more positive videos on the way shortly... until then, do you have any stories of animals being shipped to or from you? speaking of, I've reopened the intake kits, so if you're looking to rehome you can get in line at emeraldscales.com/rehome
I have shipped leopard geckos, snakes and fish (to me and from me) and so far everything went well. But in Germany we cannot ship via normal package couriers. We have to pay a lot more for special animal shipment. so the conditions are a little different.
We were having an ivory millipede shipped to us awhile ago and they were shipped in a smaller box that clearly said "LIVE ANIMAL". The guy delivering the pet was... spinning the box as if it was a basketball. My girlfriend told them in that box was a live animal and that it really shouldn't be spun and thrown around lol. They apologized but continued to...play with it until they came to the door. :/ Luckily, our millipede is okay and happy to today! But I'm sure that kind of stress would've done some damage to a small gecko/snake.
As an Ex-Fed contractor, I'll tell you, sometimes packages fall from a high shelf, sometimes Heavy stuff falls onto them or slides into them and sometimes the package handlers or delivery drivers are just absent-mindedly tossing & flipping the package. Last year had such high package volume that these things occur more often because of overloaded trucks and strict schedules. I'm honestly horrified that there isn't a national pet delivery service.
When my gecko was delivered I saw the delivery driver jump off the back of the truck while holding my box under his arm. I was pissed. I let him know the animal was in there and opened tha package immediately. She was fine, thank God, but could have died.
On a happier note: when I got my gargoyle gecko shipped to me the fed ex guy knocked on the door because he didn't want to leave a live animal outside ♥️
I've heard a LOT of horror stories of packages with live animals being literally spun or thrown by the delivery person, so I wouldn't be so quick to rule it out.
I remember when Snake Discovery was being shipped a Grey Banded Kingsnake, the delivery guy was spinning the box by the corners. When they ran out to stop him because there was an animal in there, he just went “oh, what kind”. Like bruh
That happened with my ball python. He was spun then dropped (from a few feet) onto our porch, and left IN THE SUN, *IN SUMMER,* without ringing the bell or knocking. We only knew he arrived because we had a Ring doorbell.
Lep Gecko 1: "Dude, I swear, I was in my cage, then all of a sudden, everything went black" Lep Gecko 2: "Uh, sure, whatever you say" Lep Gecko 1: "No, really. I could hear muffled voices and couldn't move" Lep Gecko 2: "Alien abduction, right? Lep Gecko 1: "YES! I was on several space ships for hours and ended up here" Lep Gecko 2: "Look. Just stay on your side of the cage and don't talk to me anymore"
I work at FedEx and the tl;dr I have to give is: the facilities are not safe for animals. It’s loud, it’s stressful, boxes get mishandled and abused on the belts all the time, and I feel legitimate terror thinking about the possibility of there being an animal somewhere in one of these boxes.
this ! :( i work here and every time i see a ‘live animal’ package i panick. i’m always gentle w them but drivers are getting wayyy too much volume lately and barely fitting everything in their trucks so i always feel like they’ll inevitably get accidentally squished under all the big stuff
I’ve adopted all my animals from shelters. And picked all of them up myself. Even driving 9 hours to pick up a leopard gecko. The reason: the first three reptiles I tried to own (all from different sellers: a ball Python, leopard gecko, and bearded dragon.) died during shipping. I was handed each box by the deliverer within 24 hours of them being shipped... and each box I opened had a dead animal. It broke my heart. I’m so glad that you keep records of when and why these things happen.
@@JustElleYapping yeah. I’ve always rescued senior dogs so that they can spend their last days happy and healthy... I figured, why not do that with the reptiles to. 🙂
@@poppiesandredwoods thats amazing ;-; I dunno why but when people say they rescue senior animals so they have a good end of their life it makes me wanna cry
Last videos "is this bearded dragon setup cruel?" Obviously no because anything you put in there Stan will ignore or try to fight 😂 he doesn't even use the enclosure as it is now! Lol
All these comments are really putting into perspective how scary it can be sometimes to ship reptiles. a month ago I got a beautiful baby bearded dragon shipped to me and I was scared he would die during shipping, he arrived perfectly safe thankfully. we really need a shipping service strictly for shipping live animals or fragile things like plants and whatnot.
I was going to take in a ball python from someone that was moving. I asked for photos if the animals, and the guy gave excuse after excuse as to why he couldn't send photos of the snake. Then he totally ghosted me after I asked how it was being cared for. I had a feeling this person wasn't caring for the animal properly 😔
I have a horror story for you, and the error isn’t one of the ones you mentioned. Girlfriend had a red knee tarantula, and needed to move from where she lived to where I am. She went to a local exotic pet specialty store and got all the things to ship her spider with their advice, and went to FedEx and paid for priority overnight shipping. FedEx straight up left her spider at the processing facility FOR A WEEK, and said that they couldn’t do anything because there was a backlog due to covid. She phoned them every day to try and get it specially expedited, no dice. Then there was about a month of incidence escalation to get her money back.
I was almost wanting to ask why she didn't put that spider in a transport box and took it with her but living in Germany I always forget about how big the US (I assume due to FedEx being mentioned) is... Therefore my first reaction was why the shoebox sized transport box didn't fit in the moving truck/ car or why she didn't take it onto the train or something... But yea... I guess it's not viable to take such a box on board a plane as one can do with small dogs in one of these special bags/baskets...
@@annasstorybox7906 Close, Canada, which is actually significantly larger than the US, haha. She actually packaged the spider in such a way that she could take it with her on the plane, after calling the airline and asking if that was possible. Then the agents or whoever take in baggage refused, so she had to make the decision to ship the spider priority postage. The spider was packed with heat packs in such a way that it should've been able to survive shipping since the store helped her plan for possible contingencies.
I think video tutorials on how to package correctly would be a good addition to the website just for those people who do better with a visual demonstration
@@kingdre7492 he just has a lot of animals, and they're all ones who were brought to him. The ones getting sick have mostly all been old or very recently acquired, Slinky being the acception, and that was a major bad luck fluke.
It always breaks my heart how poorly people care for their animals. Its even worse when I try to educate them (I work at a pet store) and they actually tell me that they don't care or that they're "willing to take the risk" on improper care :(
I hate that!! I work at a local pet store and when I try to teach people how small animals need to properly be cared for it drives me MAD that they choose ignorance. Especially with hamsters :(
@@kirbyprincess7125 a lady at my job today wanted to put 2 gerbils in the smallest hamster cage we sell :( She told me she rescues animals all the time but I honestly dont believe that if she thinks gerbils can go in something that small :(
I had someone at home watching for my leo to arrive and she sees the delivery truck stop outside my house and leave a white box with red lettering on our neighbor's porch and drive away. She gets up and goes over to check and sure enough, the driver left my leo at the wrong house.
I had the fedex guy spinning the box around as he walked up to give me the package (I was doing yard work). It very obviously said "live animal" on it..
It’s a shame not even mail carriers/delivery services care about how they treat animals They just yeet the box like it’s nothing. And that’s quite sad. Why would you want a precious creature to experience that?
Postal workers are extremely underpaid, overworked, and overpressured to make deliveries quick. It's basically the "it's not like we have a gun to their heads" argument from the management side, all the while the management keeps telling employees that if they don't make their routes under an estimated time they'll be "scrutinised" (read: shortly afterwards unemployed). For the postal workers, it's not about what's in the boxes, it's about running 30sec late to an apartment block and having to make that time up any means necessary or they won't feed their kids. We need more humanity in our workspace to be more humane.
Snake discovery managed to catch their delivery person spinning and tossing the box around that held geckos and a snake (I think). It was labeled all over that it was a live animal. They ran out and yelled at him and his response was to catch it after tossing it and asking “really? What kind?” No remorse. It chills me to think what the poor critters go through in the mail system..... That would be a good video! Put a hidden camera in one of the boxes peaking out and see what happens. Possibly ship like 10 camera packages all over the US to see.
lol that'd be interesting. I think most of the video would just be pitch black in a truck or plane. But you'd have to disclose the camera since it has a lithium ion battery
There's a reason the later seasons of Mythbusters used those stickers to check to see if Buster "died" from an impact. Way too many people in the shipping industry just don't care. Depending on how expensive they are, maybe one could go in each box shipped from Emerald Scales? I wonder if the animals that died for no reason were subjected to a drop or something.
oh god seriously?! that's terrible :( it's one thing to be careless about merchandise, but it's a whole 'nother monstrous ability to be careless about live animals
@@TheJunky228 I think its also the fact that these parcel carriers are severely underpaid and have extremely tight schedules, it just adds to the problem.
