What’s the deal with Animal Plastics these days?

I was considering ordering from them again but am now hesitant after hearing they have really gone downhill in customer service.
I’ve ordered a quick ship T8 from them before for my ball and it was amazing. Easily the best quality enclosure I’ve ever had, despite the wait time of about three months.

I think I saw somewhere that their lead times for all enclosures are between 18-36 weeks but had also heard other people say they haven’t gotten their order in over a year. Also heard some feedback that their customer service was pretty much nonexistent; emails don’t work and the only way you can get updates is by calling repeatedly for multiple days in a row.

It makes me sad and disappointed if this is true because they really do have amazing products but I’m no longer sure if it’s worth the trouble.

Any recent experiences with them or insight would be super helpful! Thank you so much!

Can't say that I had any recent experiences, but they've been running on a 12-16 week schedule since before the pandemic. I ordered mine just before the first US lockdowns. Got it at week 18iirc.

With how the hobby blew up in the past 2 years alone, I'm not surprised if it had gotten worse on lead times again. Especially with shortage of materials or shipping issues with materials.

Plexi glass, clear plastic glass of any type has become extremely expensive. I recently bought my tank Black Box and its a great tank.

I wouldn’t mind the wait if the customer service was better. The whole company sounds like it’s really gone downhill. Like you said, post pandemic times have been tough on the whole reptile industry. It’s a shame :(

I’ve heard great things about Black Box! There have been a few other companies getting into the scene and offering better lead times and service.
Black Box
Reptile Kages
Toad Ranch
To name a few

I still think Animal Plastics are probably the best quality but it’s not worth it to never get what you pay for

From what I can see among keeper friends these days, Animal Plastics quality is average; customer service is poor; lead time on orders is unpredictable. So for me that doesn't make them particularly competitive.

All of my enclosures are by Focus Cubed Habitats - their customer service and quality are outstanding, and I am a dedicated customer. Their lead time can be a few months, depending - it's not as fast as some because their enclosures have so many custom options. If I didn't get enclosures from Focus I would order from Black Box Cages. Their quality is nearly as good as Focus and their lead time is shorter as they offer standard sizes and fewer customization options.

Toad Ranch has very nice enclosures, though probably the most expensive. Apex Reptile is a newer company offering modular enclosures that can be easily expanded; a friend who is super picky about her enclosures and usually builds her own has tried several of the Apex enclosures and is very happy with them.

There are several other companies out there - either I don't know keepers with multiple enclosures from them who can provide a thoughtful review, or I am aware of problems with their builds.

Once my pair of T18s come in, I don't think I will ever order from them again. They're among the cheapest PVC options around for the quality, but by now I just don't think it's worth the complete and utter lack of communication and endless months of waiting. I outright had to call them after sending a message (I've never seen them respond to emails except one time and that was due to them forgetting shipping costs on one of the PVCs), as it had gotten over 2 months from the estimation they gave me for turnaround time (almost 8 months by now), and after doing so they said they'll get it shipped out by this week. Which, does that mean my order was ready for some time and they just straight up forgot about it until I called? :confusd:

It’s worth pointing out that despite the volume of business they do, AP is still a family owned small business. Working with that many likely thousands of orders at any given time working 14hr days 6days a week with a relatively small staff there’s bound to be a lengthy lead time and some messages that go unanswered.
I don’t really care for talking on the phone either, but Ali is super nice and will readily work with customers to make them happy. Seen lots of other enclosure manufacturers come and go and AP is still here and still making consistently high quality products.
Not to say the other manufacturers here aren’t doing good stuff. But they’re for the most part all very new compared to AP. Nice to have options for sure, but for the quality and cost of enclosures I’ll continue anticipating the wait time and ordering AP.

That said, I will absolutely agree that Focus Cubed are some tip top looking enclosures. The attention to detail is impeccable and they're definitely visually stunning. If someone were to drop $15-20k at my feet I'd redo my whole room with their stuff dressed to the nines.

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

That said, I will absolutely agree that Focus Cubed are some tip top looking enclosures. The attention to detail is impeccable and they're definitely visually stunning. If someone were to drop $15-20k at my feet I'd redo my whole room with their stuff dressed to the nines.

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They are worth every penny. Focus is also run entirely by a husband-wife team who basically are working 7 days a week. I have no idea how they manage to remain cheerful, friendly, and very responsive to communication but I've had consistently great experiences with them across multiple orders over the last few years. Plus they are constantly innovating and adding more features based on their own experience as keepers as well as customer feedback.

I am in no way trying to trash AP, as I don't question their enclosure quality. It's just that a couple of other companies (Black Box and Focus) are currently producing enclosures of at least equivalent quality and doing so while maintaining great communication with customers and reliable production and delivery times. I kinda feel like AP maybe got complacent based on their well deserved reputation, but they have real competition now and it seems like their customer service and communication around delivery time has maybe not kept up with that reality.

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Originally Posted by Caitlin

They are worth every penny. Focus is also run entirely by a husband-wife team who basically are working 7 days a week. I have no idea how they manage to remain cheerful, friendly, and very responsive to communication but I've had consistently great experiences with them across multiple orders over the last few years. Plus they are constantly innovating and adding more features based on their own experience as keepers as well as customer feedback.

I am in no way trying to trash AP, as I don't question their enclosure quality. It's just that a couple of other companies (Black Box and Focus) are currently producing enclosures of at least equivalent quality and doing so while maintaining great communication with customers and reliable production and delivery times. I kinda feel like AP maybe got complacent based on their well deserved reputation, but they have real competition now and it seems like their customer service and communication around delivery time has maybe not kept up with that reality.

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Oh I definitely didn't read into it that you were bashing them. Nor I trying to bash any new cage makers. Just saying that AP has a 22yr track record of quality product. Sure, communication could be better at times and their lead time has always been long and no one likes waiting. But a solid reputation for dependable products for over 2 decades is likely contributing to their consistently high demand which perpetuates the long lead time in spite of newer manufacturers being worthy competitors nowadays.

If I were in dire need of caging with a much faster turnaround I'd give serious consideration to Toad Ranch/Focus Cubed/Black Box. I just personally can't justify paying +/- twice the cost after shipping depending on the cage. If I ever do a full room overhaul for aesthetic reasons I do very much like the faux wood front paneling (and lack of center support beam on the 4' cages) of Toad Ranch cages though. Full walls of those cages stacked up looks super sharp.

It's a tough spot to be in.

How can I say it properly?

The reptile business is small when it comes to businesses in general, but it's huge when your business is one of very few that produces caging that thousands of keepers want.

AP, being a family business likely gets overwhelmed quickly. Some people order multiple large cages at a time that's a lot of work in a short period, but a profitable sale. That said, they build according to demand as having an overstock of cages ranging from 3 feet wide all the way up to 8 feet may become a burden. They base their supply on demand which is probably why things get slow.

I'm not an AP owner, but I'm a fan of the look of the caging and I've heard good things about the quality of the caging.

When I was looking at caging 10+ years ago, I looked into AP, Boaphile and Pro-Line.

I ended up with Pro-Line from Constrictors NW. They no longer make cages.

I do like those Focus Cubed cages! If they start getting a lot of business, AP's orders could drop a bit and the turnaround time may speed up.

As hobbyists, we certainly don't have unlimited choices for a lot of the things we want or need.

Even with few choices, somebody is always leaving the hobby. There are probably some really nice used cages out there.

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Originally Posted by Gio

It's a tough spot to be in.

How can I say it properly?

The reptile business is small when it comes to businesses in general, but it's huge when your business is one of very few that produces caging that thousands of keepers want.

AP, being a family business likely gets overwhelmed quickly. Some people order multiple large cages at a time that's a lot of work in a short period, but a profitable sale. That said, they build according to demand as having an overstock of cages ranging from 3 feet wide all the way up to 8 feet may become a burden. They base their supply on demand which is probably why things get slow.

I'm not an AP owner, but I'm a fan of the look of the caging and I've heard good things about the quality of the caging.

When I was looking at caging 10+ years ago, I looked into AP, Boaphile and Pro-Line.

