Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Went to the Hamburg P.A. Herp show today and saw those new ARS racks with the CB 70 type tubs with the molded in waterbowls to put the deli cups in. Very impressive...Built like tanks,not at all flimsy and the solid grey tubs seemed very industrial and able to withstand YEARS of abuse.

If you keep animals that you are comfortable keeping in that size tub they are definitely worth checking out. I didn't think the prices were too bad either for the 10 slot. Very proffessional.IMHO

Bob

From all the info on ther site I was very impressed with their product more so than any other. It is good to hear feedback from somebody who has actually seen their product. Thanks it is very much appriciated.
Jeremy
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"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

1.1 Double Het "Sharp" Snow Red Tailed Boas -Coming Soon-
0.1 Albino Red Tailed Boa -Coming Soon-
1.1 Hypomelenistic Red Tailed Boas
2.0 Double Het Stripe Albino Red Tailed Boas
0.1 Suriname Red Tailed Boa
0.1 Anerthrystic Red Tailed Boa
1.0 Ball Python
1.1 Rhinoceros Iguana's
1.0 Green Iguana
1.1 Cream Golden Retrieviers
1.0 Pomeriaian
0.3 Catus Terribilis
0.1 Spouse

Do you have a link? Who/what is ARS?

Thanks,
Joan

>>From all the info on ther site I was very impressed with their product more so than any other. It is good to hear feedback from somebody who has actually seen their product. Thanks it is very much appriciated.
>>Jeremy
>>-----

Here it is;
ARS Caging

-----
"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

1.1 Double Het "Sharp" Snow Red Tailed Boas -Coming Soon-
0.1 Albino Red Tailed Boa -Coming Soon-
1.1 Hypomelenistic Red Tailed Boas
2.0 Double Het Stripe Albino Red Tailed Boas
0.1 Suriname Red Tailed Boa
0.1 Anerthrystic Red Tailed Boa
1.0 Ball Python
1.1 Rhinoceros Iguana's
1.0 Green Iguana
1.1 Cream Golden Retrieviers
1.0 Pomeriaian
0.3 Catus Terribilis
0.1 Spouse

That's Brian Hahn, the Midwest Rodent guy, right? I didn't remember that other name. I did see those racks about a month ago. I've never purchased any of that style caging, but they looked really solid.

I especially liked the trays with the molded in cup holder (as long as you use don't use sheets of paper for substrate - it would be difficult to fit sheets around the holder). Anyway, I thought the price was reasonable for the quality.

-Joan

I was thinking the same thing. Impressed by that cupholder but how would I use it with newspaper? They did also carry the same size tub w/o the cupholder. Looked like there was enough space above the vent holes to lay a peice of plexi to increase humidity without interfering with the tray movements...

Bob.

Those racks caught my eye when someone else posted with a link. Then I saw that they had an ad on the classifieds page with drawers opening and closing. Never heard of them before. So I checked out their pricing. OUCH !!!! Sorry but that is way beyond what I can afford for a 10 slot rack. Way too high which is why I looked at racks from Freedom Breeder and Vision and immediately ruled them out as an option. Those prices are higher per hole/slot then a custom kitchen! If you have the time to build, you can buy one of the better table saws at Home Depot or Lowes, quality materials, sterilite/rubbermaid tubs and still end with money in your pocket and the saw! The first Visions were pretty high. Since then they have come down in price and their construction has improved. I wish them luck and hopefully they will sell enough to be able to lower their cost and offer them for a more competitive price. I now have 4 racks from Animal Plastics and I'm sure the regulars in this forum know how I feel about those. It's going to be really tough to get me to switch to ANY other brand. Top Quality, Great construction and attention to detail, and the BEST customer service.
IMHO

I don't know where you got your info but FB's 10 high Cb-70 rack is $1095.23, the 10 high from ARS is $895. The 3x10 stack from ARS is $2195, FB's 3x10 is $2798.33. Same options nearly the same product. ARS is clearly the cheaper of the 2.
My 2 Cents
Jeremy
-----
"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