Yes, or maybe it just wasn't bred properly or had some kind of genetic fluke that caused it to suddenly pass. I think the Leopard gecko he described "just sleeping" probably died of heart failure. That could've been because the gecko reached the end of its possible lifespan. Couldve been stress related. We will never know
That video clip of the thin BP breaks my heart... I can't imagine letting an animal get that bad, and then thinking they're strong enough to handle being shipped.. People can be so careless, it's shameful. And the dishonesty in not sending up-to-date / correct pictures, unbelievable..
I think that python is still alive, at least, it survived shipping and a little more. It is super sad, not denying that, but I think he had an okay go at the rescue.
@@FluffyPancakes36 Definitely that's a possibility, but he has documented before ball pythons in that shape or worse, and unfortunately they don't make it, because the previous owner was just focused on getting rid of the animal without thinking of "will this animal even survive the trip?" And again, Alex stated he has had DOAs before..or survived for maybe an hour or two but died very quickly. That skinny snake is just a visual example of how some animals arrive. Some may improve and that's great, but a lot that get shipped in that condition don't make it. It may not be the majority that get shipped like that in the first place, but the fact remains, it does happen, and animals do die as a result.
It's much appreciated that you covered a difficult topic that a lot of people don't discuss, and very many people don't even think about the shipping aspect of the reptile industry. Progressive content, thank you.
I'll never order an animal online, my post man just throws my post down my stairs at my front door any way. My feeder insects barely make it, let alone a reptile.
in the uk you can only ship reptiles with a certified animal courier, not through any regular postal servicce and i think that's how it should be anywhere, even with a small percentage of fatalities it's not worth the risk, like some animals will still die, and i have a hard time justifying that
I disagree with more regulations in general, especially because fedex's track record is too good to deny and experienced sellers know what they're doing. A certified shipper wouldn't make a difference with a sick animal that can't survive the trip anyways
@@GoHerping I totally agree with it not making a difference for a sick animal - it sounds like your shipping services are much more reliable in the states, fedex and ups are notorious over here for missing packages, delays etc. and admittedly it's more viable for us to use specialists as the distances are much shorter and so it doesn't rack up hundreds in fees. It sucks that people don't follow your instructions, I know it's not your fault as a seller when that happens - we rehab-rehome too and have had a few instances of animals passing in their new homes due to them not following advice, espeically as we have rehomed some special needs animals to people wo have talked the talk very well and ended up being complete idiots, it's all a learning experience as a seller though and it's just a hard part of the industry to come to terms with ig :)
I have an idea for you: how about charging people money as a sort of deposit. "Follow the instructions and we will return XY dollars back to you. If not, we'll keep it."
@@stevejuggler it's not about what he's currently doing. my comment was a suggestion to keep people from not following the instructions correctly. Money usually motivates. So the payment for the intake kit PLUS an instruction deposit.
i was thinking of doing a worst customers episode lol. I'd like to do worst enclosure submissions but I gues that may be a copyright issues using their images
@@GoHerping that’s totally fair use though, I don’t think you could get copyright claimed just for using a pic someone sent to you or that you found from the internet. Just keep them anonymous and you should be good, that would be an incredible video!
I ordered a box of 500 crickets and the vendor shipped through UPS. Big mistake cause when i got the crickets: 1. they were packed in a awful way, the vendor just threw a chunk of potato in the box loose among the egg cartons so a large portion of the crickets were a mashed mess when i opened the box. (The vendor was very defensive about it when i confronted then about it. Never ordering from them again.) 2. UPS had obviously handled the box very roughly, it was smashed on one end and there was a sizable hole torn on the side so even more of the crickets got out during shipping and i had only got like a quarter of the crickets i had ordered. 3. I made a formal complaint to UPS but their response was just "haha OPPS SORRY." and that's it. If anyone ever ships any invertebrate/vertebrate, just dont ship UPS. Every time Ive gotten something from them it's been smashed and just tossed at my front door. I always make sure FedEx is used now when ever i order feeder insects since my overall experience with their service in my area is very good.
UPS literally doesn’t give a shit. I spent over $1000 on an armored off road bumper for my truck and it was being shipped through UPS. It took a month longer than it was supposed to to arrive (which I kind of understand because it’s a huge item to ship) and then when it got here and I opened it it was bent nearly in half. They managed to damage a steel bumper in shipping, it doesn’t surprise me that they end up killing animals
You can ask people to send a picture with that day's newspaper with the date visible (or something with the date) - you know, like what kidnappers do....
I don't know about shipping services in the US, here are some things noticed when visiting a center of a shipping service in Germany where packets are sorted: The first thing is that the air conditioning in the building was broken when I was there, so the temperature was really really high all the time. (So the temperature along the way doesn't only depend on the weather). At some point in the sorting process they use slides to sort the packages, leading the packages to accelerate and bump into each other. In addition, I don't think the people working there are reading what's written on every package, they just have to put them from one spot to another the whole day. As far as I know this shipping service doesn't allow live animals to be shipped. Maybe other shipping services are different, I don't know.
most shipping services in the US take live animals. but the way we package them is far from inconspicuous. standard packaging is a white box with giant red lettering saying live animal, on all sides. its so very obvious compared to other packages theyd have to be very dumb or just not care to mishandle it. most of the time they will get sorted by hand specifically to avoid killing the animal (depending on service and shipping locations. and employees of course), and usually this is just done because having your brand being responsible for the death of a very expensive, or rare/endangered animal is bad optics.
I had a good experience when I received my leo. FedEx did just set the box on my porch and not ring the doorbell, which was annoying, but I was home so I noticed right away
I can just imagine the pain that owner felt shipping there baby away, giving them hat one last bath, feeding them one last time, loving them one last time before they send them away.. that one last little look they get from them.. it breaks my heart 😭❤
I thought it was illegal for the longest time here in Germany, apparently it isn't, but literally nobody ships their reptiles here. I've browsed multiple sites and it was always "pick up only". Germany is a small country, only the size of a US state, maybe that why and I don't know nor have I heard of international live shipping, but I'd rather not.
We have animal shipping. there are a whole lot of company's who will ship live animals. There's also a very known reptile shop (MS Reptilien) who ships animals. they make an appointment for shipping with you.
I used to have those nightmares! We kept our gerbils in the basement, really nice setup, but I would have nightmares where I didn't go down to take care of them and forgot about them... 😭
@@careybowden4864 mine would be i'd have like a random room in my house i forgot existed for a long time and i'd open it to find a bunch of neglected animals.... or i'd find like small carrying cages or tanks under my bed or somewhere in my room.... tarrifying
I have to say, it made me so extremely happy to hear that it’s even welcomed or allowed to ask for updates about animals sent in. I have wanted to ask since but I didn’t think it was allowed!
I Order a Baby Bearded Dragon, I got the box then smelled something bad, I didn’t think of her being dead, I opened it, I touched her she didn’t move and I knew she was dead, I Cried For a Whole Hour.
My heart hurts just thinking about it, I'm so sorry. Getting excited for a new family member only to be met with tragedy is one of my worst nightmares.
Used to work at a parcel sorting warehouse, 99% of my co-workers did not care at all if the boxes had fragile stickers or a 'this way up' sign, no matter the weight, any and all were thrown, including electronics, so we had plenty of PCs bouncing. Heavy large boxes are put on top of small ones. A big mess. The supervisors didn't care, they did the same. I've pretty much stopped shopping online because I know how my items are treated now. Your items can be repackaged a lot since the box gets damaged so much and you won't even know, or your item gets damaged and a new one has to get shipped out to you, again without your knowledge.
You gotta picture it from a reptile’s perspective How would YOU feel if you were put in a squished box, shipped across the country, and then flung from the truck? A creature getting shipped is the most stressful thing a pet can experience
I just want to let you know that your constant transparency and honesty is greatly appreciated and at this point, you are about the only pet youtuber that I actually trust.
The situation you’re in reminds me so so much of Saskia’s guinea pig rescue, she’s always getting dozens of drop offs at her rescue even though her waitlist is constantly full. People just don’t seem to care or want to be responsible about these animals, it’s insane.
