off any large bits of expanded glue as well.


EDIT: Also, how do you guys tell your millipedes apart?

 

[Frogdaddy]

I have never used GG within an animals enclosure so I can't say if it's safe or not.
I can however recommend Titebond 3 after using it for many years in dart frog vivariums.

 

[Introvertebrate]

When I Google them, Gorilla Glue and Titebond III are both listed as polyurethane glues. I used some recently to construct a tarantula hide. Probably not a problem. I guess I would ask myself, what are the odds of a millipede nibbling on something that's not good for it? It seems less likely with dart frogs and tarantulas. Both animals eat exclusively live food.

 

[vexy]

Thank you so much! From now on I'm going to use only aquarium specific brands, but from what I'm seeing the GG should be okay. I'm using a nontoxic glue to put it on its base right now.

 

[hamfist]

I have no idea about GG but any superglue is safe once dry. Of course it also needs to be a suitable adhesive for your needs too !

Edit - superglues will contain cyanoacrylates as their main ingredient.

 

[Arachnopets]

I feel like @HooahArmy might be able to offer some insight to your query.

 

[HooahArmy]

I feel like @HooahArmy might be able to offer some insight to your query.

Good day, ladies and gents! Thank you for hailing for me and please pardon my lateness. Sometimes my career doesn't give me as much access to my civilian email as I want. I will answer in great details on glues in general, to help with anyone's mysteries regarding the sticky stuff.

Let's look at the quick and dirty for Gorilla Glue and the natures of glue in general. By looking at the Gorilla Glue site, I found that they have 2 types of glue like most glue retailers: the type that dries (chemicals evaporate out to harden) and the type that cures (chemical reactions happen to harden).
Both types have glues that finish hard or soft, depending on you end goal. In an invert tank, the soft form will be more likely to be munched on by critters, but whether these glues are tasty are another question. Most silicone and other chemical-based glues won't stir your inverts' appetites, and after a sniff or a bite, they don't want anything to do with the stuff, much like my mice. Most inverts want detritus and plants, and a dollop of chemical-tasting gunk isn't something they want to be friends with. I use silicone-based glue and superglue myself with tanks and decorations. Both the hard and soft-dying types work well.
Hard example: Gorilla glue superglue.
Soft example: Gorilla glue silicone sealer

However, when using any type of glue, including the Gorilla type, bear in mind these few questions: Is my glue water soluble (water based) like white glue or wood glue? Does my glue need to chemically cure, and for how long?
Water-based glue can be dissolved with water, a key example set being white glue or wood glue washing off your hands and tools after a craft. This is something you DON'T want near an invert tank, since they are very easy to flake or bite off, and can dissolve when in contact with your tank's humidity. A softened glue can increase its risk of being investigated or munched, and although most are non-toxic, they're just some things we don't want in the mouths of our friends. Water-based water-cleanup glues (like the Titebond above) are also a whole different animal. They are water-soluble when wet, but dries to become fully insoluable with water.
Glues that cure need time for chemical reactions to happen to harden their composition. While curing is occurring, volatile chemicals (the kind that can go airborne), are being actively released into the air, even when you can't smell or see them. If you place a still-curing piece too early into a tank, you could be exposing your pals to chemicals which could potentially harm them. Cure-type glues are my favorite due to their stability and durability, but I always let them cure in a garage or outdoors for up to 1-2 weeks or even longer, depending how thickly I'm applying the stuff, to ensure that the most of the chemicals have been evaporated before I introduce my item to inverts. There are also two types of curing glues: fast-cure like super glue, and slow-cure like silicone.
There's also a third form of glue that I want to bring up that has the best of both worlds. This one is a drying glue that isn't water based. A bit like a cure-type glue, it needs to have chemicals exit by evaporation (but not through a reaction), but 'exhales' chemicals nonetheless. If using this type, please also let your drying piece 'breathe' where you have ample ventilation for a decent amount of time, to avoid chemical exposure to your pet pals.

I hope this helps for anyone scratching their heads or is pondering the mysteries of glues!
If you have any more questions about glues or other chemicals, for your safety or for your pals', or if you have questions about critter/human heath and bio, please feel free to ask more or send me a message! I love helping out and honestly enjoy that my chem and bio background is getting more use here than in other places!