1.1 Double Het "Sharp" Snow Red Tailed Boas -Coming Soon-
0.1 Albino Red Tailed Boa -Coming Soon-
1.1 Hypomelenistic Red Tailed Boas
2.0 Double Het Stripe Albino Red Tailed Boas
0.1 Suriname Red Tailed Boa
0.1 Anerthrystic Red Tailed Boa
1.0 Ball Python
1.1 Rhinoceros Iguana's
1.0 Green Iguana
1.1 Cream Golden Retrieviers
1.0 Pomeriaian
0.3 Catus Terribilis
0.1 Spouse

John, I like the AP cages too and just ordered a 5 slot CB110 from them to check out that size tub(nice folks to deal with). I came up with the same comparison that Bighurt did. I like the Freedom Breeder Junbo rack 4'x30", I like going for roomier sizes when possible but they kind of appear to be a west coast thing, I've never had the fortune to see one in person in the N.Y./N.J./P.A. area. The folks at ARS were at the Hamburg P.A. show and you can pick up from them to save on the dramatic delivery charges that we would incur here because of the weight of the Freedom Breeder type rack because they planned on coming back for future events in the area.Just thought this might be helpful to other folks. Bob

It seems that I wasn't clear in my post. So let me try and clear things up. When I bought my racks, almost a year ago, I did a lot of shopping. Including comparing the cost of a good table saw, materials, etc. ARS did not exist or in my search, I didn't find them. I ruled out the others, FB and Vision, based on cost. Yes, you are correct about ARS in comparison to FB and Vision. However, compare ARS to AP. The ARS 10 high will cost me at least $1000 by the time it gets to my door. That's $100 a hole/slot. Like I said in my previous post, that's more than a custom kitchen! Visions prices have come down, their design has changed, and I believe they are offering a better rack now than the previous released version. They are still expensive, too expensive for me and many small breeders.
Hope this clears up my previous post.

I agree with you, John. Being a small time breeder those prices are way out of most of our leagues. I like 'em, heck I even covet them and wish I could afford them. What I do have available to me is a full wood shop (My wife and I own a horse ranch and my full time job used to be as a scene shop foreman), I currently work for a large entertainment firm and have access to a variety of vendors to purchase supplies from, and I have time. Those three things allow me to design and build racks that work well for me.

Bottom line, when faced with the choice between using my hard earned dollar to purchase racks or animals, the animals inevitably win.

Ian

I think you were plenty clear I just think that the ARS racks outshine the competition. Will I ever buy one, NO! I have a full woodshop and infact plan on building some of my own cabinets for my Kitchen. I just wanted to make sure that others reading the thread new the price comparision.

I build my own racks Bob. The threee things I incorporate in my design are;
1)Weight, I like it light and easy to move.
2)Cost, I am not rich, I work for the government. Any money I save on cages goes into more animals.
3)Looks, I don't like to look at a rack thats just thrown together. I spend a lot of time in the Reptile rooms. I want to enjoy that time.

So don't think I am pushing the ARS cage cause I'm not. I will most likely never buy a cage or rack from any company, When I can build it myself. For the style of rack however I believe ARS beats the competition hands down. But that is my opinion and you are entitled to yours.

So lets all play nice and enjoy the last of our weekend. Heres my new rack, under construction. Enjoy!
Jeremy

-----
"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

1.1 Double Het "Sharp" Snow Red Tailed Boas -Coming Soon-
0.1 Albino Red Tailed Boa -Coming Soon-
1.1 Hypomelenistic Red Tailed Boas
2.0 Double Het Stripe Albino Red Tailed Boas
0.1 Suriname Red Tailed Boa
0.1 Anerthrystic Red Tailed Boa
1.0 Ball Python
1.1 Rhinoceros Iguana's
1.0 Green Iguana
1.1 Cream Golden Retrieviers
1.0 Pomeriaian
0.3 Catus Terribilis
0.1 Spouse

I'm not very far away from your positions myself. I can afford the good quality of the moderately priced AP racks. (I have a 10 slot #1754 I love and a 5 slot CB110 on the way)And unlike Bighurt, Chris etc. I am building challenged.

I just wanted to throw out the impressive info for anyone comfortable with that size and looking for that kind of rack.
Bob Springs around the corner... !