For every species you ship out you should record a specific "how to pack a leopard gecko" or "how to pack a bearded dragon" video tutorial you can send to people that apparently can't read
@@oliveb5768 with that logic you could say they wouldn't care to ship the animal at all. Video entertainment is popular literally because its easier to consume than written
@@puddlebarf the key word there is "entertainment". entertaining videos are fun and amusing to watch. a video instruction on how to pack a box is not entertaining, fun, or amusing. people who dont give a shit abt written instructions will most likely not give a shit abt video instructions. both routes of education still requires the person to be careful of how they pack the reptile, and,,, well, if they just dont care, then they just wont be careful. edit: goherping himself said that people get sent a video guide already, so. ig that solves that argument.
Thank you. It’s incredible how you take responsibility for your mistakes; it doesn’t happen anywhere near as often as it should. I’d never thought much about the pet industry before, but Petco has officially lost what little business I gave it.
Thanks so much for covering this its super helpful to know more about shipping. And what happens to reptile during shipping. I love your videos and you do a great job with your reptiles.
I love how you tackle the unsavory topics of reptile husbandry as well as the fun ones. I'm proud of you, Alex.. :) I personally have had 3 reptiles shipped to me, 2 in one box and 1 in another, and all three were perfect on arrival. It makes me sad how many people don't care about their pets and follow up on their well being with their new homes.
It's awful, but they're usually in a bag or deli cup. That helps a little. I can't imagine how it must feel to throw away what you thought was going to be a happy animal.
I got my baby anoconda shipped to me, and when it arrived there was no heat pack, the box was 4 times bigger than the snake, the snake was in a pillow case! And newspaper was used as insulation! It took 48 hours for it to get to me. Luckily my snake made it but she was very sluggish and so dehydrated.
I appreciate you taking responsibility for making a mistake...it's so important to role model this...and you learned and got better. Thanks for helping unwanted pets heal and find new homes!
Kidnapers used to send "Proof of Life" a picture with today's newspaper. Newspapers are still being printed even a weekly newspaper would work. So ask for them to take a picture with a newspaper printed less than 5 days of the picture. It's not foolproof because people are just awful, but it could help.
In the UK the only animals that you can send through the post are invertebrates and aquatic creatures. Anything else - reptiles, poultry, etc - can only be delivered by a licensed animal courier. And yes, it is expensive. Which prevents people from just grabbing themselves a fun new pet online like you'd pick up a video game. The UK has a lot of problems as a country but I'm very thankful that we got this one thing right at least.
People are stupid. Snake Discovery had a ups/fedex driver read the box, ask something to the about what kind of live animal it was, and start spinning it around between his fingers, right in front of them. Fortunately their animal was fine, but people are so dumb sometimes, I wouldn't be surprised if that kind of stuff happened often within the fedex/ups facilities and trucks.
As a ups preloader, sometimes box labels get overlooked and boxes get thrown around and slid around a bit. Especially during peak season. Idk if fed ex is the same but stuff happens and many of the workers are seasonal and work very early in the morning.
Hey go herping! I know I've made this comment before but I just love your videos lmao. Like I've said before u have gotten me in the reptile keeping hobbie. I've gotten atleast 6 animals people rehomed to me. Now no I do not have a website but ppm still rehome to me and I've learned alot about shipping details and things I need to keep the animals alive I'm shipping I've gotten about 20 animals all together throughout the year and I've had about 2 deaths, 2 bearded dragons. I was very very said when I got them
Even though an animal seems perfectly healthy it is hard to tell if there are underlying health conditions. If they have a minor heart problem or something like that the stress may be enough to cause a heart attack. I know this won't make you feel any better about a death of an animal and for sure the number of animals you take out of bad situations and put into loving homes completely outweighs the few that don't make it. You do good work Alex, thank you for everything you do.
You’re like two years younger than me but I look up to you so much! You’re doing amazing work and you really inspire me with my pet care journey ^-^ Thanks for everything you do Alex!
Hey! Love your concern about reptiles. I also noticed your spirited away dolls. One of my favorite directors/writers ever! I went as no-face for the last two Halloweens. Going as dream from the sandman comics this year
One time i ordered a southern painted turtle off of a website with amazing reviews and everything (first time buying a turtle). I did all my research about the animal, size, tank requirements, filtration, basking dock, heating, lamps, food, etc. Not only did it take almost 4 days for the thing to arrive, but the ups guy frisbeed it onto our porch....i opened the box heat pack was good and warm, box wasnt really damaged, but the little guy had this like cardboard insulation type stuff all over/in his eyes. He tried getting it off so i carefully helped him out. He also had a really bad softshell but i read that hatchlings tend to have soft shells but not THAT soft. Immediately after placing him in his new enclosure. He looks Great in my eyes at first(remember first time owning a turtle) but after about a week he started to look horrible. They store had a 7 day death sickness policy but it was too late to call. I tried nursing him back to health and it seemed to work and slowly got better, but eventually died... after about a month i decided to try again but this time get another species. Everything went MUCH smoother this time and now i have a happy healthy strong-shelled turtle. Didn’t change anything to the enclosure, diet, everything. Guess i was unlucky my first time around.
Reminds me of the time my sister rescued a pair of young sulcata tortoise from a clearly ignorant friend... one was healthy as a ox the other sadly had a shell deficiency that we didn’t catch until it was to late... had Lucy for almost a month before she showed signs of being sick.
The packages should have a giant printed photo of a lizard with a speech bubble that says...."I am alive, please handle me gently, do not drop" *If photo is sideways or upsidedown, animal is also, please keep upright* A delivery driver might pay more attention if he could see a big photo of a cute gecko smile on the package...?
This is so relevant for me. I had a dart frog die on the way from a great source, and by fluke chance, it had passed when I received it. Thank you for your transparency and raw data on the business aspect as well. I'm learning a lot about standards to follow in this market and where it's lacking. From Ontario Canada 🍁
I shipped a ball python in canada once, sent it to a friend with a gopro just incase. Let me tell you UPS got a BIG lawsuit and paid me to settle.. They fucking tossed this box with a shit load of labels like a FRISSBEE. and they taped OVER the breathing holes. fucking insane. snake actually lived though.
Though I've never ordered any reptiles, I've ordered many arachnids (the only way unfortunately, you can't legally sell them in my state) and luckily they have all been packaged really nicely and all arrived healthy. The only exception is my emperor scorpion, who came in cold and lethargic covered in cold substrate (possible heat pad fluke?), but is thankfully now very healthy! Their packaging is really similar to reptiles, it seems. My biggest fear is unboxing one to find it in a bad condition, I think my heart would break. 😥 It's absolutely amazing that it's possible to send these beautiful creatures to people all over the world, though I definitely worry, because there's so much that can go wrong, even with everything set up perfectly. It's that unknown time during shipping that worries me, because you never know what happens to the box behind the scenes. But ultimately, I do support shipping done right and carefully, like you do!
I had a columbian rainbow boa mailed to me, a young male- doorbell rang, the FUCKING DELIVERY GUY WAS STANDING THERE SPINNING THE BOX IN ALL WAYS. Needless to say I screamed at him "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING THERE'S AN ANIMAL IN THERE!!!!" He tried to say he didn't know and I pointed at, you know- the stickers on it saying live animal, this side up and such. It was ages ago so I don't think it had to have a specific reptile label then. Or maybe it was supposed and the breeder didn't do that- but it did say animal, handle with care and such. I've never came so close to decking someone's bridge of the nose who hadn't hit me first. I told the breeder what happened, and the poor boy was dead inside of a week. He had seemed fine until he wasn't alive anymore. If I hadn't have seen that I would have thought the breeder did something wrong on his end.
Fun idea! In the boxing instructions you can link a video or just have something showing a video of you or someone else properly packaging an animal, so they can see if theirs looks right.
New requirement for shipping animals: zoom calls. The animal must be well enough to answer the zoom call and say hello. If the animal cannot answer the call with its own claws, tail, etc, the animal cannot be shipped. I’m joking in case you couldn’t tell.
I was lucky enough to be able to watch the little leopard gecko that I sent in, be unboxed. I saw him go up on the site and saw him in at least one other video where you said he'd been sold. I didn't have to contact you for updates. :) Which, btw, communication was excellent! This video has just added one more reason for me to get my first reptile from you.
you should make a very detailed video about how you want the animals packaged and charge a packaging deposit before accepting an animal then return that deposit if the animal is packaged properly on arrival.
Have you ever done a video of proper packaging? Like a step by step for dummies 🤷♀️ love your video's and how honest and the info you give is spot on.
