Boaphile Plastics, Great Cages

I'm glad to hear lots of good things about boaphile, I kept hearing lots of bad things in previous threads. Where did all the people saying bad things about them go? I'm always trying to find out information about racks for the next time I run out of space. Thanks for all the info!

I'll share my experiences with Boaphile Plastics:

I've purchased a 30 polycarbonate drawer Shoe box rack a couple of years ago for $519. I received a punctual response, timely shipping, and the only catch was that a few of the drawers were damaged. I contacted Joel and they were replaced within a week. However, just rescently I also had one of the joints come apart while moving it around.
I have twenty 421D cages that I was lucky enough to find used, no complaints. They are great cages, maybe I would like a little more height, but that about it.
In 2004, I had a couple of tables at the Tinley show and I was determined to buy caging instead of herps from whatever sales that I made. On the second day with a couple thousand burning a hole in my pocket I went over to Jeffs area. Jeff was free, and who I think was Joel was engaged with a customer. I asked Jeff, if any of the display cages were still for sale. He said "nope, they are all sold" and continued staring off into space. Well, after about ten minutes of me switching my feet in front of the set-up I wandered off to AP plastics' tables. I left that show with a rack of AP cages that were disassembled and delivered to my vehicle with a lot of friendly advice and conversation. In my opinion, they are just as good as Boaphile caging if not better for extra heigth and the breakdown option.

I have Boaphile cages, but hear nothing but great things all around about AP cages and customer service. I love Jeff's cages but his customer service and response to questions really lags.

I had 2 cages he sent with the heat tape glued to the OUTSIDE of the cage.
When I contacted him to tell him about it he said to use any kind of adhesive to fix it.
I paid for the heat to be inside under the piece of plastic they use to cover it up.
I guess that was my sign to not do business with them anymore huh?

I have many boaphile cages and racks.They are THE best in plastic enclosers.I have NEVER had a problem with any of them.I would highly recommend Boaphile cages and racks.
Mike Wampole
Boafanatic

I have twenty 421D cages that I was lucky enough to find used, no complaints. They are great cages, maybe I would like a little more height, but that about it.

FYI only, Boaphile also makes a 422D which is 17.5" high instead of 11.5".
I love my Boaphile cages and my Animal Plastics rack. Both companies are first rate IMO.

...or you could order the T11 (48x24x18) from Animal Plastics or maybe even a rack from Snake Shacks, pick 'em up at a show to avoid the cost and hassle of shipping, and set them up the same day. All for equal or less cost than the Boaphile cages, and more than likely they will be sold to you with a little enthusiasm!

I agree with that, they always answer the phone and seem to appricate every cent you spend with them. They even remember who you are in most cases...
-Matt Graybeal

....or more realistically, you could order Animal Plastic's T11 cage online (since they do very few shows and bring very little inventory to the few shows they do....they had almost none of their inventory at Daytona last year and their employee told me that they were there to drum up interest more than to actually sell cages.). If you ordered it bare bones with no accessories, lighting or heat you'd pay $265 + $40 for shipping for a total of $305. ( saving yourself a grand total of $4 over Boaphile ).
Then you would face the exact same wait time as Boaphile for cage construction (over even longer in my personal experience with both companies).

I have nothing negative to say about any of the companies you mentioned. They are all excellent and I've placed orders with all three. I'm just pointing out a more realistic scenario.

All so true, so very true. However, I'd like to point out that I have purchased many cages and racks in the same manner I mentioned earlier...and I get them with a smile! I'm not focusing too much on quality, but I am concerned with good customer service as being one of a few deciding factors determining where I spend my hard-earned money. That is just my humble opinion and I think that there are many good veiw points expressed on this thread.

Both companies make great cages, but another factor to consider is the aesthetics of the cage. Animal Plastics may be constructed very well, but the material doesn't have a nice appearance to it. I've seen their racks, and I'm guessing the same material is used for their cages. It looks like the plastic shelving material Costco/BJ's use to stack their pile of goods. I'd rather something nicer in my spare bedroom.

The PVC material just looks nicer. There are other manufacturers out there besides Boaphile. Jungle Habitats also makes PVC type cages, and they look great! They are also cheaper They are designed identical to the Boaphiles.

Back to the topic of this thread. Glad you like your Boaphile cage! They have the BEST website of any other cage manufacturer. After searching their site, you're left with very few questions to ask, and they have tons of close-up shots of their cages. Being that we are in the age of the "world wide web," this is very important nowadays.

Regards,

Peter Fromme