Boaphile vs Animal Plastics

[svtvenom]

I'm trying to decide between a Boaphile and an Animal Plastics cage. I have been searching but a lot of the threads are kinda old. I was wondering what you guys thought, besides AP having better customer service. It will be housing a male common boa.

[dakski]

I love my Boaphile setup. See review down below.

Took 6 weeks for all 5 tanks I needed, many with different requirements.

Customer service was great! AS LONG AS YOU CALL Jeff Ronne. Email does not work well with him. He says it and is correct. Calling I get a response quickly or he picks up. I still call to pick his brain sometimes. He is always respectful and kindly answers my questions.

I think the cost for a tank by itself is more, not sure, but I imagine it's comparable with everything you will need for your BCI.

I have a 6X2' setup, but have a female BCI. A 5X2' or 4X2' may work okay. However, 6X2' would work fine and give you options for more 6X2' as you go, in case you want a female one day .

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...up-With-Review

Good luck and I am sure more people will chime in.

I cannot comment on AP because I have zero experience. However, have read good things.

[dakski]

Another similar thread going on now, FYI.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...=1#post2593538

[Sauzo]

I am biased towards AP cages but here are a few of the things about both.

Boaphiles-
-Use a more porous PVC which after a year+ will smell like piss and stain.
-One piece construction which is nice but if a piece breaks, you need to replace the whole cage.
-Modular which is really freakin awesome....reading this Ali?? Make AP cages modular.
-Bang for the buck is poor. The prices for taller cages and shelves and accessories is expensive. I mean even black coated hinges are expensive. Regular hinges will rust after a few years.

Animal Plastics-
-Use a more 'compact' PVC which doesnt stain as much and doesnt soak up piss smell. Although Caesar has managed to stain his floor with his battery acid piss.
-Sliding glass doors. Much better than acrylic. Doesnt scratch. Can double as a shield for happy eater. Wont warp over time from heat and moisture. No metal hinges to worry about. Doors are easily lifted out if you need full access.
-Comes in pieces. So if something happens to a piece, can just replace it and not need a whole new cage.
-Very sturdy and well built.
-Tons of options from routed LED lighting in the top to shelves as well as pretty much any customization. Just have to call Ali and talk to her.
-Best bang for the buck hands down. Shelves, locks, LEDs all fairly priced and built well. Except the LEDs, I have had 7/9 of them burn out on me but Ali is awesome and replaced them all free of charge even after a year.

I could go on more about AP cages since i know them and have dealt with them and used them. The Boaphiles, i havent but if you google AP vs Boaphile cages, you should find a thread on another reptile forum which i wont name from a guy named Ace or something like, been awhile since i been there lol. He gives pretty much the same breakdown i just typed. So i pretty much just repeated what he said, but he has used both Boaphile and AP cages for years so he has first hand knowledge of both where as i only have first hand knowledge of Constrictor NW cages and AP cages.

[artgecko]

I don't own boaphiles, but used to be on a forum where a lot of people did (was a boa forum that no longer exists). The number one complaint after the customer service I saw, was the staining / odor mentioned by Sauzo...That they were difficult to clean, etc.

I have been very happy with my AP cages.. I can say that the glass and PVC feel very heavy duty and well-made. The lead time is brutal though, but that is the case with all the cage manufacturers.

[GoingPostal]

I have boaphiles including a couple almost ten years old and there's no staining or odor, haven't had any problems although wish he offered led strips would be my only issue. They aren't difficult to clean at all.

[dakski]

I don't own boaphiles, but used to be on a forum where a lot of people did (was a boa forum that no longer exists). The number one complaint after the customer service I saw, was the staining / odor mentioned by Sauzo...That they were difficult to clean, etc.

I have been very happy with my AP cages.. I can say that the glass and PVC feel very heavy duty and well-made. The lead time is brutal though, but that is the case with all the cage manufacturers.

Jeff at Boaphile switched to a lighter, different type, of plastic about 1-2 years ago. I don't know if it makes a difference for cleaning, but so far, no issues there.

I do love how light the tanks are, but not really an issue once in place.

I have the 11.5" high tanks on 4 and a 17.5" on 1 (height/space limitations). Not terrible, but it is a little harder to clean the 11.5" than the higher ones.

Having said that, they maintain heat and humidity fantastic.

[artgecko]

Goingpostal- I was just going off of what others had said. One person posted a picture showing urate stains inside the BP cage.. They said that even with scrubbing and trying different methods / chemicals, it would still not completely come off. Now, I don't know what they had used to clean (which could have effected the result) but it looked pretty convincing to me. Others at the time corroborated and said that they liked their BP cages but that they too had staining issues from urates in particular.

It was maybe ~4 years ago when I remember seeing that post, as I was in the market for my first pvc cage at the time and had been scouring caging forums for info. I think that, and wanting sliding glass doors, were the main reasons I went with AP over BP. All that said, there are many people that are very happy with their BP cages, so he must be doing something right.

[dakski]

Goingpostal- I was just going off of what others had said. One person posted a picture showing urate stains inside the BP cage.. They said that even with scrubbing and trying different methods / chemicals, it would still not completely come off. Now, I don't know what they had used to clean (which could have effected the result) but it looked pretty convincing to me. Others at the time corroborated and said that they liked their BP cages but that they too had staining issues from urates in particular.

It was maybe ~4 years ago when I remember seeing that post, as I was in the market for my first pvc cage at the time and had been scouring caging forums for info. I think that, and wanting sliding glass doors, were the main reasons I went with AP over BP. All that said, there are many people that are very happy with their BP cages, so he must be doing something right.

I wonder if staining has a lot to do with time the waste is left there and what cleaning materials were used.

Additionally, I wonder how the newer material plastic Jeff at BP is using compares to the older stuff.

I'll keep everyone up to date if I have staining or smell, etc. So far, so good.

[artgecko]

I wonder if staining has a lot to do with time the waste is left there and what cleaning materials were used.

Additionally, I wonder how the newer material plastic Jeff at BP is using compares to the older stuff.

I'll keep everyone up to date if I have staining or smell, etc. So far, so good.

Very good points. I wondered that too.. I know with fabrics, if you clean an animal-based stain with the wrong cleaner, it can "lock in" the odor or stain. I wonder if it is the same with plastics. I think the people with issues had had their BP cages for a long time, so not sure how frequently or quickly they cleaned up urates either.

I will be very interested to hear how your cages hold up for you. Maybe the newer material he is using is easier to clean.