# The difficulties in getting a Herptek



## dpennington (Jul 12, 2011)

i found a supplier. I will be selling my herptek soon.


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## thetong6969 (Apr 20, 2009)

ive seen 5 for sale recently and i bought visions for around 250 for 2 one included a ahs heater also
i just had to make 2 trips,well worth the saving imho


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## dpennington (Jul 12, 2011)

Yes, I had seen some used ones about but no one stocking new ones. I presume people pick them up when at shows or on the continent. Everyone has good things to say about them which is why i am surprised they aren't more widely available.


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## thetong6969 (Apr 20, 2009)

tbh get in touch with lanzo on facebook they deliver to doncaster also,and have a std there and can do bespoke sizes all in heating and lighting i wanted a 6ft by 32"deep by 2ft high was a decent price when i worked it out


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

why not buy a UK brand?

i really don't get why people import them from france, it costs nearly as much to import over the channel, as it does to buy the viv itself lol

no one stocks them, because they cost to much to import and store...not much point when there are UK manufacturers of plastic vivs, which wont cost anywhere near the same (although some plastic vivs are still very expensive)


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## dpennington (Jul 12, 2011)

Wasn't aware of UK brand alternative. I've never seen anything similar to a Herptek and always been lead to believe they are the best. Exo-Terra, Vivexotic and 'petshop/hobbyists bespoke creations' seem to be the main options for the UK. 

I tried looking Lanzo up on Facebook but I couldn't see a page about Herpteks or viv's of any description.

I suppose if you don't go to expos/shows you can be quite out of the loop in terms of vivariums. I suppose the same goes for the heating & lighting equipment too.


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## Gratenkutzombie (Dec 28, 2012)

They're expensive because you'll never need to replace them. If he wants to buy them, let him. I think i'm correct that not only are herpteks made in the UK, but that the makers took sabbatical leave for a year - meaning no new stock...so, who are these other UK based placcy viv manufacturers. Well? :whistling2:



CloudForest said:


> why not buy a UK brand?
> 
> i really don't get why people import them from france, it costs nearly as much to import over the channel, as it does to buy the viv itself lol
> 
> no one stocks them, because they cost to much to import and store...not much point when there are UK manufacturers of plastic vivs, which wont cost anywhere near the same (although some plastic vivs are still very expensive)


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## Gratenkutzombie (Dec 28, 2012)

The only other placcy viv manufacturers that I'm aware of were Non-Stop reptile vivariums. Sadly, they are no longer taking orders. When i decided i wanted to buy my first herpteks, i was lucky enough to find exactly what i wanted within a short space of time. Sourcing and buying herpteks new can be a right pain, and because theyre that good people rarely want to part with them. :2thumb:



dpennington said:


> Wasn't aware of UK brand alternative. I've never seen anything similar to a Herptek and always been lead to believe they are the best. Exo-Terra, Vivexotic and 'petshop/hobbyists bespoke creations' seem to be the main options for the UK.
> 
> I tried looking Lanzo up on Facebook but I couldn't see a page about Herpteks or viv's of any description.
> 
> I suppose if you don't go to expos/shows you can be quite out of the loop in terms of vivariums. I suppose the same goes for the heating & lighting equipment too.


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

Gratenkutzombie said:


> They're expensive because you'll never need to replace them. If he wants to buy them, let him. I think i'm correct that not only are herpteks made in the UK, but that the makers took sabbatical leave for a year - meaning no new stock...so, who are these other UK based placcy viv manufacturers. Well? :whistling2:


 he can buy what he likes lol I just think the UK manufacturing market could do with the business  and could save ppl a few quid on import costs

take off import costs, and the prices for herptek are pretty average for a plastic viv, well maybe a little higher than average, but still, that's standard for plastic vivs, as you say, they last much longer

hendersons, non-stop and cloud forest enclosures are just a few UK plastic viv manufacturers off the top of my head...i'm sure google would find more using a range of plastics for different purposes


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## Gratenkutzombie (Dec 28, 2012)

Nah, herptek's are far more customizable than hendersons and hard acrylic plastic vivs and non-stop reptiles are no longer taking orders. Herptek's are the only logical choice:2thumb:


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

Gratenkutzombie said:


> Nah, herptek's are far more customizable than hendersons and hard acrylic plastic vivs and non-stop reptiles are no longer taking orders. Herptek's are the only logical choice:2thumb:


i'm sure theres at least one vacuum formed UK brand out there using the same plastic as herptek, cant remember name tho *scratches head*


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## dpennington (Jul 12, 2011)

Thanks for the UK names, the Hendersons look good although perhaps more for snakes like pythons and colubrids. I am really looking for the height and they don't seem to make one as tall as the Herptek which is 100cm.

