For those of you who own Animal Plastic racks..

i'm interested in making a purchase from AP. but i'm not sure how their racks are heated, i mean i know they use flexwatt and its either back or belly heat but for the belly heat option is the flexwatt built in (recessed) into the rack like other racks out there such as rbi, boaphile etc. or is the flexwatt just taped or placed inside the rack. i'd appreciate it if i could get some pics of animal plastics racks because their site doesn't offer much detail. i'd be interested in seeing how the heat is applied and what not, but any pics of their racks will do. thanks in advance people. also which would you guys prefer from their rack line is the economy line good? or should i go with the other option they offer. another thing i wanted to include is i read their terms of sale which are..

"IV. RETURNS: We accept returns for store credit only. The amount of credit will be equal to the purchase price paid by the buyer. We do not issue credit or refunds on shipping and handling costs to or from your destination. Buyer will also be responsible to pay the shipping costs of the replacement item from our warehouse to buyer's destination. We try at all costs to avoid returns. Please make sure you ask as many questions as possible before placing an order as returns can get costly and time consuming for the buyer. Before issuing store credit, we must receive the returned item in the same condition as when it left our warehouse. Buyer will be responsible for properly packing the item for return shipping. The packing must be professionally done and the package must be strapped to a pallet to meet our carrier safety requirements. In the event the returned item arrives damaged, we will deduct the repair amount from your store credit until the damage claim funds have been issued to us from buyer or carrier. It is the buyer's responsibility to file the claim for damage. Please be advised that if the item arrives damaged due to improper packing, the claim for damage will be denied. After the item to be returned is completely packed, please call us at (515) 276-7387 so we can fax or email you the completed Bill of Lading required by the driver picking up.

V. HEATING & ELECTRICAL: Our electrical products, including our heat cable and Flexwatt, are not manufactured specifically for reptile use. Animal Plastics nor the manufacturers will be held liable for damages caused by malfunctions. By purchasing a rack or cage with heat from Animal Plastics with a heating option, you are fully aware of the dangers of electrical products. All heating elements must be run on a thermostat. By purchasing a product with heating options you are specifically asking Animal Plastics to install or provide heating elements that are commonly used in the industry, but are not approved by the manufacturer of the heating elements for this specific use. Animal Plastics and the manufacturer of the heating elements will not be held responsible for malfunctions of the heating elements or electrical elements because they are not specifically intended for use in this specific industry or application."

has anyone ever had any bad business with them before? on most websites i've seen companies stand behind their product 100% but AP is saying their not responsible for a lot of things such as heating failure, damaged packages...i'm starting to have a change of heart with these guys :confused:

Just go with Reptile Basics and don't worry about it!

Their terms and conditions are pretty standard. They don't make the heating elements so they won't guarantee them. And they won't accept damaged returns. Not sure what the big deal is?

AP is top notch stuff. You don't have anything to worry about. All my AP racks use the heat cable, so I'm not sure about your flexwatt questions. I have three or their racks and have no complaints on them.

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Originally Posted by steveboos

just go with reptile basics and don't worry about it!

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second!

ANIMAL PLASTICS all friggin day long!

I'll NEVER buy anything from anyone else. I've also got a hatchling rack not pictured

Heres some pictures

VE175 rack with another on the way.
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...e/P1020337.jpg


T-10's
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...e/P1010518.jpg

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Originally Posted by 2kdime

ANIMAL PLASTICS all friggin day long!

I'll NEVER buy anything from anyone else. I've also got a hatchling rack not pictured

Heres some pictures

VE175 rack with another on the way.
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...e/P1020337.jpg


T-10's
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...e/P1010518.jpg

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could you specify as to t he type of heating thats implemented in their racks, i see people sayin 3' and 4' flexwatt, then i see people talking about heat rope/cord which i've never heard of before...i just want to know what im getting into before i make such a purchase.

Yeah, the rack is a MONSTER, and houses tubs that are roughly 50 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 12 inches or so tall.

It's HUGE.

It utilizes roughly 12 feet of 11" Flexwatt up and down each side creating Radiant heat.

It doesn't heat their bellies or backs up, but heats the air in the backs of the tubs as well as radiating heat.

I find it safer as the snakes aren't laying right on the heat tape.

I have since gotten rid of my cages and switched over to strictly the racks.

I love their racks! I have one for my BPs and it's great. The heat tape (I'm not sure if it's 3 or 4") is recessed into the shelf. I got the belly heat option. The heat cable stuff I've never used, but from what I understand, that's what they used to always use, and have fairly recently (last year or two) started offering heat tape instead of just heat cable. When I ordered mine I don't think the heat tape option was available on the website, but all you have to do is call and place your order and they can do it for you.