I ended up with Pro-Line from Constrictors NW. They no longer make cages.

I do like those Focus Cubed cages! If they start getting a lot of business, AP's orders could drop a bit and the turnaround time may speed up.

As hobbyists, we certainly don't have unlimited choices for a lot of the things we want or need.

Even with few choices, somebody is always leaving the hobby. There are probably some really nice used cages out there.

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Funny you say that, there was a 6x2x4 AP enclosure I saw on Facebook for the longest time, but the money just wasn't there on my end and it has since sold. :doh: Sadly, at least in my experience, if you're looking for anything beyond the usual exo terras and glass tanks, the most that tend to pop up are 4x2s and not much on the bigger end aside from the odd, clunky/questionable custom build.

Thank you so much to everyone for their feedback and insight. This is why this community is still my favorite reptile forum since getting my first royal six years ago. You guys always offer valuable insight and while not everyone agrees 100% we can still have a respectful and quality discussion.

I can totally understand the small business aspect of AP. As a small business owner myself, I know the feeling of being overwhelmed all too well. I don’t think they are intentionally choosing to ignore customer service problems. They are just clearly swamped with orders and not enough man power.
That being said, I think I’m going to have to move forward with another company.
Thank you so much to turning me onto other high quality brands!

As I’m reading through these posts it makes me realize how much the industry has changed in such a short amount of time. While it can be challenging and confusing, I’m just glad there are still forums out there like this one that I can turn to for guidance. It always seems like we genuinely support each other and want to give our animals the best quality of life.

Well, can't say my latest experience has been good so far. To begin, I literally leave tomorrow for vacation for a week which is why the chain of events are so staggered because I've been busy getting things in order.

Packages arrived a few days ago, and I got around to opening them up last night. Immediately noticed one of the glass panels was broken. Fully opened the boxes today and it was not only broken but in a million pieces. Called AP and left a voicemail, probably won't hear back till tomorrow and will have to see if they'll sent a replacement panel the week after this one when I'm back home. The thing I noticed during all this was there were no "fragile/handle with care" labels on any of the boxes. One would think you'd put those on boxes full of sheets of glass. :hmm:
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That’s on the shipper, not AP. They’ll make it right but also a good reminder to open packages asap upon receiving.
As for not being labeled fragile, UPS/FedEx don’t care what’s written on the box. I send dozens of packages around the country every year and have even had 3/4” thick plywood shipping crates with FRAGILE written all over them come back to me completely twisted and broken.

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

That’s on the shipper, not AP. They’ll make it right but also a good reminder to open packages asap upon receiving.
As for not being labeled fragile, UPS/FedEx don’t care what’s written on the box. I send dozens of packages around the country every year and have even had 3/4” thick plywood shipping crates with FRAGILE written all over them come back to me completely twisted and broken.

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This is true. Fragile label is nothing more than enough excuse to charge the shipper more.

While it's always a good idea to label pkgs as "fragile" if they are, it doesn't guarantee any special handling with all shippers, including the USPS- because automation doesn't read that & packages (including padding inside) are supposed to be adequate to protect the contents- no employee is going to hand-carry your pkg. around- it's going to tumble along with all the others, & some of those are bigger & heavier than yours.

@ Snagrio: that's heartbreaking to wait so long for this arrival, only to have part of it broken. And yes, as jmcrook mentioned, you should ALWAYS open pkgs immediately upon arrival to address any issues with the sender, including damages or incorrect contents. When you wait, it gives them time to imagine that YOU broke it, & not the shipper. But I expect they'll make good anyway.

Sometimes it does seem like marking "FRAGILE" on a pkg is a total waste of labeling. Many years ago when I had some Neodesha enclosures shipped to me, they were huge* & had sliding glass doors- (*Neodesha cages didn't disassemble to ship flat like yours). The boxes said "FRAGILE" & "GLASS" in huge lettering, but UPS paid no attention & tossed them over a 5' locked fence without a care. Amazingly, nothing broke, but r-e-a-l-l-y people??? :O (As I recall there wasn't even padding of any kind inside the box- but Neodesha cages had rounded corners & the plate glass was firmly in place, so all I could figure is that they "bounced well".)

