I’m finally upgrading my Florida kingsnake’s enclosure and I’m upgrading to a 4’ by 2’ by 2’ bioactive and I was wondering where I could find a good hopefully relatively cheap one (just the enclosure itself not the substrate or plants or any of that) and also what plants would you all recommend to be in the enclosure
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Dubia.com sells 4x2 enclosures for quite a reasonable price, though I believe they only come with a screen top. Not sure if that matters to you.
Animal Plastics is more expensive than Dubia (though less expensive than some other brands), but comes with more custom options, including a solid top.
Whether or not the solid top is worth the extra money depends on how much humidity you need to retain in the enclosure.
There are other brands (Zen Habitats, Black Box, Kages, Vision, to name a few), but at least the last time I was researching reptile cages, I felt that Dubia and Animal Plastics seemed to offer the best value from what I found. Still, your mileage may vary.
I have not used the Dubia enclosures (because of the afore-mentioned screen top; I keep tropical species and live in an arid climate), but I’ve heard good things about them. I have two enclosures from Animal Plastics and can vouch for them being very sturdy, high-quality enclosures that are easy to assemble.
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Another factor that you may want to consider, especially since Animal Plastics was mentioned, is lead time/availability. This can be a “hidden” cost that a lot of people do not consider
I have made significant orders with three companies and there are two I will gladly use again in the future - Focus Cubed and BlackBox. The prior I had an order of two highly custom designed cages, was given an eight week lead time, received frequent communication from them, and had my order in exactly the time frame I was given. The latter gave me a three week lead time and only missed it by two days but that was because they had made a mistake with my order and had to remake it and they called me directly to let me know. If it had not been for the hiccough on their side I would have had my order early. I did not care about the delay because they were transparent and honest with me which counts for a lot in my book
Contrast that with AP. The reason I no longer use or recommend them is because I made a $8k order with them, was given a four month timeline… And did not receive my order for seventeen months. In that time, I received no communication from them despite numerous emails on my end. They did not even inform me when my order shipped, I found out when the freight company called me the day before delivery asking for confirmation of address
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I believe that the 4x2 enclosures from AP are typically pre-cut and ship out relatively quickly, as it’s their most popular size. That’s why I didn’t mention the long lead times that AP is pretty infamous for.
That said, Travis is not wrong that Animal Plastics can take their sweet time to ship out enclosures. I can’t remember how long I waited for my 5’ enclosure, but it was a good few months. It wasn’t a problem for me, as I knew there would be a significant wait and I ordered the cage long before I actually needed it. But it could definitely put someone in a tight spot if they needed the enclosure somewhat quickly. However, I have not shared Travis’s experience with lack of communication from AP, they’ve always been responsive and communicative in my dealings with them. 
I had a frustratingly long lead time on a 5 level AP-70. That’s another one that was extremely popular and it took 2 extra months before the pandemic even happened.
I’ve heard that they’re better than they were. But I haven’t ordered in years.
I got a couple phailozoo cages shipped a week after I ordered. They were about on par with and very similar to Dubias, but colored aluminum. Unfortunately, I had an issue with the vent on the side with my Retic. For a Kingsnake I don’t think it would be as much of an issue but be careful with cables and such with the vents that’s what made the biggest issue with mine. Also that has the screen top as well. (I hear Dubias also may have a similar style vent so be careful)
Apex cages has some neat stuff but I haven’t personally ordered and I think the customization aspect will bring the price up too much.
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