 

[vexy]

Good day, ladies and gents! Thank you for hailing for me and please pardon my lateness. Sometimes my career doesn't give me as much access to my civilian email as I want. I will answer in great details on glues in general, to help with anyone's mysteries regarding the sticky stuff.

Let's look at the quick and dirty for Gorilla Glue and the natures of glue in general. By looking at the Gorilla Glue site, I found that they have 2 types of glue like most glue retailers: the type that dries (chemicals evaporate out to harden) and the type that cures (chemical reactions happen to harden).
Both types have glues that finish hard or soft, depending on you end goal. In an invert tank, the soft form will be more likely to be munched on by critters, but whether these glues are tasty are another question. Most silicone and other chemical-based glues won't stir your inverts' appetites, and after a sniff or a bite, they don't want anything to do with the stuff, much like my mice. Most inverts want detritus and plants, and a dollop of chemical-tasting gunk isn't something they want to be friends with. I use silicone-based glue and superglue myself with tanks and decorations. Both the hard and soft-dying types work well.
Hard example: Gorilla glue superglue.
Soft example: Gorilla glue silicone sealer

However, when using any type of glue, including the Gorilla type, bear in mind these few questions: Is my glue water soluble (water based) like white glue or wood glue? Does my glue need to chemically cure, and for how long?
Water-based glue can be dissolved with water, a key example set being white glue or wood glue washing off your hands and tools after a craft. This is something you DON'T want near an invert tank, since they are very easy to flake or bite off, and can dissolve when in contact with your tank's humidity. A softened glue can increase its risk of being investigated or munched, and although most are non-toxic, they're just some things we don't want in the mouths of our friends. Water-based water-cleanup glues (like the Titebond above) are also a whole different animal. They are water-soluble when wet, but dries to become fully insoluable with water.
Glues that cure need time for chemical reactions to happen to harden their composition. While curing is occurring, volatile chemicals (the kind that can go airborne), are being actively released into the air, even when you can't smell or see them. If you place a still-curing piece too early into a tank, you could be exposing your pals to chemicals which could potentially harm them. Cure-type glues are my favorite due to their stability and durability, but I always let them cure in a garage or outdoors for up to 1-2 weeks or even longer, depending how thickly I'm applying the stuff, to ensure that the most of the chemicals have been evaporated before I introduce my item to inverts. There are also two types of curing glues: fast-cure like super glue, and slow-cure like silicone.
There's also a third form of glue that I want to bring up that has the best of both worlds. This one is a drying glue that isn't water based. A bit like a cure-type glue, it needs to have chemicals exit by evaporation (but not through a reaction), but 'exhales' chemicals nonetheless. If using this type, please also let your drying piece 'breathe' where you have ample ventilation for a decent amount of time, to avoid chemical exposure to your pet pals.

I hope this helps for anyone scratching their heads or is pondering the mysteries of glues!
If you have any more questions about glues or other chemicals, for your safety or for your pals', or if you have questions about critter/human heath and bio, please feel free to ask more or send me a message! I love helping out and honestly enjoy that my chem and bio background is getting more use here than in other places!

Wow!! Thank you so much!! :> This is so awesome, everyone on this site is so nice and informative
Here's the more active of my boys exploring since I can't stop sharing pictures of them with everyone XD

 

[The Snark]

@HooahArmy Now that post needs a follow up of glue degradation - inclusive of normal conditions and adverse environmental factors. Yes, I know, the ever present can of worms often taking up several paragraphs in the MSDS sheets.

Yes, I know, RTFM. Read The Fine Manual. Unfortunately most manufacturer info bits on usage is usually in half point type that appears to be written in Archaic Hebrew

(Past memories of glue failure. A pair of $200 engineer boots (circa 1970s) in excellent condition except the inner soles were cracked. So I poured a catalytic resin into them and allowed it to level. Something went wrong. Adverse environment? The glue never cured. Even sat for weeks in the sun. Nada. Write off. )

 

[HooahArmy]

@HooahArmy Now that post needs a follow up of glue degradation - inclusive of normal conditions and adverse environmental factors. Yes, I know, the ever present can of worms often taking up several paragraphs in the MSDS sheets.