Very interesting overview. I have only shipped about 20 animals so far but I am always super nervous. It upsets me if the person that receives the animal doesn't update me for quite a while after receiving because I really do care about the animals.
Almost nobody sends us updates on animals they purchased, which I don't mind but I'll occasionally ask a bunch of customers on how things are going and it's always good. For the most part people just don't think to update the seller even though things are going smoothly. but it'll never be perfect
people who send us animals get video tutorials sent to them beforehand along with a checklist and step by step written instructions. not sure how some still mess up so bad
I shipped my beardie cross-country because I moved. Easily the most stressful 15 hours of my life with her, but the person who packed her for me thankfully followed all directions and I followed up with proof of pics and checked the weather constantly leading up to ship day... This was in July of last year and if the situation wasn’t so crappy I don’t think I would have done it just because at the time I was terrified of what could happen - the flukes that you mentioned for instance! She is still with me and living a happy life (cuddling by my neck rn lol). If anyone is considering shipping, just quadruple-check everything. And make sure their tummies are empty. One piece of advice I found that helped me be at ease is that burrowing them in the dark, they’ll likely be asleep the whole trip.
I used to work as a package handler at UPS and honestly with the belt & how roughly people handle boxes/bags that hold the boxes, I’m surprised there’s not more shipping problems. These losses make me sad but I’m glad it’s only 1/100 for your outgoing!
I had my uromastyx shipped to me from his breeder when he was a baby like 5 years ago. We used a reptile shipping service (not sure If there is one in the USA but it is fantastic so happy we have it in Canada). The breeder shipped him in the early morning and I got him in the afternoon of the same day. I was really concerned about shipping a live animal but it went so well! Would definitely do it again.
9:55 lol the USPS. Yep. Thought about going cheap to move my things cross country by post office. That included artwork and sculptures I created throughout the years. Mailman came and already I noticed the boxes were beat to shit and.... broken sculptures. I was even using half my clothes as cushioning. NEVER use the USPS for anything remotely delicate.
You know when I sent an animal abt a year ago, I thought about inquiring but I didn't want to be a bother as I already thought I was annoying sending several emails before shipping it and it wasn't mine (forced on me) so I was just happy it went to a good place.
I got my first snake (baby corn) shipped from BHB Reptiles ( Brian Barczyk ). It died the night it arrived, maybe 6 hours after delivery? It seemed alright at first, I put the little plastic shipping dish in the tank and let it come out on its own, didn't mess with it or anything. And then we (my family and I) started to notice a growing black spot on its stomach? At some point it had pieces of the substrate (aspen) in its mouth. When it died the black splotch was huge. My family and I's theory is that it was fed before shipping, and regurgitated out of stress and choked? We contacted them, and they sent me another baby corn for free, plus a hat. I remember frantically googling and asking questions on as many reptile forums as I could, some nice people tried to help online, but, it was too late by morning. Nobody knew what happened 😔 New snake's happy and healthy, he's 4ish years old now.
i work at fedex and to be honest its terrible. When i see a box that even says live animal i try my best to put it in a secure spot. But sometimes, i would confirm with a manager and they would even say just throw it in.
Shipping animals is 100% a necessity for this hobby to survive and there needs to be a better way to go about getting it done in the long run. It would require a lot of funding but a dedicated service for transporting and shipping animals would be fantastic in some way.
more positive videos on the way shortly... until then, do you have any stories of animals being shipped to or from you? speaking of, I've reopened the intake kits, so if you're looking to rehome you can get in line at emeraldscales.com/rehome
Hey I have a leopard gecko I might rehome
I don’t really wanna take the risk
And I love my beardie
I have shipped leopard geckos, snakes and fish (to me and from me) and so far everything went well. But in Germany we cannot ship via normal package couriers. We have to pay a lot more for special animal shipment. so the conditions are a little different.
We were having an ivory millipede shipped to us awhile ago and they were shipped in a smaller box that clearly said "LIVE ANIMAL". The guy delivering the pet was... spinning the box as if it was a basketball. My girlfriend told them in that box was a live animal and that it really shouldn't be spun and thrown around lol. They apologized but continued to...play with it until they came to the door. :/ Luckily, our millipede is okay and happy to today! But I'm sure that kind of stress would've done some damage to a small gecko/snake.
As an Ex-Fed contractor, I'll tell you, sometimes packages fall from a high shelf, sometimes Heavy stuff falls onto them or slides into them and sometimes the package handlers or delivery drivers are just absent-mindedly tossing & flipping the package. Last year had such high package volume that these things occur more often because of overloaded trucks and strict schedules. I'm honestly horrified that there isn't a national pet delivery service.
There should be Pet delivery service!!!!! People would use it so much
Looks like I gotta make one
When my gecko was delivered I saw the delivery driver jump off the back of the truck while holding my box under his arm. I was pissed. I let him know the animal was in there and opened tha package immediately. She was fine, thank God, but could have died.
@@beafraid2951 shut up beaf
@@nilankumarage9589 lmfaoo really
R u a child?
Having flashbacks to that time Emily (Snake Discovery) had a delivery driver spinning a box he was about to deliver.
I saw this and thought the exact same thing. I remember she saw the delivery guy spinning the box by the corners on his fingers 🥺
Literally what I was thinking about!
@@hebebebe139 oh it was horrifying. I had a pit in my stomach that whole video.
Link?
@@ItMeSinamenRoll please
On a happier note: when I got my gargoyle gecko shipped to me the fed ex guy knocked on the door because he didn't want to leave a live animal outside ♥️
Mine left my crested gecko outside while it was raining
@@chrisallison6974 wow that sucks
@@irisnora1525 luckily i was home and i heard them walk up tho
@@chrisallison6974 oh good. Still i wish people cared more about the animals :/
Thanks there are good people out there too.
I've heard a LOT of horror stories of packages with live animals being literally spun or thrown by the delivery person, so I wouldn't be so quick to rule it out.
I remember when Snake Discovery was being shipped a Grey Banded Kingsnake, the delivery guy was spinning the box by the corners. When they ran out to stop him because there was an animal in there, he just went “oh, what kind”. Like bruh
@@zrc1514 I remember that video 😒 dude sounded like he honestly didn't care. They were pretty upset too
@@jessierodriguez8533 Can I have a link to the video?
That happened with my ball python. He was spun then dropped (from a few feet) onto our porch, and left IN THE SUN, *IN SUMMER,* without ringing the bell or knocking. We only knew he arrived because we had a Ring doorbell.
Happened a couple days ago to me wtf is wrong with these fuckers
Lep Gecko 1: "Dude, I swear, I was in my cage, then all of a sudden, everything went black"
Lep Gecko 2: "Uh, sure, whatever you say"
Lep Gecko 1: "No, really. I could hear muffled voices and couldn't move"
Lep Gecko 2: "Alien abduction, right?
Lep Gecko 1: "YES! I was on several space ships for hours and ended up here"
Lep Gecko 2: "Look. Just stay on your side of the cage and don't talk to me anymore"
I work at FedEx and the tl;dr I have to give is: the facilities are not safe for animals. It’s loud, it’s stressful, boxes get mishandled and abused on the belts all the time, and I feel legitimate terror thinking about the possibility of there being an animal somewhere in one of these boxes.
this ! :( i work here and every time i see a ‘live animal’ package i panick. i’m always gentle w them but drivers are getting wayyy too much volume lately and barely fitting everything in their trucks so i always feel like they’ll inevitably get accidentally squished under all the big stuff
GoHerping: Exposing the shadow side of the reptile world.
plenty more where this came from
@@GoHerping I'd like to see more
@Isabella Steller nice
Jokes aside this is a bigger issue than I thought. I'm pretty glad Alex made this video.
@@GoHerping oh god
I’ve adopted all my animals from shelters. And picked all of them up myself. Even driving 9 hours to pick up a leopard gecko. The reason: the first three reptiles I tried to own (all from different sellers: a ball Python, leopard gecko, and bearded dragon.) died during shipping. I was handed each box by the deliverer within 24 hours of them being shipped... and each box I opened had a dead animal. It broke my heart. I’m so glad that you keep records of when and why these things happen.
Then on the other hand I've ordered dozens of animals and never had a DOA
@@davidlindquist1499 good for you. I’m glad you’ve never had to deal with it.
Aww that sucks, sorry you've had to go through that. However, its glad your grabbing those from shelters and giving them homes!