Over all they had great customer service, and I love the rack I have! ^_^

would any of you prefer one of their rack system to another, being the economy line as oppose to their standard model, which has the sides and back covered, unlike their economy line.

i read that the racks with all three sides covered supposedly held heat and humidity much better as opposed to the racks with the sides and back area exposed. can anyone verify? also i apologize if im being a pain, im just doing my research before i make such a big purchase.

No experience there.

But obviously it makes sense they would hold heat and humidity better.

I will attest though. After switching to the fully enclosed rack after having them in cages, they are certainly much more placid animals.

I believe that in turn leads to less stress and healthier animals.

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Originally Posted by SGB_74

would any of you prefer one of their rack system to another, being the economy line as oppose to their standard model, which has the sides and back covered, unlike their economy line.

i read that the racks with all three sides covered supposedly held heat and humidity much better as opposed to the racks with the sides and back area exposed. can anyone verify? also i apologize if im being a pain, im just doing my research before i make such a big purchase.

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Mine holds the humidity great... I have a bit of trouble with the ambient temp, but that's just b/c it's always so cold in my place. The hot spot stays right up to temp with no problem though

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Originally Posted by tweets_4611

Mine holds the humidity great... I have a bit of trouble with the ambient temp, but that's just b/c it's always so cold in my place. The hot spot stays right up to temp with no problem though

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which rack do you have, is it the economy line or their standard model which is fully enclosed on all three sides

Standard model. Sorry, I know what my rack looks like and I was assuming everyone else did too :P

i have an economy plastics rack from AP and i LOVE the thing. Its one of their older models with the non-recessed heat tape but its firmly in place with foil tape and it holds temps GREAT. humidity could be a bit better but its so dry here there isn't much i can do except mist occasionally.

ive emailed them with questions about the rack and some replacement screws (i didn't find mine in the packaging right away, i got my rack used) and they were quick and professional in their response. great company

All three of mine are the economy racks and I have no issues with humidity and heat.

All my racks are AP, and I have both the econo and regular ones. (No flexwatt though, sorry. Mine are all heat cable belly heat..) If your room is temp controlled, you could get away with the econo version. If it's not, or if it's a bit on the cool side better off with the full one. I have no issues with humidity in either rack version, despite it being winter time and the heat's on. Just make sure you have large enough water dishes and mist the bedding once in a while. My snake room is temp controlled, but I went ahead and boxed the econos in with some reflectix just to keep things more even.

For those that are using their giant tub rack, what are you housing in it? I'll be in the market for some boa caging soon, and this is certainly an option if it's less stress for them.

I have an economy rack and love it. You may have to keep your thermostat cranked up a little more with the sides being open, I do. I love that they are making them with Iris tubs now, just ordered another one

I would use a economy rack for sure they are cheap and light weight.

I have a AP rack the normal 3 sided one which holds 7 32qt tubs. I have only had it set up 3 days now. I can see that customer service was great they answer every question and I never went more than half a day with a reply to my e-mail. Shipment was superb and assembly was a breeze. Once built my rack looks great and feels solid. I think I have the heat down and pretty happy with it. I went with dual sided radiant heat so my substrate isn't as warm as the walls but you can really feel the warm coming out of the tub when they are opened. Humdity seems good as well. I like the selection you get with AP. RBI was an option as well but I didn't want only a 4 level rack. I have spoken with only one individual in person about RBI and they weren't please. I saw the rack myself and the top has bowed in slightly like you see in melamine racks. I also like how AP racks are .5'' thick rather than 3/8th''. I've wanted AP racks for years and now sold on them.


Xavier

Xavier

I will make a few comments on the AP racks. I have two AP racks that hold either 14 15qt tubs or 7 32 qt tubs. They are the standard version. They hold the temps great and humidity as well. I have both hooked up to a Herpstat Pro thermostat and could not be happier.
As for the economy racks like someone stated above, if you have a warm room thay will work great. A friend had one and the temps never stayed where he wanted them. He keeps his house kinda cool. But in his standard AP racks no problems.
They no longer offer the heat cable because it was going out prematurely. Just had a friends cable go out after about a year. THey do have good customer service. Very timely response on Emails. As far as replacing things when I recieved my first rack one of the sides was cracked. I emailed pictures and they were great about it. I needed the rack that day so I made provisions to make the sides work but they took care of me with a credit.
Turn around time is kind of slow but I dont know how quick other companies are either. It takes about 4-5 weeks to get your order. SO if you need it quick, thats prolly not gonna happen because they make to order.
Sorry for the winded post but I hope this helps in your decision a bit