Good news, I got the callback already. They will ship the replacement door next Monday after I am already home again and I emailed them the pics of the damaged door for the claim. :gj:

@Snagrio, holy cow I would actually start crying. Especially after waiting for that long! I am SO sorry that happened but I’m glad it seems to be heading in a positive direction. FedEx is definitely the biggest offender when it comes to shipping. Did you hear about how Alabama locals found over 400 FedEx packages abandoned in the woods? And then it happened again in a nearby ravine!

@Bogertophis, thank you so much as always for the great insight. Lol idk if you’ll remember me but you’ve been helping me on these forums since I got my first BP back in 2016 and then my BCI in 2019. So glad to have you around!

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Originally Posted by kath_

@Snagrio, holy cow I would actually start crying. Especially after waiting for that long! I am SO sorry that happened but I’m glad it seems to be heading in a positive direction. FedEx is definitely the biggest offender when it comes to shipping. Did you hear about how Alabama locals found over 400 FedEx packages abandoned in the woods? And then it happened again in a nearby ravine!

@Bogertophis, thank you so much as always for the great insight. Lol idk if you’ll remember me but you’ve been helping me on these forums since I got my first BP back in 2016 and then my BCI in 2019. So glad to have you around!

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In my area, FEDEX is the best-known for delivering pkgs to the wrong addresses. At least they weren't left in the woods- :taz: -I missed that story from Alabama- awful & so frustrating for anyone waiting for their stuff to arrive.

That's asking a lot from my memory to recall any specific help in the past but I'm always glad to be useful, lol. :D

My favorite mis-delivery was FedEx delivering a very large order of frozen rodents, quail, and chicks to the wrong address. And they even sent me an email meant to be 'proof of delivery' with a photo of the package sitting in front of an unfamiliar door.

FedEx never responded to my attempts to reach them. Thankfully my feeder supplier is Layne Labs and as always their customer service was stellar - they shipped another order as soon as I notified them, at no extra charge.

I always wondered about the folks who got a huge box of dead rats, though...

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Originally Posted by Caitlin

My favorite mis-delivery was FedEx delivering a very large order of frozen rodents, quail, and chicks to the wrong address. And they even sent me an email meant to be 'proof of delivery' with a photo of the package sitting in front of an unfamiliar door.

FedEx never responded to my attempts to reach them. Thankfully my feeder supplier is Layne Labs and as always their customer service was stellar - they shipped another order as soon as I notified them, at no extra charge.

I always wondered about the folks who got a huge box of dead rats, though...

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FedEx did a similar thing to me- only it was a large bag of dog food from Chewy. They provided a photo of the delivery- ahem, NOT my porch guys! :P

Yeah, I can just imagine how happy the recipients of your package were...:rofl:

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Originally Posted by kath_

I was considering ordering from them again but am now hesitant after hearing they have really gone downhill in customer service.
I’ve ordered a quick ship T8 from them before for my ball and it was amazing. Easily the best quality enclosure I’ve ever had, despite the wait time of about three months.

I think I saw somewhere that their lead times for all enclosures are between 18-36 weeks but had also heard other people say they haven’t gotten their order in over a year. Also heard some feedback that their customer service was pretty much nonexistent; emails don’t work and the only way you can get updates is by calling repeatedly for multiple days in a row.

It makes me sad and disappointed if this is true because they really do have amazing products but I’m no longer sure if it’s worth the trouble.

Any recent experiences with them or insight would be super helpful! Thank you so much!

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I swapped to talking serpents for this reason. My first few orders years ago from AP were amazing! But I had ordered a couple 'quick ship' items a few years after and it took a year and a half to get here. TS on the other hand has a turnaround time of 4-6 weeks :)

Do have a bit of a genuine criticism this time. One of my PVCs I ordered to come with a set of casters. All there is to "attach" them are very shallow depressions on the underside of the enclosure that you simply shove them into. I had to add double-sided duct tape because they were so loosely attached that the slightest movement had half of them popping out almost instantly.
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