@@JustElleYapping yeah. I’ve always rescued senior dogs so that they can spend their last days happy and healthy... I figured, why not do that with the reptiles to. 🙂
@@poppiesandredwoods thats amazing ;-; I dunno why but when people say they rescue senior animals so they have a good end of their life it makes me wanna cry
the way stan hasn't moved since last video >
he literally hasn't
Last videos "is this bearded dragon setup cruel?"
Obviously no because anything you put in there Stan will ignore or try to fight 😂 he doesn't even use the enclosure as it is now! Lol
@@beafraid2951 shut up beaf
@@nilankumarage9589 what kind of deranged stalker are you lmao
@@ladyvoldything shut up voldy
All these comments are really putting into perspective how scary it can be sometimes to ship reptiles. a month ago I got a beautiful baby bearded dragon shipped to me and I was scared he would die during shipping, he arrived perfectly safe thankfully. we really need a shipping service strictly for shipping live animals or fragile things like plants and whatnot.
Thank you for being the voice that brings up hard topics that add to the conversation.
wait what it says it was uploaded 10 minutes ago but ur comment 17 hours ago
@@moooncellular Patreon
@@moooncellular patreon early access
@@moooncellular patreon gets early access
I read this so poorly I thought you were complimenting his voice
I was going to take in a ball python from someone that was moving. I asked for photos if the animals, and the guy gave excuse after excuse as to why he couldn't send photos of the snake. Then he totally ghosted me after I asked how it was being cared for. I had a feeling this person wasn't caring for the animal properly 😔
if they had the animal at all - might have been a scam
@@TealVT or dead
Maybe that guy even don't have a snake.
I have a horror story for you, and the error isn’t one of the ones you mentioned.
Girlfriend had a red knee tarantula, and needed to move from where she lived to where I am. She went to a local exotic pet specialty store and got all the things to ship her spider with their advice, and went to FedEx and paid for priority overnight shipping.
FedEx straight up left her spider at the processing facility FOR A WEEK, and said that they couldn’t do anything because there was a backlog due to covid. She phoned them every day to try and get it specially expedited, no dice.
Then there was about a month of incidence escalation to get her money back.
Im guessing it didn't survive....? Thats just ridiculous though, ok a backlog i get it but PRIORITIZE LIVE FUCKING ANIMALS JESUS
@@Kitty_Sakura
This!
I was almost wanting to ask why she didn't put that spider in a transport box and took it with her but living in Germany I always forget about how big the US (I assume due to FedEx being mentioned) is...
Therefore my first reaction was why the shoebox sized transport box didn't fit in the moving truck/ car or why she didn't take it onto the train or something... But yea... I guess it's not viable to take such a box on board a plane as one can do with small dogs in one of these special bags/baskets...
@@annasstorybox7906 Close, Canada, which is actually significantly larger than the US, haha.
She actually packaged the spider in such a way that she could take it with her on the plane, after calling the airline and asking if that was possible. Then the agents or whoever take in baggage refused, so she had to make the decision to ship the spider priority postage. The spider was packed with heat packs in such a way that it should've been able to survive shipping since the store helped her plan for possible contingencies.
I think video tutorials on how to package correctly would be a good addition to the website just for those people who do better with a visual demonstration
people get sent video tutorials when sending animals in, they're just not posted on the site
@@GoHerping why don't you post a youtube vid about the topic? I would def be interested!
I know I've seen him explain it a few times if you look through his unboxing videos, I learned a lot watching those
on hot pack mistakes, as Kamp Kenan says; "heat will kill a reptile faster than the cold".
Lol he proved that when his monitor froze
@@darkbowranger96 :') slinky bby
All his animals are sick or dying 🤣🤣🤣
@@kingdre7492 he just has a lot of animals, and they're all ones who were brought to him. The ones getting sick have mostly all been old or very recently acquired, Slinky being the acception, and that was a major bad luck fluke.
It always breaks my heart how poorly people care for their animals.
Its even worse when I try to educate them (I work at a pet store) and they actually tell me that they don't care or that they're "willing to take the risk" on improper care :(
I hate that!! I work at a local pet store and when I try to teach people how small animals need to properly be cared for it drives me MAD that they choose ignorance. Especially with hamsters :(
@@kirbyprincess7125 a lady at my job today wanted to put 2 gerbils in the smallest hamster cage we sell :(
She told me she rescues animals all the time but I honestly dont believe that if she thinks gerbils can go in something that small :(
This is why i'll never work at a pet store.
Don't stop telling them .❤️👍
@@RedQueenKae I hope you can refuse sale in those situations .
I had someone at home watching for my leo to arrive and she sees the delivery truck stop outside my house and leave a white box with red lettering on our neighbor's porch and drive away. She gets up and goes over to check and sure enough, the driver left my leo at the wrong house.
That makes me so mad! What if the person opened it, was scared of reptiles (very common) and dropped it or something? Geez
@@beafraid2951 i would probably be scared because i am scared of animals but still love them
@@beafraid2951 shut up beaf
I had the fedex guy spinning the box around as he walked up to give me the package (I was doing yard work). It very obviously said "live animal" on it..
@@nilankumarage9589 daddy chill
It’s a shame not even mail carriers/delivery services care about how they treat animals
They just yeet the box like it’s nothing. And that’s quite sad. Why would you want a precious creature to experience that?
Postal workers are extremely underpaid, overworked, and overpressured to make deliveries quick. It's basically the "it's not like we have a gun to their heads" argument from the management side, all the while the management keeps telling employees that if they don't make their routes under an estimated time they'll be "scrutinised" (read: shortly afterwards unemployed). For the postal workers, it's not about what's in the boxes, it's about running 30sec late to an apartment block and having to make that time up any means necessary or they won't feed their kids.
We need more humanity in our workspace to be more humane.
USPS doesn’t ship reptiles. So your mail carrier isn’t doing that.
@@addercat others do, though. USPS isn't the only mail carrier that exists...
@@Velcraft As if that's a fucking excuse
@@Velcraft so what powers do customers have to bring more humanity to the delivery workplace?
Snake discovery managed to catch their delivery person spinning and tossing the box around that held geckos and a snake (I think). It was labeled all over that it was a live animal. They ran out and yelled at him and his response was to catch it after tossing it and asking “really? What kind?” No remorse.
It chills me to think what the poor critters go through in the mail system.....
That would be a good video! Put a hidden camera in one of the boxes peaking out and see what happens. Possibly ship like 10 camera packages all over the US to see.
lol that'd be interesting. I think most of the video would just be pitch black in a truck or plane. But you'd have to disclose the camera since it has a lithium ion battery
There's a reason the later seasons of Mythbusters used those stickers to check to see if Buster "died" from an impact. Way too many people in the shipping industry just don't care. Depending on how expensive they are, maybe one could go in each box shipped from Emerald Scales? I wonder if the animals that died for no reason were subjected to a drop or something.
oh god seriously?! that's terrible :( it's one thing to be careless about merchandise, but it's a whole 'nother monstrous ability to be careless about live animals
@@TheJunky228 I think its also the fact that these parcel carriers are severely underpaid and have extremely tight schedules, it just adds to the problem.
Was that in a video? Do you have a link?
The unexplained deaths could be attributed to something about the animal (maybe it had a very low stress tolerance despite being healthy?)
Yes, or maybe it just wasn't bred properly or had some kind of genetic fluke that caused it to suddenly pass. I think the Leopard gecko he described "just sleeping" probably died of heart failure. That could've been because the gecko reached the end of its possible lifespan. Couldve been stress related. We will never know
Besides stress, lots of shipping company’s will have people that throw and flip the box while shipping them, or stuff dropping on them.
@@user-dm5pv6fm8g well when the box is in perfect condition that’s different
@@CheshieD just spinning or even dropping a box may not damage the box. you can't tell
Seems like it's pretty safe to ship reptiles if you aren't an idiot and didn't torture your reptile for months prior to the shipping lol
basically
That video clip of the thin BP breaks my heart... I can't imagine letting an animal get that bad, and then thinking they're strong enough to handle being shipped.. People can be so careless, it's shameful. And the dishonesty in not sending up-to-date / correct pictures, unbelievable..
I think that python is still alive, at least, it survived shipping and a little more. It is super sad, not denying that, but I think he had an okay go at the rescue.
@@FluffyPancakes36 Definitely that's a possibility, but he has documented before ball pythons in that shape or worse, and unfortunately they don't make it, because the previous owner was just focused on getting rid of the animal without thinking of "will this animal even survive the trip?" And again, Alex stated he has had DOAs before..or survived for maybe an hour or two but died very quickly. That skinny snake is just a visual example of how some animals arrive. Some may improve and that's great, but a lot that get shipped in that condition don't make it. It may not be the majority that get shipped like that in the first place, but the fact remains, it does happen, and animals do die as a result.
I love how transparent you are with everything and it’s refreshing to have an honest pet channel that shows cons with the pros of even the dark side
It's much appreciated that you covered a difficult topic that a lot of people don't discuss, and very many people don't even think about the shipping aspect of the reptile industry. Progressive content, thank you.
thanks!
I'll never order an animal online, my post man just throws my post down my stairs at my front door any way. My feeder insects barely make it, let alone a reptile.
I've seen delivery drivers throw packages over 5 feet fences. Hopefully nothing fragile in those. It really depends on how much they care :/
in the uk you can only ship reptiles with a certified animal courier, not through any regular postal servicce and i think that's how it should be anywhere, even with a small percentage of fatalities it's not worth the risk, like some animals will still die, and i have a hard time justifying that
I disagree with more regulations in general, especially because fedex's track record is too good to deny and experienced sellers know what they're doing. A certified shipper wouldn't make a difference with a sick animal that can't survive the trip anyways
@@GoHerping I totally agree with it not making a difference for a sick animal - it sounds like your shipping services are much more reliable in the states, fedex and ups are notorious over here for missing packages, delays etc. and admittedly it's more viable for us to use specialists as the distances are much shorter and so it doesn't rack up hundreds in fees. It sucks that people don't follow your instructions, I know it's not your fault as a seller when that happens - we rehab-rehome too and have had a few instances of animals passing in their new homes due to them not following advice, espeically as we have rehomed some special needs animals to people wo have talked the talk very well and ended up being complete idiots, it's all a learning experience as a seller though and it's just a hard part of the industry to come to terms with ig :)
I have an idea for you: how about charging people money as a sort of deposit. "Follow the instructions and we will return XY dollars back to you. If not, we'll keep it."
Actually a good idea it doesn't need to be an expensive deposit but at least like...25$-50$
This is a great idea. I think most of the time people will follow the instructions if it's about money!
This is an awesome idea. I hope he does that!
I think he talked about this in a recent video. If I remember correctly, it’s not a deposit but a straight payment. Correct me if I’m wrong!
@@stevejuggler it's not about what he's currently doing. my comment was a suggestion to keep people from not following the instructions correctly. Money usually motivates. So the payment for the intake kit PLUS an instruction deposit.
Dang 40-50 people on the blacklist? That’s crazy, I would love to hear stories lol
i was thinking of doing a worst customers episode lol. I'd like to do worst enclosure submissions but I gues that may be a copyright issues using their images
@@GoHerping that’s totally fair use though, I don’t think you could get copyright claimed just for using a pic someone sent to you or that you found from the internet. Just keep them anonymous and you should be good, that would be an incredible video!
Maintaining a blacklist is a great measure to be taking to help ensure the well-being of your animals. Well wishes. Love your honesty in these videos.
I ordered a box of 500 crickets and the vendor shipped through UPS. Big mistake cause when i got the crickets:
1. they were packed in a awful way, the vendor just threw a chunk of potato in the box loose among the egg cartons so a large portion of the crickets were a mashed mess when i opened the box. (The vendor was very defensive about it when i confronted then about it. Never ordering from them again.)
2. UPS had obviously handled the box very roughly, it was smashed on one end and there was a sizable hole torn on the side so even more of the crickets got out during shipping and i had only got like a quarter of the crickets i had ordered.
3. I made a formal complaint to UPS but their response was just "haha OPPS SORRY." and that's it.
If anyone ever ships any invertebrate/vertebrate, just dont ship UPS. Every time Ive gotten something from them it's been smashed and just tossed at my front door. I always make sure FedEx is used now when ever i order feeder insects since my overall experience with their service in my area is very good.
UPS literally doesn’t give a shit. I spent over $1000 on an armored off road bumper for my truck and it was being shipped through UPS. It took a month longer than it was supposed to to arrive (which I kind of understand because it’s a huge item to ship) and then when it got here and I opened it it was bent nearly in half. They managed to damage a steel bumper in shipping, it doesn’t surprise me that they end up killing animals
Yea crap service is what you get from people who don't actually need to worry about their customers not buying anymore
It depends really- fed ex where I live is horrible but USPS has never given me any issues.
Now that I have watched the whole video I have 1 thing to say. Thank you for presenting this subject in a compassionate well-presented manner.
You can ask people to send a picture with that day's newspaper with the date visible (or something with the date) - you know, like what kidnappers do....
@imunderpressure uggjhg Do you not get newspaper for free in your mail?? I do, every week!
@imunderpressure uggjhg okay, cool
@@skateboard4375 in Australia you have to buy the newspaper from the newsagency
@@cassiescritters1 damn, that sucks
@imunderpressure uggjhg You can ask them to show an online article and its date with the animal. News articles typically put down publishing dates
I don't know about shipping services in the US, here are some things noticed when visiting a center of a shipping service in Germany where packets are sorted: The first thing is that the air conditioning in the building was broken when I was there, so the temperature was really really high all the time. (So the temperature along the way doesn't only depend on the weather). At some point in the sorting process they use slides to sort the packages, leading the packages to accelerate and bump into each other. In addition, I don't think the people working there are reading what's written on every package, they just have to put them from one spot to another the whole day. As far as I know this shipping service doesn't allow live animals to be shipped. Maybe other shipping services are different, I don't know.
most shipping services in the US take live animals. but the way we package them is far from inconspicuous. standard packaging is a white box with giant red lettering saying live animal, on all sides. its so very obvious compared to other packages theyd have to be very dumb or just not care to mishandle it. most of the time they will get sorted by hand specifically to avoid killing the animal (depending on service and shipping locations. and employees of course), and usually this is just done because having your brand being responsible for the death of a very expensive, or rare/endangered animal is bad optics.
in Germany we have special pet delivery services. they also call you most likely the day before and give you a time when they arrive.
I had a good experience when I received my leo. FedEx did just set the box on my porch and not ring the doorbell, which was annoying, but I was home so I noticed right away
I can just imagine the pain that owner felt shipping there baby away, giving them hat one last bath, feeding them one last time, loving them one last time before they send them away.. that one last little look they get from them.. it breaks my heart 😭❤
I thought it was illegal for the longest time here in Germany, apparently it isn't, but literally nobody ships their reptiles here.
I've browsed multiple sites and it was always "pick up only". Germany is a small country, only the size of a US state, maybe that why and I don't know nor have I heard of international live shipping, but I'd rather not.
I think it’s also because of how expensive private shipping companies are here, when you ship life animals. And Deutsche Post is too slow obviously...
I live in Germany and got my Reptile shiped from a german Company. So there is shiping over here ;)
We have animal shipping. there are a whole lot of company's who will ship live animals. There's also a very known reptile shop (MS Reptilien) who ships animals. they make an appointment for shipping with you.
and I would say a lot ship their reptiles in Germany. You can even ship reptiles from the UK or the Netherlands to Germany.
Can’t even imagine this. I have had NIGHTMARES about unintentionally neglecting animals. I would never. Shameful
Omg you get those nightmares too! I have those a lot. Where I somehow have pets I forgot about or something. It's awful.
I was wondering if anyone else got those nightmares
Oof i have those too!!! Like ill suddenly find a snake or rodent or something i forgot i had
I used to have those nightmares! We kept our gerbils in the basement, really nice setup, but I would have nightmares where I didn't go down to take care of them and forgot about them... 😭
@@careybowden4864 mine would be i'd have like a random room in my house i forgot existed for a long time and i'd open it to find a bunch of neglected animals.... or i'd find like small carrying cages or tanks under my bed or somewhere in my room.... tarrifying
I have to say, it made me so extremely happy to hear that it’s even welcomed or allowed to ask for updates about animals sent in. I have wanted to ask since but I didn’t think it was allowed!
I Order a Baby Bearded Dragon, I got the box then smelled something bad, I didn’t think of her being dead, I opened it, I touched her she didn’t move and I knew she was dead, I Cried For a Whole Hour.
Where did you order from?
:/
@@Gingerblossom6969ily A Reptile Store My Friend Told Me to Order From, Thats where she got her reptiles.
My heart hurts just thinking about it, I'm so sorry. Getting excited for a new family member only to be met with tragedy is one of my worst nightmares.
