Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Anyone have experience with their cages. I just came across them and was thinking about them instead of buying boaphiles.... Any opinions..
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Tom
1.2.0 Leopard Gecko (dot, spot, casper)
0.0.1 California King Snake (booboo)
0.2.1 Sulcata Tortoise (tank, sahara and skittles)
0.0.2 Russian Tortoise (tito and lulu)
0.0.2 Red Ear Sliders (bernie and ernie)
0.0.1 Painted Turtles (moe)
0.0.1 Western Soft shell (Squirt)
1.1.0 Bearded Dragon (marshmellow and Sparkles )
0.0.1 Sumatran Water Monitor (Tiny)
1.0.0 Peachfront Conure (kermit)
0.1.0 Love Bird ( KIKI )
1.2.0 Dog (layla, Roxy and Rosco)
2.1.0 Crazy Cats (babe, sabastian, tinkerbell)
0.1.0 Lion Head Rabbit (daisy)
0.1.2 Ferret (jordan RIP, Cosmo and Izzy)
0.0.1 White Tree Frog (dumpy jr.)
0.0.1 Fire Belly Toad (ferdinan)
0.0.1 Spectacled caiman (wilbert)
0.0.3 Green Anoles
1.0.0 Bahama Anole
0.0.1 Giant Millipede
0.0.1 Aligator Snapping turtle
0.0.1 Mexican Red Knee Tarantula
0.0.1 Emporor Scorpion
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon
0.0.1 Argentina Black and White Tegu
2.1.0 Columbian Red Tail Boas
Lots Of Fish

Great cages. The Pro-Line polyethylene version is incredibly strong. Polyethylene doesn't insulate quite as much as PVC. It is a very inert plastic. Not much can harm it other than high temps. Cleans very well, it is what many plastic cutting boards are made of. Similar material plastic milk jugs are made from.

Their ABS cage line (Pro-Style I think they call it) is a lighter-weight cage. ABS is a bit less costly too. I have a number of small ABS cages, two of which is shown in the pic. Nice material, insulates very well. Quite tough, though not as strong as polyethylene, but not as heavy.

All great cages, all functional, any and all will work fine. Price is a steal really for Boaphile, Constrictors Northwest, AP. The majority of us couldn't make a cage of that quality for the price. The material alone and shipping for it would be prohibitive. These mfgrs have the benefit of quantity and precision tooling to make an affordable quality product.

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Mark

I dont know which material is better the ABS or the Polyethylene. This is my first profestional cage I usually make my own or aquariums. In your experience which do you think is better or heard is better?
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Tom
1.2.0 Leopard Gecko (dot, spot, casper)
0.0.1 California King Snake (booboo)
0.2.1 Sulcata Tortoise (tank, sahara and skittles)
0.0.2 Russian Tortoise (tito and lulu)
0.0.2 Red Ear Sliders (bernie and ernie)
0.0.1 Painted Turtles (moe)
0.0.1 Western Soft shell (Squirt)
1.1.0 Bearded Dragon (marshmellow and Sparkles )
0.0.1 Sumatran Water Monitor (Tiny)
1.0.0 Peachfront Conure (kermit)
0.1.0 Love Bird ( KIKI )
1.2.0 Dog (layla, Roxy and Rosco)
2.1.0 Crazy Cats (babe, sabastian, tinkerbell)
0.1.0 Lion Head Rabbit (daisy)
0.1.2 Ferret (jordan RIP, Cosmo and Izzy)
0.0.1 White Tree Frog (dumpy jr.)
0.0.1 Fire Belly Toad (ferdinan)
0.0.1 Spectacled caiman (wilbert)
0.0.3 Green Anoles
1.0.0 Bahama Anole
0.0.1 Giant Millipede
0.0.1 Aligator Snapping turtle
0.0.1 Mexican Red Knee Tarantula
0.0.1 Emporor Scorpion
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon
0.0.1 Argentina Black and White Tegu
2.1.0 Columbian Red Tail Boas
Lots Of Fish

I don't think one is better than the other in all respects. Any will work.

In summary, HDPE (Pro-Line) are incredibly strong, tough, heavier and clean easily. HDPE is a very safe plastic, safe for food contact. The cages look very plastic, kind of like pretty cargo containers.

ABS cages are lighter, almost as tough as HDPE but not as rigid, insulate a tad better. They look very nice with that textured finish.

PVC cages are weight-wise probably inbetween ABS and HDPE depending on the thickness of the PVC of course. Least tough of the materials. Insulates well. Kind of a flat finish. A bit less plastic looking than HDPE but not as visually appealing as ABS. Easy to repair PVC cages. Of course, they are the most likely to break if dropped.

I think ABS is the best compromise if looks are important to you. If you think you might drop your cages alot, go with HDPE.

And just to confuse you, there are some great cages out there made from HDPS (high density polystyrene). This is a great material too. More like ABS than anything else. More rigid than ABS actually. But the "feel" of my HDPS cages is very much like my ABS cages. Their qualities when heated are about the same. As you can see, I am an ABS and HDPS fan.
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Mark