# Terapod review



## LFBP-NEIL (Apr 23, 2005)

*Terrapod Review
By Neil Reed - Livefoods By Post*

You know when you want something to be so good you build it up in your mind and then when it arrives and it doesn't quite live up to the expectation you are left feeling a bit flat.. thats a bit how I am feeling at the moment!

Ok so on test is Terapod 36” vivarium, without wanting to get bogged down in the whole terapod vs Vivexotic scenario this unit is a direct competitor to the Vivexotic Repti Home medium, except it is longer (36” vs 34.5”).

Initial thoughts are packaging isnt as good as the Viv exotic but its arrived in one piece with no damage so we wont hold that against them.

Upon unpacking - first disappointment, one of the finished edges on the top panel is loose and not stuck down properly, luckily it hasn't snapped off and fits back down flush and can be glued back down.

Second disappointment - no instructions, i check and double check but no instructions are to be found anywhere in the box..

Not to be perturbed i carry on regardless after all how hard can this be to put together? Answer not very. The main carcass of the unit joins together with big sturdy cam and dowels and is a piece of cake to assemble, slightly worried at this point as staring up at me from a pile of fixings is a very crushed and useless looking locking cam but luckily it was surplus to requirements.

Third disappointment, this unit i have been sent fits together.. how can i say.. badly, none of the corners are flush, one side sits forward by 2mm the other side sits back by 2mm, I thought perhaps it was something i have done wrong so tried swapping left for right, up for down and every possible configuration ends up with a badly finished vivarium.

Now onto the back panel, I hate the back panel, to fit the back panel you have to slot it into the back of the viv, which is quite a tight fit and not easily done, you then have to sort of line it up to a point where you think it looks right and then screw it in place, luckily the holes in the back panel are pre drilled but unfortunately there are no pilot holes in any of the other surfaces so its hit and miss as to where you screw it to. I made a right pigs ear of this part and upon stepping back and admiring my handywork one side was flush with the back and the other side was almost 1cm pushed into the vivarium too far. I didnt want to risk un screwing and rescrewing for fear of leaving a gaping hole where my first bodged attempt was driven home so opted to leave it be.

The finished vivarium is sturdy, its certainly not going to collapse and would be able to take the weight of being stacked easily enough, 

It might not be fair to comment on the next two points as i believe these are being amended on future production, but the two air vents at the rear, the bottom one is too low and will get substrate kicked out of it, plus there are four cable inserts cut out of the back panel, two at the top, two at the bottom, the two at the bottom are not needed and will need sealing or else substrate will be constantly falling out through them.

The glass is british safety marked so toughened but doesn't have the highly smoothed edges we are used to seeing these days on a vivarium, i'm not saying they are sharp or dangerous just a little rough around the edges visually, no real biggie. The Glass sits in nice big chunky black runners. These are holding the glass in place and the glass feels nice and secure and slides easily. No worries about glass falling out here. One problem however is i can’t get any of my viv locks to fit onto the vivarium, the gap between the glass is too tight, the only way of securing this vivarium is with a rubber wedge. 

I want to like these viv’s, god knows the UK market needs some competition to drive some innovation forwards in an all too stagnant market previously, I really, really want to like these vivs, and perhaps I have built up too much of a pedestal in my mind prior to getting one. But this one I have been sent just didnt hit the 100% happiness mark for myself, The major let down for me was the poorly aligned panels, i couldn’t be happy with that staring at me from across the room it would drive my OCD’s mad! If it was hidden away in a stack amongst a reptile room i could live with it, but it would bug me. Perhaps I have hit upon a quality control issue, after all i have seen other users of these vivs who have received perfectly aligned models and they are more than happy with their purchase, so im guessing i just got unlucky ( I usually do).

So to summarise if you are looking for a cheap, quick to build, sturdy vivarium, where price takes precedence above overall finish then the terapod could be your answer.


----------



## Terapod (Aug 1, 2013)

*Hello Neil, *

Thanks for your honest review of our Terapod range. We would just like to quickly speculate that you have received and reviewed the earliest version of the Terapod Pro Range which is no longer sold or in production. 
Normally when sending a vivarium off for a review it will be checked it over etc, but being pushed for time It was dispatched like any other order. I’m more disappointed at the fact that this could have gone to one of our customers. 
*
Since then the following changes have been made:*


Packaging has now been completely redesigned with polystyrene protection and a smarter box.
Machinery realigned to give flush edges every time (Unaligned machinery caused a batch of 1st generation vivariums to become how can I put this…ugly? Let’s face it no one wants a vivarium that’s wonky)
The air vents have been pulled closer together to allow a deeper substrate
The bottom cable inserts have been completely removed
The glass now features a subtle “Terapod” Logo
We always include a surplus of screws and cams for any situation where they are required (like in your experience)
There’s no excuse for the instructions! Bad Terapod, But we are confident that this would not happen again in our latest generation of Terapod Vivariums.
Locking is an issue we are working on. For now we advise use of wedges until we release our locks or we change the runners.

