Ordering Online

[stillyball]

How does the shipping process work??


Who are the best to buy from online?

[WarriorPrincess90]

You want to buy from reputable breeders when buying online. Buying from the average joe often means taking a risk. Does that person guarantee live arrival? Is there a health guarantee? Do they know how to ship properly? Etc. You can get a good feel for who is reputable and who is not on the BOI (Board of Inquiry) on FaunaClassifieds. Some breeders have even been reviewed on here. What you are looking for are 'good guy' threads where people talk about their good experience. If you are perusing online classifieds and you find an animal you like, take a second to look the breeder up on the BOI.

The shipping process on your end is simple. The breeder will package the animal in a box labelled "Live Harmless Reptile", "Perishable", etc. Depending on temperatures they may include a heat pack or a cold pack. The animal will either be in a snake bag or a deli cup most of the time...(I had one sent to me in a tube sock....needless to say I wasn't thrilled with THAT packing job), and then they will be padded with newspaper and the like. The box itself is insulated with Styrofoam. They then ship the box to you via Fedex Priority Overnight. That is the only safe method for shipping live reptiles, and it guarantees delivery before 10:30 am the next day. You as the buyer, must be home to receive the shipment and sign for it, as there is almost always (or should be) a direct signature required to transfer the box into your possession. Generally, if you are not home to receive the shipment, it voids the seller's Live Arrival Guarantee and Health Warranty.

[Running Elk]

When buying from someone who isn't a big, trustworthy name with excellent reviews, make sure you use Paypal so you can get your money back. Most sellers use it anyways. Beware of being asked for other methods of payment.

Look for reviews on the person and make sure they don't have a history of bad business. Fauna classifieds has a big section of reviews.

Arrange a time to ship. The package will be shipped overnight, so make sure you are there the next day to receive the package.

[stillyball]

In your experience with ordering BP's online.. Do they usually come completely un-handled and nippy?

[WarriorPrincess90]

No, not usually. I've never had one be nippy or nasty with me when I received it. But it depends on the animal and the breeder. If they breeder did some handling they are usually pretty calm. Even if not, a calm snake is a calm snake. *shrug* You never know exactly the disposition of the animal you are ordering, as you haven't seen them in person. But sometimes, even seeing them in person doesn't make much of a difference. I bought my female KSB at a show. She was sweet as pie there...after I got her home, she turned evil. You just never know. Every animal is entitled to its own feelings and attitude shifts.

If it makes you feel better, of my 12 snakes, I ordered 10 online. I only have one really mean one, and it's the one I bought in person. Like I said, you never know what you're gonna get attitude-wise.

[stillyball]

Thank you so much! That was exactly the reassurance I needed!

[Tigerhawk]

I got one in the mail that wanted to bite thru the clear shipping cup it was in. However a few days later she was puppy dog tame. So don't worry if you get one that seems a little nippy at first. Because they usually grow out of it.