@@penguinstarlette4028 I know, poor baby...
Used to work at a parcel sorting warehouse, 99% of my co-workers did not care at all if the boxes had fragile stickers or a 'this way up' sign, no matter the weight, any and all were thrown, including electronics, so we had plenty of PCs bouncing. Heavy large boxes are put on top of small ones. A big mess. The supervisors didn't care, they did the same. I've pretty much stopped shopping online because I know how my items are treated now. Your items can be repackaged a lot since the box gets damaged so much and you won't even know, or your item gets damaged and a new one has to get shipped out to you, again without your knowledge.
You gotta picture it from a reptile’s perspective
How would YOU feel if you were put in a squished box, shipped across the country, and then flung from the truck? A creature getting shipped is the most stressful thing a pet can experience
I'd hate to be put in a box and shipped across the country
Sounds an awful lot like my ride to prison, except that only took maybe 3 or 4 hours that felt like days.
You're super brave to admit mistakes, much respect 💜
I just want to let you know that your constant transparency and honesty is greatly appreciated and at this point, you are about the only pet youtuber that I actually trust.
thanks!
I'm actually impressed that you covered this topic. Your videos are informative as always, keep up the good work dude.
The situation you’re in reminds me so so much of Saskia’s guinea pig rescue, she’s always getting dozens of drop offs at her rescue even though her waitlist is constantly full. People just don’t seem to care or want to be responsible about these animals, it’s insane.
LAGPR is the best!
For every species you ship out you should record a specific "how to pack a leopard gecko" or "how to pack a bearded dragon" video tutorial you can send to people that apparently can't read
I feel like if a person doesn’t care to read instructions, then they won’t care to watch the video eitherp
They get sent a video to their email. Clearly some people don’t watch that either.
@@oliveb5768 with that logic you could say they wouldn't care to ship the animal at all. Video entertainment is popular literally because its easier to consume than written
@@puddlebarf the key word there is "entertainment". entertaining videos are fun and amusing to watch. a video instruction on how to pack a box is not entertaining, fun, or amusing. people who dont give a shit abt written instructions will most likely not give a shit abt video instructions. both routes of education still requires the person to be careful of how they pack the reptile, and,,, well, if they just dont care, then they just wont be careful.
edit: goherping himself said that people get sent a video guide already, so. ig that solves that argument.
It's not about not reading, it's about not caring
Did anyone else cuddle their reptile pet after watching this? 😭 I love my ball python so much, I would be heartbroken if he died in any of these ways.
Watching this with my crested gecko, he’s trying to climb in my shirt pocket (where he’d sit when he was younger) but he doesn’t fit anymore 😂
@@sarahsmith3771 I think you might need to get shirts with bigger pockets :D
Thank you. It’s incredible how you take responsibility for your mistakes; it doesn’t happen anywhere near as often as it should. I’d never thought much about the pet industry before, but Petco has officially lost what little business I gave it.
When I got my ball python the FedEx guy just threw the box over the rail on my porch and he landed upside down :/
😖
Is he o,?
@Del Fuego lol? wtf is wrong with you?
Thanks so much for covering this its super helpful to know more about shipping. And what happens to reptile during shipping. I love your videos and you do a great job with your reptiles.
im suprised not more people are checking in on their past pets that they have sent to you :(
Just a thought, maybe the confusing deaths resulted due to the box being in front of a blasting A/C or heat vent?
Ah-ha. Possibly 🤔
Very possible.
I love how you tackle the unsavory topics of reptile husbandry as well as the fun ones. I'm proud of you, Alex.. :) I personally have had 3 reptiles shipped to me, 2 in one box and 1 in another, and all three were perfect on arrival. It makes me sad how many people don't care about their pets and follow up on their well being with their new homes.
connecting shipping center temps are often over looked. look at that and see if that explains any of the flukes.
Oh no. Just the imagery of what happens when a deceased animal gets bloated and surpasses it's skin is horrifying.
It's awful, but they're usually in a bag or deli cup. That helps a little. I can't imagine how it must feel to throw away what you thought was going to be a happy animal.
I got my baby anoconda shipped to me, and when it arrived there was no heat pack, the box was 4 times bigger than the snake, the snake was in a pillow case! And newspaper was used as insulation! It took 48 hours for it to get to me. Luckily my snake made it but she was very sluggish and so dehydrated.
That's outrageous. I would have been so mad at the seller, thank God they are okay though! How big are they so far?
@@cicadacrimes6366 well I got her when she was 3 days old and she was already 70cm then, she's now about 4 months old and about 1.5m long.
70cm=27 inches, 1.5m=59 inches
@@micaelaerin I’m glad she at least made it okay. Is she a yellow or green?
I appreciate you taking responsibility for making a mistake...it's so important to role model this...and you learned and got better. Thanks for helping unwanted pets heal and find new homes!
Kidnapers used to send "Proof of Life" a picture with today's newspaper.
Newspapers are still being printed even a weekly newspaper would work. So ask for them to take a picture with a newspaper printed less than 5 days of the picture.
It's not foolproof because people are just awful, but it could help.
We do but people can just use another pet, it's improved but won't be perfect
@@GoHerping People are awful, that is the problem.
In the UK the only animals that you can send through the post are invertebrates and aquatic creatures. Anything else - reptiles, poultry, etc - can only be delivered by a licensed animal courier. And yes, it is expensive. Which prevents people from just grabbing themselves a fun new pet online like you'd pick up a video game. The UK has a lot of problems as a country but I'm very thankful that we got this one thing right at least.
People are stupid. Snake Discovery had a ups/fedex driver read the box, ask something to the about what kind of live animal it was, and start spinning it around between his fingers, right in front of them. Fortunately their animal was fine, but people are so dumb sometimes, I wouldn't be surprised if that kind of stuff happened often within the fedex/ups facilities and trucks.
Thanks for making this, I think this is a really important video to exist.
I spent $70 for overnight shipping with the USPS, it was delayed by 4 days. I was so upset
As a ups preloader, sometimes box labels get overlooked and boxes get thrown around and slid around a bit. Especially during peak season. Idk if fed ex is the same but stuff happens and many of the workers are seasonal and work very early in the morning.
Hey go herping! I know I've made this comment before but I just love your videos lmao. Like I've said before u have gotten me in the reptile keeping hobbie. I've gotten atleast 6 animals people rehomed to me. Now no I do not have a website but ppm still rehome to me and I've learned alot about shipping details and things I need to keep the animals alive I'm shipping I've gotten about 20 animals all together throughout the year and I've had about 2 deaths, 2 bearded dragons. I was very very said when I got them
Even though an animal seems perfectly healthy it is hard to tell if there are underlying health conditions. If they have a minor heart problem or something like that the stress may be enough to cause a heart attack. I know this won't make you feel any better about a death of an animal and for sure the number of animals you take out of bad situations and put into loving homes completely outweighs the few that don't make it. You do good work Alex, thank you for everything you do.
You’re like two years younger than me but I look up to you so much! You’re doing amazing work and you really inspire me with my pet care journey ^-^ Thanks for everything you do Alex!
Hey! Love your concern about reptiles. I also noticed your spirited away dolls. One of my favorite directors/writers ever! I went as no-face for the last two Halloweens. Going as dream from the sandman comics this year
That one lock of hair really do be like ~~
yeahhhh i couldn't unsee it after filming
I love it 🤪😂
My toddler has a price of hair that does that! 🤣 it bugs me so bad.
I love your honesty with everything. Especially this video. Shows your maturity, responsibility and love for the animals.
One time i ordered a southern painted turtle off of a website with amazing reviews and everything (first time buying a turtle). I did all my research about the animal, size, tank requirements, filtration, basking dock, heating, lamps, food, etc. Not only did it take almost 4 days for the thing to arrive, but the ups guy frisbeed it onto our porch....i opened the box heat pack was good and warm, box wasnt really damaged, but the little guy had this like cardboard insulation type stuff all over/in his eyes. He tried getting it off so i carefully helped him out. He also had a really bad softshell but i read that hatchlings tend to have soft shells but not THAT soft. Immediately after placing him in his new enclosure. He looks Great in my eyes at first(remember first time owning a turtle) but after about a week he started to look horrible. They store had a 7 day death sickness policy but it was too late to call. I tried nursing him back to health and it seemed to work and slowly got better, but eventually died... after about a month i decided to try again but this time get another species. Everything went MUCH smoother this time and now i have a happy healthy strong-shelled turtle. Didn’t change anything to the enclosure, diet, everything. Guess i was unlucky my first time around.
