Animal arrives deceased on the first delivery attempt
If the carrier records delivery and the animal is dead in its original, unaltered packaging, you are covered as long as the conditions below are met.
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The Promise
Live Arrival Guarantee
Every live invertebrate from Big Z's ships under a written Live Arrival Guarantee. If your animal arrives deceased and you meet the conditions on this page, we make it right: replacement or store credit, your choice within reason. This page is the full, binding version of that promise. Read it before you order, and again before you file a claim.
This page is part of our binding agreement with you. It is incorporated by reference into our Refund & Return Policy, Shipping Policy, and Terms of Service. Where this page conflicts with those policies, those policies control.
Carrier delay, weather event, or missed delivery attempt
We work with you in good faith on carrier delays we did not cause. If you waived a recommended weather hold, declined a heat or cold pack, or missed a delivery attempt, the guarantee does not apply.
Anything that happens after delivery
Death, escape, injury, illness, molting issues, or property damage that occur after the carrier marks the package delivered are not covered. You assume those risks when you receive the animal.
Section 1
Conditions of coverage
To be eligible for the Live Arrival Guarantee, all of the following must be true. These are not suggestions. We verify each one before we approve a claim.
- You selected an overnight or 2-day shipping option: the option we specified for your order, or one we authorized in writing before shipment. Ground service voids the guarantee on every live animal.
- Someone was available to receive the package on the first delivery attempt: or you selected "Hold for Pickup" at your local carrier facility and collected the package the same day it arrived. Packages left on porches, in mailboxes, or in vehicles are not covered.
- The shipping address you gave us was correct, complete, and deliverable. Reroutes, address corrections after dispatch, and packages returned to us as undeliverable void the guarantee, and the buyer pays reshipment.
- You did not refuse delivery. A refused live-animal package is treated as accepted-and-killed for the purposes of this guarantee.
- Outdoor temperatures along the route were within a safe range (roughly above 40 F / 4 C and below 95 F / 35 C at our origin, your destination, and the carrier hubs in between), or you accepted the heat pack or cold pack we recommended at checkout or before shipment.
- You complied with our pre-ship instructions. If we asked you to confirm a delivery date, hold for safer weather, or change anything about how the package would be received, you did so before we shipped.
- The SpecieZs you ordered is legal to own and import at your delivery address. Orders refused, seized, intercepted, or returned for legal reasons are not covered. See Terms of Service §4.
Section 2
How to file a DOA claim
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1
Within [claim_window_hours] hours of the carrier-recorded delivery time, email bigzshna@gmail.com. After 2 hours we cannot accept new claims, no exceptions, because we cannot verify cause of death past that window.
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2
Include your order number in the subject line.
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3
Attach a clear photo or video of the unopened package showing the shipping label and any visible damage. Take this before you open it.
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4
Attach a clear photo or video of the animal in its original, unaltered packaging: vial, deli cup, substrate, packing material exactly as shipped. Do not move the animal to another container. Do not feed it, water it, warm it, cool it, or handle it.
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5
Keep the animal and all packaging until the claim is resolved. Discarding the animal or the packaging before we close the claim ends it, regardless of the photos.
Section 3Remedy A Remedy B
What we will do
Replacement animal
Same SpecieZs, comparable size and condition, shipped on the next safe ship date. Weather holds still apply. If the same SpecieZs is not available within a reasonable window, we offer Remedy B.
Store credit for the price of the animal
Equal to the line-item price you paid for the animal. Credit is issued to your account email and never expires. Original and replacement shipping charges are not credited or refunded.
We choose the remedy at our discretion based on availability, season, and route safety. We generally do not issue cash refunds on live animals; if we do, it is solely at our discretion and covers the animal's price only, not shipping, packs, or any other charges. Our total liability under this guarantee is capped at the amount you paid for the animal that died, consistent with Terms of Service §12.
Section 4
What voids the guarantee
Any one of the following voids the Live Arrival Guarantee on the affected animal. We list them so there is no surprise on either side.
- Waiving a recommended weather hold after we flagged the route as unsafe.
- Declining a recommended heat pack or cold pack when we offered one.
- Selecting a slower service than the one we specified for live animals.
- Refusing the package at the door, at the carrier facility, or at pickup.
- Missing the first delivery attempt at a residential address without a Hold-for-Pickup arrangement.
- Letting the package sit outdoors, in a mailbox, in a vehicle, or in a non-climate-controlled space after delivery.
- Opening or altering the packaging before photographing it for a claim.
- Filing the claim more than [claim_window_hours] hours after delivery.
- Discarding the animal or packaging before the claim is resolved.
- An incorrect, incomplete, or undeliverable address, or an address change requested after the package shipped.
- Shipment to a jurisdiction where the SpecieZs is restricted, prohibited, or requires a permit you do not hold.
- Misrepresenting your age or your eligibility to keep the SpecieZs ordered.
Section 5
What this guarantee does not cover
Anything after delivery
Once the carrier marks the package delivered, the animal is in your care. Death, escape, injury, illness, premolt complications, refusal to eat, behavioral issues, allergic reactions, bites, stings, or property damage after that moment are not covered. See Terms of Service §5, Assumption of Risk.
SupplieZs, enclosures, and digital products
Non-living items follow the standard 30-day return policy in our Refund & Return Policy. Care guide PDFs and other digital downloads are non-refundable once delivered.
Cosmetic variation
Live invertebrates vary in size, color, marking, and developmental stage. The exact individual you receive may not match the listing photo. Cosmetic variation is not a qualifying condition.
Indirect or consequential damages
Lost time, missed events, veterinary bills, replacement of substrate or feeders, or any other indirect cost is not covered. Our liability is capped at the price of the animal; see Section 3.
Section 6
Weather, carrier delays, and good faith
We pack every order weather-aware. Before each live shipment we check the forecast at our Phoenix origin, your delivery address, and the carrier hubs in between. If temperatures along the route fall outside a safe band (roughly below 40 F / 4 C or above 95 F / 35 C) we hold your animal at no extra charge until conditions are safe, and we keep you informed by email.
If a carrier delays a shipment past its guaranteed window through no fault of yours, contact us within the 2-hour claim window with the photos described in Section 2 and we will work with you in good faith. Carrier delays caused by weather events, natural disasters, strikes, government action, or other circumstances beyond our control are addressed case by case; we are not liable for those delays beyond the remedies in Section 3.
Section 7
Buyer responsibilities
- Be 18 or older, or have a parent or legal guardian who accepts responsibility for the animal and our Terms of Service. Spice 4 and Spice 5 SpecieZs are sold to experienced adult keepers only.
- Confirm the SpecieZs is legal at your address before you order. Laws vary by state, county, and city. The buyer carries this responsibility, not Big Z's.
- Have a safe, escape-proof enclosure ready on the day of delivery. Do not order a live animal you have nowhere to put.
- House and handle the animal responsibly after delivery, including secure containment, appropriate climate, and appropriate medical attention for yourself and household members in the event of a bite, sting, or allergic reaction.
- Read the care guide we send with every order. The PDF is part of the support we provide; ignoring it does not extend any guarantee.
Need to file
DOA? Email Big Z within 2 hours.
Order number in the subject line, photos of the unopened package and the animal in its original packaging. We respond within one business day.
Last updated May 2026. Big Z's HabitatZs and ArachnidZs reserves the right to update this guarantee. The version posted at the time of your order applies to that order.