Shipping & Live Arrival

Live insects aren't ordinary packages. How and when they travel matters.

At Reptile Feeder Insects, we schedule live-feeder shipments Monday through Wednesday to help reduce unnecessary time in transit and avoid having orders sit in a carrier network over the weekend.

Every order is prepared with the needs of live insects in mind and packed as close to shipment as practical.

Where we ship

We currently ship within Florida only. Keeping our first shipping area close to home means shorter transit times while we establish our live-shipping program. We intend to expand beyond Florida as we grow, but not before we are confident we can do it properly and in accordance with the requirements that apply to each destination.

When we ship

Live feeder orders ship Monday through Wednesday.

Our shipping schedule is intentionally limited so your insects have a better chance of moving continuously through the carrier network rather than being held over a weekend.

Orders placed later in the week may be held until the following shipping window.

Weather & shipping conditions

Live insects are affected by temperature, and conditions can vary considerably between our colony in Florida and your destination.

During periods of extreme heat or cold, we may adjust when an order ships if we believe conditions could put the insects at unnecessary risk.

Your feeders' condition comes before getting a box out the door.

When your order arrives

Bring live insects indoors as soon as possible after delivery.

Open the shipping container promptly and follow the care instructions for the feeder species you ordered. Avoid leaving live feeders outdoors, in a mailbox, on a porch, or inside a vehicle where temperatures can change quickly.

Please plan to be available to receive your order on the delivery day, or arrange with the carrier to hold the package for same-day pickup. Tracking is provided so you can anticipate delivery.

Care & Storage guides

Live Arrival Guarantee

We take care in packing live insects for safe arrival. Because these are living animals, a small amount of loss during shipping can occasionally occur and does not necessarily mean the shipment failed.

If your order arrives with significant loss, contact us within one hour of the carrier's recorded delivery time.

Live feeders begin to decline quickly once a shipment sits unopened. Temperature is part of it, but so is confinement — insects held in a closed shipping container, without ventilation, food or room to spread out, begin dying within about an hour of arrival whatever the weather is doing. The short claim window means the condition we are asked to evaluate is the condition your order actually arrived in, rather than the result of a box left sitting. Open your package as soon as it arrives, in shade rather than direct sun.

Claims are submitted by email so the required photographs can be included. Send your order number and clear photographs showing the affected insects and the condition of the shipment and packaging. You are welcome to call with questions, but a telephone call alone does not submit a claim.

If your feeders are cold and sluggish rather than clearly dead, say so when you contact us. Temperature-stressed insects often look dead and are not, and we would rather you open a claim inside the window and let us work out the right outcome afterwards than wait and miss it.

Keep the affected feeders and the packaging until we have reviewed the claim, in case further photographs are needed. Do not mail dead or affected feeder insects back to us.

Claims are reviewed individually. Depending on the circumstances we may provide replacement insects, store credit, a refund for the affected insects, or another appropriate resolution.

An unexpected carrier delay does not automatically cancel an otherwise qualifying claim. We cannot guarantee carrier delivery times, and we do not think a customer should lose live-arrival protection solely because the carrier was late after accepting the shipment.

Live feeder insects cannot be returned or exchanged. If something is wrong with a live order, do not send it back — use the claim process above.

The full terms, including the conditions a claim must meet, are set out in our Live Arrival Guarantee & Returns Policy.