New AP cages on the way

I was expecting weeks worth of lead time, but they’ll be here 1 week after ordering.
:slight_smile:
2 of the APS T8 with heat tape, and the stand.

I’ve used boaphile 421D’s with RHP’s up until this order.

Kind of nervous about the assembly and sealing the bottom.
Anyone have tips on what or what not to do?

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Make sure not to overtighten your screws…and follow all the instructions. Personally, when I sealed my tank, I put it all together and then just ran my finger along the whole bead. I sealed about 70% up the tank’s sides and the whole bottom to make sure it was sealed.

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I believe AP pre assembles the enclosures to make sure they go together for the customer accurately. It was pretty straight forward with instructions they sent. They also send really good sealant as well. Allow a couple days to cure. The quality is amazing

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Man, I ordered an AP enclosure like a month ago and have heard nothing about it shipping any time soon. :roll_eyes: (Different size though, I think the T8 is their most popular, so they seem to have that size ready to go sometimes.)

But AP cages assemble super easily, they’re very well designed. Only thing to watch out for is just to make sure everything is facing the correct way, but there are stickers on the panels to help you orient them. You just have to actually pay attention to said stickers. :joy: And, as Riley said, don’t overtighten the screws. I also recommend sealing the bottom with silicone, they should include a tube of it in the box with your cage. It won’t be water tight if you don’t seal it.

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@jawramik Yeah, it’s a frequently ordered size so they have a bunch precut I would assume. I bought 10 T8s in two separate orders for the bulls last year and both shipped in about a week.

@ta-exotics They are really easy to put together. Like 10 minutes to assemble after I did one or two or them. I did put too much silicone down on the seams the first batch I assembled so it took over a week to fully cure, so just be cautious of that.

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They took months to arrive, it was a pain but well worth it. It is very frustrating though

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They are super easy to assemble. You don’t need to seal the top but definitely the bottom and at least half way up the sides. Just wet your finger a bit and run it along the bead. Easy peasy. Do this outside! I gave myself a migraine doing it inside :sweat_smile:

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That sealant they send is potent! Lol

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Yeah, I was afraid of it taking ages to cure, so I was very conservative with the amount of silicone I used. Honestly, I was a little concerned I erred too far in the other direction and didn’t use enough, but I haven’t had any issues with leaks in the 2 years my blood python has used it, so I must have done an adequate job (touch wood).

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Here is an update.
The cages surprisingly went together easily… even without sight. lol
I bought the pedestal for the cages to sit on… and I’m not a big fan.

There is nothing securing the cage to the actual pedestal. With 2 cages there seems to be enough weight to keep it from flying off if you bump it, but I’d like to see that updated.

Other than that, they work pretty good for the price.

I’m not a huge fan of the sliding doors, but they’ll work.
I think I over done the seal a little. lol It looks like a blind guy did it.

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To be fair, mine also look like they were sealed by a blind guy…and I’m sighted. So at least you have a good excuse. :joy:

Sorry to hear the stand isn’t great. I thought about getting one, but instead opted to just get castors for the largest bottom cage (which I think was the right call, because I’m short and had to stack 3 cages).

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I used stick on 1/4’ thick rubber skid proof feet on the bottom of each cage. It was a little tricky getting them lined up on the edges of the base stand but they have worked great so far. That being said, my AP cages are stacked five high so there is a good bit of weight holding everything in place as well. I bought casters from Lowes and attached them to the bottom of the base and I have been able to move the stacks around my snake room with ease.

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