We would also like to remind you that although the back panel can be tricky for some people to install it is removable at all times. What I mean by this is that the back panel can be easily removed to add additional electrics, without having to dismantle your vivarium (this is extremely useful for people who have stacks of vivariums i.e most enthusiasts). You just have to take a little bit of time when installing the back panel 
We’ve been working incredibly hard to get our vivariums perfect, we’ve been endlessly listening to every single piece of feedback and actually changing our vivarium design to try and suit everyone. 

Terapod has just passed its first quarter; we’re coming up 4 months old and also about to launch our new range. We have so many difference projects running and it’s all very exciting! 

Neil we would love re-dispatch a new generation Terapod to you can play spot the difference and maybe write another truthful review/write up!
And I cannot help but notice you’ve wrote “Terrapod” as the title was that something intentional? Or a perhaps a typo? 

Thanks for the review / write up! :2thumb:


----------



## LFBP-NEIL (Apr 23, 2005)

Terapod said:


> And I cannot help but notice you’ve wrote “Terrapod” as the title was that something intentional? Or a perhaps a typo?
> 
> Thanks for the review / write up! :2thumb:


PMSL, no wasn't intentional sorry! just so used to the word Terra rather than tera, i hope i got it right in other places,


----------



## Scales and Fangs (Mar 22, 2007)

Hi Neil / Max

This is such a shame this has happened, an oversight like sending out an old version should never have happened and I'm sure is very embarrassing for everyone at TeraPod. I know Max will be climbing the walls to make sure it doesn't happen again. But you know what, mistakes happen, we all make them from time to time, but it's how the mistake is resolved that is remembered.

I'd like to say that we have also received a TeraPod to play around with and luckily for us, it was one of the production vivs which featured some of the changes mentioned such as the packaging, the packaging was better than anything i've seen before. The edges where perfectly aligned although the top and bottom plinth would look nicer inset by a couple of mm. There were instructions (although I had a snickers and ignored the instructions) and there were surplus screws.

I do agree Neil that the back panel could do with pilot holes.

So from me, overall, an extremely sturdy vivarium with some great features and I'm looking forward to seeing the latest version with all the changes in place.

Keep at it TeraPod and take any criticism as constructive as you have been.


----------



## sandfly (Aug 21, 2009)

Awsome review! I like your level of detail.

Must say I'm not surprised at the problems you've found. My mate bought one as well and it must have been a first generation! Exact same problems! Shocking! Edging peeling off and all out of shape.

Hope their going to replace his too?? Anyone else got a 1st gen??


----------



## Chamelia (Apr 20, 2007)

Great job Neil. I liked your review of the heat mat hold the other day also. Makes choosing online easier as you just can’t see what you’re buying.

One point though I’ve been looking for a new viv and can’t say Terapod are the cheapest! Plenty of others at better prices, and with better quality!! Think my nephew could have done a better job at building one and he’s eight! Lol. Shame on you Terapod – first generation or not. I’ll not be taking any chances….


----------



## Terapod (Aug 1, 2013)

Just so you are aware, we have and will replace any Terapod Vivariums that have the alignment issues. 

This was a problem with the machinery which effected a small batch of Terapod vivariums. We have had two other Terapod vivarium reviews done of the 1st generation which were both positive reviews (thanks to kato and bothrops). 

Please understand that we are a 4 month year old company and are still heavily developing our range of vivariums, we are actually listening to our consumers and responding. We're on RFUK talking to the end users and taking liability for anything we've done wrong.
*Terapod > :notworthy::whip: <RFUK*

We can only apologize and promise this won't happen again but believe me, you will not be disappointed by the new generation and new range of vivariums. 

We are a small UK Based company and with the help and support of all you guys we can create a masterpiece of a vivarium! 

We're not here to steal your money :devil: We're here to provide you with a solid, smart and well priced vivarium. A vivarium where your reptile can live happily and a vivarium that local reptile shops can make some margin on without getting into pricing wars.

We don't want to control the market, competition is healthy and we respect that. We just want to sell the best vivarium possible and without these mistakes being addressed that will never happen. 

Thanks for your feedback, we deeply appreciate it. Anyone who has received a BAD TERAPOD can have it replaced with a brand spanking new one. Like i said we take full responsibility! 
Also tell your nephew to send his CV to [email protected] :lol2:
But seriously if you need replacement e-mail us pictures and I'll make sure you get reimbursed. 

We've seen around 1000-2000 vivariums out our door in 4 months. So far we've had 7 issues with alignment. 

-Max 



Chamelia said:


> Think my nephew could have done a better job at building one and he’s eight! Lol. Shame on you Terapod – first generation or not. I’ll not be taking any chances….


----------



## tomcannon (Jan 2, 2008)

Small batch of poor vivariums or not I'm impressed with what I see of the business so far. It's nice to see companies work so closely with the end user rather than making what they think is right for us. Keep this up and I'm sure you'll be a great success.


----------



## Terapod (Aug 1, 2013)

Thanks for the support! Hopefully our next range of vivariums will take Britain by storm! 

- Max 




tomcannon said:


> Small batch of poor vivariums or not I'm impressed with what I see of the business so far. It's nice to see companies work so closely with the end user rather than making what they think is right for us. Keep this up and I'm sure you'll be a great success.


----------



## JT27 (Oct 25, 2013)

*Any news on V2*

Is version 2 ready yet?? Can't seem to see any online.


----------