Yes, I know, RTFM. Read The Fine Manual. Unfortunately most manufacturer info bits on usage is usually in half point type that appears to be written in Archaic Hebrew

(Past memories of glue failure. A pair of $200 engineer boots (circa 1970s) in excellent condition except the inner soles were cracked. So I poured a catalytic resin into them and allowed it to level. Something went wrong. Adverse environment? The glue never cured. Even sat for weeks in the sun. Nada. Write off. )

I have never studied glue degradation much and you've caught my curiosity! All glues degrade over time, but the main culprits to faster degradation are:
1. Sun: UV rays break down glues, plain and simple. Even vehicle paint that's mean to last for ages starts going out after a time; their formulas have some of the strongest bonders on the market.
2. Temperature Extremes: Heat causes expansion and cold causes shrinkage. Warping and stretching of the adhesive surface and the applied surface beneath at different rates causes an increased likelihood of flaking and bubbling. The adhesive can also unbond with other portions of itself.
3. Temperature Fluctuations: Constant stretching and shrinking from heating and cooling causes stress to the glue.
4. Presence of other Chemicals: Glues degrade faster when exposed to water with chemicals (like a pool) or locations that are frequently wiped by solvents.

I once tried to use a resin to fix some army boots of my own, so I feel you! Mine took almost a week to dry, and when I spoke to a colleague of mine, she told me the reason for the delay was because there was not enough air circulation in the heel portion I was trying to fix. Without enough ventilation for evaporation, the stuff couldn't breathe and cure! I ruined those boots too.

 

[The Snark]

@HooahArmy You touched upon a major problem we now have created in our chemical saturated world. Chemicals in nearly all of their uses are tested by their chemical constituents and properties alone - never in combination with other chemicals.
A biochemist summed up this little oversight from various maladies farmers were experiencing by combining glyphosate with various pesticides. His term for the bastard concoctions was 'Deadly until proven otherwise'. A tongue in cheek antithesis of manufacturer safety recommendations and guidelines.

I never did find out what went wrong with my Chippewa boots. Being catalytic I wasn't concerned with air circulation but whatever organic and inorganic crud that was embedded in the soles quite capably defeated the chemical catalytic reaction. I fought several fires and stomped gads knows how many miles of wilderness over a period of more than ten years in them and highly recommend the brand for anyone who can afford them. Just consider the weight an addition, ballast, for your balancing.

 

[opcrutch1999]

I don't know about how it interacts with inverts in particular but gorilla glue with the green or blue cap is pure cyanoacrylate and is used in aquariums and builds with amphibians. The green I believe is the gel version. I'm not sure whether the regular brown bottle of gorilla glue is actually unsafe once dried but if the green/blue bottles are regularly used in amphibian builds, they can probably be used in any build.

From my understanding, the only difference with the brown bottle is that it has polyurethane which is also safe for amphibians once dried so I'm sure the only reason aquarium hobbyists don't use it is because of how it interacts with water longterm.

 

[fcat]

I don't know about how it interacts with inverts in particular but gorilla glue with the green or blue cap is pure cyanoacrylate and is used in aquariums and builds with amphibians. The green I believe is the gel version. I'm not sure whether the regular brown bottle of gorilla glue is actually unsafe once dried but if the green/blue bottles are regularly used in amphibian builds, they can probably be used in any build.

From my understanding, the only difference with the brown bottle is that it has polyurethane which is also safe for amphibians once dried so I'm sure the only reason aquarium hobbyists don't use it is because of how it interacts with water longterm.

I actually started looking for this very post before realizing you were already commenting on it!

Personally I digested the same from our resident genius chemist so I went searching for this particular product green lid gel!



After reading on the fish boards, I learned it cures crazy fast when you get it wet and have definitely been using that to my advantage.

 

[Elytra and Antenna]

People have used superglue for decades to glue live coral frags including soft corals to rocks with almost no cure time. If it doesn't bother coral it's hard to imagine diplopods being damaged.

 

[SpookySpooder]

You can use liquid cyanoacrylate for any marine or pet application, granted you allow it to cure.

They have special fast curing gel formulas that work underwater as well.

Do not use liquid glue underwater, use the gel.