Reminds me of the time my sister rescued a pair of young sulcata tortoise from a clearly ignorant friend... one was healthy as a ox the other sadly had a shell deficiency that we didn’t catch until it was to late... had Lucy for almost a month before she showed signs of being sick.
The packages should have a giant printed photo of a lizard with a speech bubble that says...."I am alive, please handle me gently, do not drop"
*If photo is sideways or upsidedown, animal is also, please keep upright*
A delivery driver might pay more attention if he could see a big photo of a cute gecko smile on the package...?
Completely off topic but I feel like the avocado Image kinda clashes with the general style of your interior
Lol I kept looking at it XD
This is so relevant for me. I had a dart frog die on the way from a great source, and by fluke chance, it had passed when I received it.
Thank you for your transparency and raw data on the business aspect as well. I'm learning a lot about standards to follow in this market and where it's lacking.
From Ontario Canada 🍁
I shipped a ball python in canada once, sent it to a friend with a gopro just incase. Let me tell you UPS got a BIG lawsuit and paid me to settle.. They fucking tossed this box with a shit load of labels like a FRISSBEE. and they taped OVER the breathing holes. fucking insane. snake actually lived though.
Oh my god! I know shipping services can be rough but THROWING A LIVE ANIMAL??
Though I've never ordered any reptiles, I've ordered many arachnids (the only way unfortunately, you can't legally sell them in my state) and luckily they have all been packaged really nicely and all arrived healthy. The only exception is my emperor scorpion, who came in cold and lethargic covered in cold substrate (possible heat pad fluke?), but is thankfully now very healthy! Their packaging is really similar to reptiles, it seems.
My biggest fear is unboxing one to find it in a bad condition, I think my heart would break. 😥 It's absolutely amazing that it's possible to send these beautiful creatures to people all over the world, though I definitely worry, because there's so much that can go wrong, even with everything set up perfectly. It's that unknown time during shipping that worries me, because you never know what happens to the box behind the scenes. But ultimately, I do support shipping done right and carefully, like you do!
I had a columbian rainbow boa mailed to me, a young male- doorbell rang, the FUCKING DELIVERY GUY WAS STANDING THERE SPINNING THE BOX IN ALL WAYS.
Needless to say I screamed at him "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING THERE'S AN ANIMAL IN THERE!!!!"
He tried to say he didn't know and I pointed at, you know- the stickers on it saying live animal, this side up and such. It was ages ago so I don't think it had to have a specific reptile label then. Or maybe it was supposed and the breeder didn't do that- but it did say animal, handle with care and such.
I've never came so close to decking someone's bridge of the nose who hadn't hit me first. I told the breeder what happened, and the poor boy was dead inside of a week. He had seemed fine until he wasn't alive anymore. If I hadn't have seen that I would have thought the breeder did something wrong on his end.
Fun idea! In the boxing instructions you can link a video or just have something showing a video of you or someone else properly packaging an animal, so they can see if theirs looks right.
New requirement for shipping animals: zoom calls. The animal must be well enough to answer the zoom call and say hello. If the animal cannot answer the call with its own claws, tail, etc, the animal cannot be shipped.
I’m joking in case you couldn’t tell.
I was lucky enough to be able to watch the little leopard gecko that I sent in, be unboxed. I saw him go up on the site and saw him in at least one other video where you said he'd been sold. I didn't have to contact you for updates. :)
Which, btw, communication was excellent! This video has just added one more reason for me to get my first reptile from you.
you should make a very detailed video about how you want the animals packaged and charge a packaging deposit before accepting an animal then return that deposit if the animal is packaged properly on arrival.
Have you ever done a video of proper packaging? Like a step by step for dummies 🤷♀️ love your video's and how honest and the info you give is spot on.
Very interesting overview. I have only shipped about 20 animals so far but I am always super nervous. It upsets me if the person that receives the animal doesn't update me for quite a while after receiving because I really do care about the animals.
Almost nobody sends us updates on animals they purchased, which I don't mind but I'll occasionally ask a bunch of customers on how things are going and it's always good. For the most part people just don't think to update the seller even though things are going smoothly. but it'll never be perfect
@@GoHerping Yeah, I understand it can be exciting getting them in but I'm like that's my baby I hand fed can you please let me know he's ok 🙃
Very important conversation to have, so sorry to hear abt all these hard deaths
I think making a video of how to use the intake kits would help some people. So with your message you could put a link in it and it’s idiot proof
people who send us animals get video tutorials sent to them beforehand along with a checklist and step by step written instructions. not sure how some still mess up so bad
@@GoHerping there are no limits to human error
This video was informative (as always). Thanks for being willing to make it.
1:37
And people wonder why the virus won’t go away…
I shipped my beardie cross-country because I moved. Easily the most stressful 15 hours of my life with her, but the person who packed her for me thankfully followed all directions and I followed up with proof of pics and checked the weather constantly leading up to ship day... This was in July of last year and if the situation wasn’t so crappy I don’t think I would have done it just because at the time I was terrified of what could happen - the flukes that you mentioned for instance!
She is still with me and living a happy life (cuddling by my neck rn lol).
If anyone is considering shipping, just quadruple-check everything. And make sure their tummies are empty. One piece of advice I found that helped me be at ease is that burrowing them in the dark, they’ll likely be asleep the whole trip.
Stuff always happens, all you can do is learn from it. You saved way more animals that would have died otherwise.
I used to work as a package handler at UPS and honestly with the belt & how roughly people handle boxes/bags that hold the boxes, I’m surprised there’s not more shipping problems. These losses make me sad but I’m glad it’s only 1/100 for your outgoing!
It's dangerous to ship anything. In the past 2 weeks I've ordered 3 of the same tv and they've all came in broken.
ok im sorry this happened to you... but its kinda funny
I had my uromastyx shipped to me from his breeder when he was a baby like 5 years ago. We used a reptile shipping service (not sure If there is one in the USA but it is fantastic so happy we have it in Canada). The breeder shipped him in the early morning and I got him in the afternoon of the same day. I was really concerned about shipping a live animal but it went so well! Would definitely do it again.
Love your content, very blunt and informative
9:55 lol the USPS. Yep.
Thought about going cheap to move my things cross country by post office. That included artwork and sculptures I created throughout the years. Mailman came and already I noticed the boxes were beat to shit and.... broken sculptures. I was even using half my clothes as cushioning.
NEVER use the USPS for anything remotely delicate.
You know when I sent an animal abt a year ago, I thought about inquiring but I didn't want to be a bother as I already thought I was annoying sending several emails before shipping it and it wasn't mine (forced on me) so I was just happy it went to a good place.
I much prefer a lot of correspondence over none at all. I forgot to mention the people that ship without even telling me
@@GoHerping good to know if it ever happens again (hopefully not)!
I got my first snake (baby corn) shipped from BHB Reptiles ( Brian Barczyk ). It died the night it arrived, maybe 6 hours after delivery? It seemed alright at first, I put the little plastic shipping dish in the tank and let it come out on its own, didn't mess with it or anything. And then we (my family and I) started to notice a growing black spot on its stomach? At some point it had pieces of the substrate (aspen) in its mouth. When it died the black splotch was huge. My family and I's theory is that it was fed before shipping, and regurgitated out of stress and choked? We contacted them, and they sent me another baby corn for free, plus a hat.
I remember frantically googling and asking questions on as many reptile forums as I could, some nice people tried to help online, but, it was too late by morning. Nobody knew what happened 😔
New snake's happy and healthy, he's 4ish years old now.
Hello I've been watching you for 2 years love ur vids
i work at fedex and to be honest its terrible. When i see a box that even says live animal i try my best to put it in a secure spot. But sometimes, i would confirm with a manager and they would even say just throw it in.
18 comments, I’ve never caught a video this quickly, haha
Same lol
Please shut up, I promise you no one cares that you can click a UA-cam notification
Not really appropriate to brag about your tapping skills on a video like this.
@@slimyturtle4665 exactly, what kinda troglodyte comments “😃 I clicked a notification fast” on a video about dead animals
@@tonyflamingosucks6590 sometimes it’s nice to feel like your early to a content creators video who you love, even aside from the title and topic.
Shipping animals is 100% a necessity for this hobby to survive and there needs to be a better way to go about getting it done in the long run.
It would require a lot of funding but a dedicated service for transporting and shipping animals would be fantastic in some way.