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Shipping Policy

Overview

We want to make sure you have a positive experience when purchasing animals. Therefore, we’ve made the following terms as flexible as possible.

Why is this important? Because many websites offer an experience where you just point and click on an item, make a payment and you’re done. But it’s not that easy, is it? What about shipping details, how they currently being cared for, what specific care does the animal need? These are very important questions one must know when making a responsible purchase.

When purchasing animals one must arrange shipping, packaging, pickup, or paperwork. Therefore, we try to be as flexible as possible to accommodate your needs.

Shipping – Domestic

We offer several shipping options with the following carriers:

  • Air Canada Live Cargo
    • If your Air Canada Terminal supports live animals (most do).
  • Reptile Express International
    • With Reptile Express we only ship to FedEx Ship Centers
      • We no longer ship to residences​. Why? Because we don’t want the risk of FedEx knocking on your front door and then walking away, leaving the box on your doorstep. This is highly detrimental to your animals during less-than-ideal weather conditions. It’s also not a responsible way of managing animals.
      • FedEx Ship Centers have temperature controlled rooms for live cargo 
      • FedEx Ship Centers differ from “FedEx Authorized” or “FedEx Onsite” centers because they are employed by FedEx staff instead of a third party. 
  • Alternatively, animals can be picked up in Ontario, Canada (Toronto area).

Shipping – International

We ship animals legally, using approved shipping materials and methods.

We offer shipping to United States (US) and European (EU) customers (HAMM/Amsterdam) customers. Please contact us for additional details.

CITES protect animals (Boas, Pythons, Monitors, etc.)

Boas and pythons are Federally protected species, and therefore require CITES paperwork and Fish & Wildlife inspection when crossing Federal borders. 

  • Shipping and export permits can take up to three months. This is typical for international shipments so please be patient.
  • Please contact us for a quote on shipping fees for International Orders.

Non-CITES animals (Most colubrid snakes, Skinks, etc.)

Most of our colubrid snakes and some lizards are no listed as CITES, therefore hey only require Fish & Wildlife inspection when crossing Federal borders which makes the process faster and shipping more affordable.

Live Arrival (domestic & foreign)

We guarantee live arrival on animals given the following conditions:

  • All shipments must arrive at the pre-scheduled arrival time. We do not offer live arrival on late shipments due to carrier issues as they are out of our control.  
  • We do not guarantee live arrival for lost or stolen shipments. Lost/stolen packages must be reported to the carrier and to us immediately. We cannot be held responsible for the carrier’s miss-handling or loss of shipments.
  • All shipments must be opened and inspected within three hours of pre-scheduled arrival time. This is especially important in colder weather as Heat Packs can get too hot in unopened boxes kept in a warm place.
  • For any Dead-on Arrival (DOA) animals, photographic evidence must be provided to us within three hours of inspection, and the pictures must be good enough quality for us at DHR to determine its validity as evidence.
  • If an animal is DOA, it is the customer’s responsibility to report it to the carrier, and file claim for any reimbursement of shipping charges where applicable.
    • Reptile Express only offers a shipping fee Money Back Guarantee add-on, whereby if there were any DOA’s (dead on arrivals) in their shipments, Reptile Express would refund the full value of the shipping fee noted in their shipping quote (this does NOT include the animal’s value).
    • Air Canada Live Cargo will reimburse a portion of the shipping fee (this does NOT include the animals value).
  • Live arrival guarantee will only apply to the cost of the animal and not the cost of shipping. Shipping costs for replacement animals are the responsibility of the buyer.
  • Live arrival guarantee only applies to the shipping period and is void once you take possession of the animal.
  • If you are not satisfied with your order and the conditions above have been met, we will replace your animal provided you notify us and adhere to the above terms within three hours from the time of shipment arrival.

We must emphasise that we’ve never had a shipment arrive where animals arrived DOA. We make every effort to ship animals with the best packaging materials and weather conditions available.