Animal arrives deceased on the first delivery attempt
If you shipped on an overnight service, 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 can ship 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.
The guarantee follows the shipping service you choose, not the animal. Priority Overnight, Standard Overnight, and the free overnight tier on orders $499.99+ all carry it in full. FedEx 2Day carries none of it and requires a signed waiver. The matrix is in Section 1. Read this page 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.
Priority Overnight $49.99 · Standard Overnight $44.99
Both carry the full Live Arrival Guarantee. Hold at a FedEx hub or ship direct to your address, your call. Priority lands earliest in the day; Standard lands by end of day. Live animals leave Mon to Wed only.
FREE FedEx Overnight on orders $499.99 and up
Same overnight service, same full Live Arrival Guarantee, at no shipping cost. Hub hold or direct to your address, your choice. Applies automatically at checkout once the order total reaches $499.99.
FedEx 2Day $34.99: zero coverage, signed waiver required
Two business days in a box with no guarantee of any kind. DOA is not replaced and not credited. You acknowledge the risk in the cart, and we email a waiver you must sign before we pack. Not recommended.
Section 1
What each shipping option covers
Coverage is decided by the shipping service you select at checkout. This is the whole matrix. There is nothing else to it:
| Service you pick at checkout | Cost | Live Arrival Guarantee | Signed waiver |
|---|---|---|---|
| FedEx Priority Overnight, hub hold or door | $49.99 | Yes, full coverage | Not required |
| FedEx Standard Overnight, hub hold or door | $44.99 | Yes, full coverage | Not required |
| FREE FedEx Overnight on orders $499.99+, hub hold or door | $0.00 | Yes, full coverage | Not required |
| FedEx 2Day | $34.99 | No, none at all | Required before we pack |
| FedEx Ground / Home Delivery | Varies | No, never valid on a live animal | Not offered for live animals |
| Local pickup or expo pickup | Free | Not applicable. You inspect the animal in person. | Not required |
Shipping charges are never refunded or credited under this guarantee. Not on a paid tier, not on the free tier, not on a replacement shipment. The guarantee covers the price of the animal and nothing else.
FedEx 2Day carries no guarantee whatsoever. If you select 2Day you are buying the animal at your own risk: no replacement, no store credit, no refund of the animal or the shipping if it arrives deceased. You acknowledge that in the cart before checkout, and we email you a short waiver to sign. We do not pack a 2Day live-animal order until the signed waiver is back in our hands. Big Z does not recommend 2Day for any live invertebrate, in any season.
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 service: FedEx Priority Overnight ($49.99), FedEx Standard Overnight ($44.99), the free overnight tier on orders of $499.99 or more, or a service we authorized in writing before shipment. FedEx 2Day and any ground service carry no Live Arrival Guarantee on any live animal, ever.
- 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 species 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 §5.
Section 2
How to file a DOA claim
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1
Within 2 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.
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6
We answer within one business day and confirm the outcome in writing. If the claim is approved we name the remedy and the ship date in that same message. If it is declined we tell you which condition in Section 1 was not met, and why. Nothing about a claim is decided verbally.
Section 3Remedy A Remedy B
What we will do
Replacement animal
Same species, comparable size and condition, shipped on the next safe ship date. Weather holds still apply. If the same species 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.
Shipping is never part of the remedy. The original shipping charge, any heat or cold pack, and the shipping on a replacement animal are all non-refundable and non-creditable, on every tier. Our total liability under this guarantee is capped at the amount you paid for the animal that died, consistent with Terms of Service §15.
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. The first one is the one people get wrong most often.
- Selecting FedEx 2Day, FedEx Ground, or any service slower than overnight on a live-animal order. 2Day is sold with no guarantee at all and requires a signed waiver; ground service is never valid for a live animal.
- Waiving a recommended weather hold after we flagged the route as unsafe.
- Declining a recommended heat pack or cold pack when we offered one.
- 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 2 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 species is restricted, prohibited, or requires a permit you do not hold.
- Misrepresenting your age or your eligibility to keep the species ordered.
Section 5
What this guarantee does not cover
FedEx 2Day shipments: no coverage of any kind
2Day ($34.99) is the one live-animal service we sell with no guarantee attached. A 2Day animal that arrives deceased is not replaced, not credited, and not refunded, and neither is the shipping. You acknowledge this in the cart before checkout and sign a waiver we email you before we pack. This is not a loophole we apply after the fact. It is the deal you agree to when you pick the cheaper service. Overnight is $10 more and carries the full guarantee.
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 §6, Assumption of Risk.
Shipping charges, packs, and handling
The guarantee covers the animal's price. It never covers what you paid to move it: the original shipping charge, a heat or cold pack, a hub-hold fee, or the shipping on a replacement animal. That is true on every tier, including the free overnight tier, because a free shipping charge has nothing to refund.
Supplies, 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
Ship days, weather holds, carrier delays, and good faith
Live animals leave Monday through Wednesday only. That is deliberate: it keeps an animal from sitting in a carrier facility over a weekend. Order Thursday through Sunday and your animal ships the following Monday, or the next safe ship day after that. This holds on every tier, including Priority Overnight. Paying more buys a faster transit once the box is moving, not an earlier ship day.
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. A hold we recommend never voids your guarantee; waiving one does.
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. On a 2Day shipment there is no remedy to reach for. That is the risk the waiver describes.
Section 7
Buyer responsibilities
- Pick the shipping service that matches the risk you are willing to carry. Overnight is the only way to keep the Live Arrival Guarantee. If you choose 2Day to save $10, that $10 is the price of the guarantee and the animal's survival is on you.
- 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 species are sold to experienced adult keepers only.
- Confirm the species 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. Overnight shipments only. 2Day orders are not eligible.
Last updated September 2026. Big Z's Habitats and Arachnids reserves the right to update this guarantee. The version posted at the time of your order applies to that order.