I want to start making and selling HDPE cages

[Angel619392]

My hesitation with buying from a lesser known seller would be the risk of them going under and then not being able to get matching enclosures. Not much you can do about that, but just my viewpoint.

I learned something else thanks again for this. I didnt think about that... but I mean yeah it's a definite risk especially with a smaller cage maker but another thing I seen is a bad problem for consumers and good and bad for a company like AP plastics is that they have a long wait time when it comes to making cages. That's one thing I want to excel at if I get to that level, the time it takes to make which is something that needs to be more efficient for a company like AP cages.

[Craiga 01453]

I appreciate the feedback... Reputation is the biggest hurdle of course but it will come. I'm in no rush and I do live close to the San diego expo so it's nice to be able to do that and maybe show up there for a few days showcasing my cages. Maybe sell a few. But hey I agree with you, if I w as s the buyer I'd want to see reviews and hear peoples opinions on a product. I totally understand and would do the same so I see it from that perspective as well, and proactively researching , seeking feedback and then action is what it comes down to.

I'm rooting for you, best of luck!

[Kam]

Good luck! I am patiently waiting to see your cages.


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[Angel619392]

Good luck! I am patiently waiting to see your cages.


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Thank you

[Gio]

I got my idea from proline cages. Ed is where my idea came from because I see his product was superior in every way compared to PVC cages but unfortunately it was too expensive for the buyer , and PVC just works. Not even trying to start this into a PVC wont off gas debate but it does 140 degrees is its tolerance before it gets structurally weaker and starts to off gas. Chlorine is the main toxin that is bad for your health in PVC(Poly vinyl chloride). As opposed to HDPE which tolerates 248 degree before becoming structurally weak and off gassing, though it's not really toxic you dont want to inhale anything.

I'm glad Ed had a bit of an influence on your current idea. Ed actually got some of his ideas from Matthew Martin (Monster Cages) at the beginning.

Ed was very easy to work with and his prices at the time were excellent. He built 2 custom cages for me out of the 4 I have.

This is the retic cage. It is a double cage and it shipped flat. The material is very heavy. The dimensions here are 6' x 2' x 30" deep.




Ed shipped the cage with the backgrounds for each module. I added the perches and heavy hardware to mount them.


It turned out looking very nice.


The other 3 are 4 footers. The bottom cage is a custom build 30" deep and 20". The other 2 were "standard" orders. Top 14" tall and middle 2' tall.


The HDPE Ed used was Marine Board and the cost to buy it was increasing.

Had it not been for Ed, I may have gone with Animal Plastics to try the PVC. Matt Martin didn't call or text me back after our first conversations. I believe he was going through some difficult family issues.

I have had a good experience with what I have and setting up and adding decor got easier with each cage. Once I had a system that worked changing it didn't appeal to me.

I haven't and won't have the need for a new cage so I've not looked at the Monster Cage site lately.

Matt has improved his process and design ideas over the years. I did see that he had some sliding glass cages and he uses structural support in the ceilings of some cages.

Matt's cages are shipped assembled and his cage seams are thermo welded.

This link shows old and new designs.

https://www.facebook.com/monstercage...1&l=52a8bcb389

[Angel619392]

I'm glad Ed had a bit of an influence on your current idea. Ed actually got some of his ideas from Matthew Martin (Monster Cages) at the beginning.

Ed was very easy to work with and his prices at the time were excellent. He built 2 custom cages for me out of the 4 I have.

This is the retic cage. It is a double cage and it shipped flat. The material is very heavy. The dimensions here are 6' x 2' x 30" deep.




Ed shipped the cage with the backgrounds for each module. I added the perches and heavy hardware to mount them.


It turned out looking very nice.


The other 3 are 4 footers. The bottom cage is a custom build 30" deep and 20". The other 2 were "standard" orders. Top 14" tall and middle 2' tall.


The HDPE Ed used was Marine Board and the cost to buy it was increasing.

Had it not been for Ed, I may have gone with Animal Plastics to try the PVC. Matt Martin didn't call or text me back after our first conversations. I believe he was going through some difficult family issues.

I have had a good experience with what I have and setting up and adding decor got easier with each cage. Once I had a system that worked changing it didn't appeal to me.

I haven't and won't have the need for a new cage so I've not looked at the Monster Cage site lately.

