Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all-

I have some questions about these different cages. I know this has been discussed before, but after reading previous posts, and the websites of these cages, I can't make up my mind. Each has features I like and don't like. I think AP looks more utility-like and not as atteactive out of all of them, but they seem sturdy. They also restrict the viewing windows a bit with the design of the cage. Boaphiles look awesome, but I hear the belly heat system is not that great, and I would want to add an RHP. However, I already have my own, and don't know if they would install mine for me? I also like the pedestal, but even the tallest one will not put a single cage at eye level, and they are expensive. Are they worth it? Has anyone used them? Cheapcages looks great as well, and I talked to him for quite a while (real helpful guy). He would install my RHP for me, but this company is fairly new to the market. I just do not know enough about them. I am also stuck between getting hinged doors, or sliding glass. Sliding glass is nice, but I thing the recessed acrylic with hinges looks great. I have used Visions extensively, but want something more stylish. What are your opinions/experiences with these various cages?

thanks,
Brian

If ambient temps are kept high enough (76 deg for us) then the belly heat works just fine. If you desire a RHP then they can install that too. We currently have 16 Boaphile cages and have yet to have a problem with one of them. I have heard good things about AP cages too, but have not had any personal experience using them.

Denny

I have 2 big AP cages and am happy with them. They retain heat well - the installed incandescent fixture keeps the ambient temp up and the belly heat (on a self installed rheostat - $15 @ home depot) gives a nice hot spot. Keep humidity well too. Break down for easy moving. Very thick rigid plastic (1/2 inch?) - don't bow easily. Mine are black but I think they come in colors now. Had a little trouble getting glass doors - they were dealing with a guy who was backed up - don't know if this is still a problem - but they sent me a set of plexi doors to use (and keep) at no cost while I waited. No experience with Boaphile.

I have no experience with boaphile or AP. I do have a jungle habitats cage from cheapcages.com and I love it, This cage def. compares to the other cages from what I read so the attractive price makes it an easy choice. I got mine when he had a special for $150 shipped and now the regular price is still very good. You can get these cages with RHP, heat tape, heat pad and lights installed if you want. I got the double doors and really like it you can work at one end or the other without getting taged. The cage holds heat and humidity with no problem. Atually from what I hear Alan isnt new to the cage scene at all, I heard he sold wooden cages for some time I dont know the name of the company then but I did talk to him and he has been in the carpentry or cabinet making business for a long time. I can say that if you go with cheapcages.com you wont have any regrets and his costumer service is up to par, very helpful. Good luck in making your purchase

Hi-

Thanks for all the opinions! I am curious what all of your opinions are about people saying that PVC is toxic, and outgasses chemicals when heated? Cancer, etc. related to PVC? Also, that HDPE is a much safer material for people and pets?

Brian

Also, what do you all think of Showcase Cages? Seem to be pretty much the same thing as Visions (HDPE made), but I like the stylish design ALOT more, after having used Visions for several years. They look much less utility-like than Visions, IMO.

Brian

****Thanks for all the opinions! I am curious what all of your opinions are about people saying that PVC is toxic, and outgasses chemicals when heated? Cancer, etc. related to PVC? Also, that HDPE is a much safer material for people and pets? **

I just wanted to shed some light onto this myth.

First of all PVC to my knowledge doesnt offgass anything that would be deadly or detrimental to your reptiles.While ANYTHING new off gasses even that tshirt on your back just a fact of manufacturing process in things . PVC that is used in these cages is the SAME pvc that your drinking water flows through so if you havent dropped dead from the water running through the PVC waterlines you drink from then your reptiles will not have any ill effects from being housed in a PVC cage.

When you get into off gassing melamine off gasses chemicals called formalydhyde(sp) ,any ppl think that the formalydyhyde base glue is no longer used in this process and they are right ONLY if you pay high dollar for the natural based glues resins that can be used in them which almost doubles the cost of the product . melamine off gassing was shown to cause cancer in lab animals with extended exposure to formalydyhyde levels from the resins used in the melamine. Now on that note over time the potential of off gassing decreases greatly over time .

well just wanted to shine a little light on this
thanks BIGDEE for the comments
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Buisnesses come and go everyday, what keeps you here is how you treated the customer the day before....My Boa Can Kick Your Boas _ss!www.cheapcages.com
Visit the new website while the Jungle gets made over.

Tnak you for all the insight and info. What you say makes sense, but what confuses me is the vast ammount info you can look up that points to PVC being the most toxic plastic, and that long term exposure has been show to cause cancer, steritily, etc. This was in people and animals. I am really confused becuase some say it is the worst material for any application, and others say it is fine. I did a net search on PVC, and had no idea people were saying such terrible things about it. How much is valid?

Brian

Hey Brian ,

Depending on what you were looking for on it you could return a blue million different responses on PVC and the pros/cons of it .

just as with any material someone some where says its bad for you .

If you were to look up melamine and the properties of it you would be reading for months on end on the bad things about it . I can say with surety(sp) that melamine is more of a hazard then PVC or other type plastics would be .Does this mean it will kill your animal ? not likely but the glue in Melamine off gasses for many years with each rate being a declining off gassing effect every year . i think maybe after doing a google of " is PVC toxic" as a general search u get TONS back saying yes it is . without reading every article and taking it with a grain of salt its hard to tell what there reffering to . im sure there are tons of watch groups that post info on the making of PVC and many other plastics that say its cancer causing ( in the production process from the making of it) There are Way to many ways to read into something being toxic and then having to decide which state it is concerned to. I would pose the question to long term Boaphile users or Snake shack users to see if they have had any deaths , ioll effect from keeping there reptiles in PVC racks / cages and i think you will find nothing but solid comments on how well the animals health and well being ahve been increased by the type housing they are in . I did lots of research before messing with plastics to search out pros / cons of it . many years of being a cabinet maker had me super partial to custom wood enclosures . Mow i still love working with wood but plastic is so much cleaner nicer and more appropriate use for long term .

Over all i would tend to think that if the solid state of PVC in the finished product was known to cause cancer the worlds population would not be using it in so many public applications such as drinking water to billions of people and such . Just my take on it all
Alan .
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Buisnesses come and go everyday, what keeps you here is how you treated the customer the day before....My Boa Can Kick Your Boas _ss!www.cheapcages.com
Visit the new website while the Jungle gets made over.

I had four model 421D cages and I didn't like the door opening up as one piece. With some aggressive animals I found it nearly impossible to clean the cages without completely removing the animal. With sliding glass doors on other cages I didn't have this problem since I could clean one side of the cage at a time. The Plexiglas windows also showed numerous stress cracks where fastened and looked terrible after less than a year. I think this may have possibly been due to over tightening of the fastener bolts which caused spider cracks that crept outwards with time. I've since sold them and replaced with Visions and have some Animal Plastics units on the way. I may check out Jungle Habitats cages as well someday.

I think you have to ask yourself one question. You may not like how the Vision cages look but have they performed well for you? I don't know if there is a perfect cage out there that will guarantee better results in the life of your animal. Yes, the enclosure has alot to do with keeping a suitable home for your pet but so does the manner you maintain that enclosure. I personally love the Vision cages. They are very easy to clean, you can use a scraper to clean it without scratching it, you can drop one(without the glass) from 5 feet in the air and it won't crack. They don't have nooks (places to hide)if you should get a mite infestation; one solid piece makes it easier to get rid of the "bad" stuff. Best of all they don't scratch as easily as other enclosures and when they do get scratched, you can hardly notice it. Anyways, I'm not trying to advertise for Vision (Vision, please send check to..). Choose on what is right for you and what you believe will enable you to be a good keeper...... don't choose on looks.

Yeah, Visions did work very well for me. However, as I will probably only have one snake when I move, instead of the 7 I had before, I want that one cage to be functional AND look nice. I don't think Visions look bad, they just don't show as well as some. You can't beat them for functionallity as far as I have found, though. If only they offered different colors...hint, hint. Anyhow, great points made by all of you! I will let you know what my decision is when I pick a cage.

thanks,
Brian