Couldn't find Cloud Forest Vivs.

Initially I had problems finding someone to help. I began with retailers and then wholesalers & distributors but it was only really when you get to manufacturer that I got my first step in finally purchasing a Herptek.

It is the 'long lasting' that seems to differentiate them from other brands and products on the market. My vivexotics & exo-terra vivs are still in fine working order but perhaps if they were Herpteks the heat would be retained more efficiently and energy savings would be a factor too. Add that to not having to replace the wooden viv after 5 or 6 years, the Herptek might just be the cheapest option on the market, even with the high import costs.


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## Gratenkutzombie (Dec 28, 2012)

Herpteks don't really retain that much heat. Non-stop vivariums however are exceptionally good at holding heat, and if you see any for sale in the classifieds do not hesitate to snap them up because they're few and far between.


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## dpennington (Jul 12, 2011)

Gratenkutzombie said:


> Herpteks don't really retain that much heat. Non-stop vivariums however are exceptionally good at holding heat, and if you see any for sale in the classifieds do not hesitate to snap them up because they're few and far between.


Would you say Herpteks hold more heat than wooden and exo-terras?


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

in terms of heat retention and humidity retention, I've found PVCX to be the best so far, but its not suitable for ceramics or lamp heaters, only mats/cables/panels

but not all plastics are equal...herptek use one which can take higher temp heaters I believe, so its quite a different material to PVCX (and thinner to i think? for eg cloud forest pvcx vivs are 10mm thick, and its a foamed plastic, so a great insulator)


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## Gratenkutzombie (Dec 28, 2012)

Never had a wooden viv...ever. :hmm:



dpennington said:


> Would you say Herpteks hold more heat than wooden and exo-terras?


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## Gratenkutzombie (Dec 28, 2012)

I heat my 4ft herpteks with 150w ceramics, and that is sufficient to keep up constant temps. My 4ft non-stop vivs use 100w ceramics and hold the same heat gradients.


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

Gratenkutzombie said:


> I heat my 4ft herpteks with 150w ceramics, and that is sufficient to keep up constant temps. My 4ft non-stop vivs use 100w ceramics and hold the same heat gradients.


interesting...do you know what plastic non-stop used?


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## Gratenkutzombie (Dec 28, 2012)

Search the non-stop threads. The heat from the ceramics does not penetrate the plastic, so it is cool to the touch on the outside despite temps of up to 32c on the inside. This makes them great for stacking even if temps are all different.

Herptek stacks on the other hand require insulation between the vivariums so that they retain more heat.



CloudForest said:


> interesting...do you know what plastic non-stop used?


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

Gratenkutzombie said:


> Search the non-stop threads. The heat from the ceramics does not penetrate the plastic, so it is cool to the touch on the outside despite temps of up to 32c on the inside. This makes them great for stacking even if temps are all different.
> 
> Herptek stacks on the other hand require insulation between the vivariums so that they retain more heat.


I've search and searched, but theres no info on the plastic that I can see...that's the kind of efficiency i get with PVCX, but it cant be that, coz a ceramic would melt it in 10 minutes lol mite drop em a msg


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## Gratenkutzombie (Dec 28, 2012)

Oh aye, on a side note, if you need to keep up humidity herpteks aren't the best unless you block up the vents.


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## dpennington (Jul 12, 2011)

Gratenkutzombie said:


> Oh aye, on a side note, if you need to keep up humidity herpteks aren't the best unless you block up the vents.


I will bear this in mind, I'll look at solutions to improve the humidity. I was expecting humidity problems due to the size of the viv (90x60x100) so if I need to cover up or partially cover up some of the vents to help I will look at methods.

Thanks,

David


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## sparkypython (Jun 1, 2015)

I got my Herptek from Denmark as the UK stockists didn't have any of the newer grey colour. It took them 1 day to ship and 1 week to arrive. The site was LP Racks ApS.

One thing though I had to transfer the money via a bank transfer, all in including delivery from Denmark it was 10 pounds more expensive than being bought from the UK dealers.










SparkyPython


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## dpennington (Jul 12, 2011)

Very interesting, was this recently? I have got my herptek now but I want another for my royal python.

David


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## sparkypython (Jun 1, 2015)

Hi David, this was in November 2014 so fairly recently.

I needed to get the grey one as it matched the other grey cupboard/sink in my snake room/garage...

There is also a French website selling the grey ones but at the time they were not keen to ship. If I remember correctly, these guys might be the people behind the herptek range: Terrarium Herptek 90x60x50cm beige


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