Matt has improved his process and design ideas over the years. I did see that he had some sliding glass cages and he uses structural support in the ceilings of some cages.

Matt's cages are shipped assembled and his cage seams are thermo welded.

This link shows old and new designs.

https://www.facebook.com/monstercage...1&l=52a8bcb389

Yeah ed has a lot of influence on my ideas because I wanted to buy a a cage and seen proline cages , researched the materials and found out its a superior product in every way. Factually HDPE is better in every way. Had me thinking of this problem of PVC taking over when its inferior and there is a void I can fill. Also Animal Plastics uses PVC foam board they just call it CDPVC. Call up any plastic company and they will tell you either they never heard of it or its foam board pvc or call AP themselves and ask them if its foam board pvc.... So HDPE is better and if people can see the facts for what they are and being priced competitive with companies like AP plastics it should really be a no brainer if I could make some quality cages. But again selling them is not my main goal, its to fix this problem of pvc being used over hdpe and at the same time I get to do what I like to do.... I also think of this as a way to also get my way into making websites for different reptile companies because I am WEB developer and I could get my feet wet in that by doing this reptile cage making , my own website for reptiles that I want to be the website people will be like "Go to yadadada website to learn everything for ball pythons, green trees, carpets or tegus..."... I just love anything with reptiles and computers so i found my niche

[AbsoluteApril]

I posted on your fauna thread with detailed close ups of the NW constrictor cages I have, hope it helps!

[Angel619392]

I posted on your fauna thread with detailed close ups of the NW constrictor cages I have, hope it helps!

Ahh ok perfect thank you yeah I have the same name lol, thanks bro.... I hope more people show their proline cages and answer
1. how long they had them ?
2. Any bowing or warping?
3. stains?
And a few pics of the cages

- - - Updated - - -

I posted on your fauna thread with detailed close ups of the NW constrictor cages I have, hope it helps!

Ahh ok perfect thank you yeah I have the same name lol, thanks bro.... I hope more people show their proline cages and answer
1. how long they had them ?
2. Any bowing or warping?
3. stains?
And a few pics of the cages

[Sauzo]

While HDPE might be superior(I personally don’t see any groundbreaking upside to it), the bottom line is pvc serves the exact same purposes as HDPE at a cheaper price. Both materials insulate, hold humidity, are easy to clean, easy to work with, and light. I had a Proline cage too and I personally was not impressed. I won’t go into details but I sold it and switched everything over to AP cages. And Ed actually lived about 3 hours from me.

In my opinion, if you go HDPE, make sure you use thick enough material so you have no flex. That was a huge negative on Proline to me. I could literally twist the cage and cause it to shift. But anyways, like I said, I wish you the best on success. Do what you love and you will never fail at it.

[Angel619392]

While HDPE might be superior(I personally don’t see any groundbreaking upside to it), the bottom line is pvc serves the exact same purposes as HDPE at a cheaper price. Both materials insulate, hold humidity, are easy to clean, easy to work with, and light. I had a Proline cage too and I personally was not impressed. I won’t go into details but I sold it and switched everything over to AP cages. And Ed actually lived about 3 hours from me.

In my opinion, if you go HDPE, make sure you use thick enough material so you have no flex. That was a huge negative on Proline to me. I could literally twist the cage and cause it to shift. But anyways, like I said, I wish you the best on success. Do what you love and you will never fail at it.

To me what worried me is
XPVC can and will off gas at 140 degress so the Chloride (Poly vinyl Chloride) can be toxic not only for the animals but you if you do reach those temperatures... Or if you want Ackies that need 150 degree basking you cannot do it with these cages.
HDPE tolerates 248 before the off gassing happens

Also I plan to offer an HDPE enclosure that is same price or within $50 dollars of AP plastic cages... The only thing stopping somebody from buying a cage made from superior material would be the company... Or in other words reputation, which I want to build by first selling locally and having people come on forums and give their opinions and also making youtube videos of me building/setting them up.... Keeping people updated with how my cages are doing for my animals because its better all around for me to be honest and let you guys know about problems my cages are having through youtube for 2 reasons.
1) You guys know im being honest
2) I do not have to stress or pay extra shipping to get it back and potentially lose business from people

So it really comes down to quality and reputation... If that is equal then it comes down to the superior product... Im basically saying I aim to match the quality of animal plastics and reputation will come through that... But yes I plan to deal locally first... Im ambitious (: