Shipping policy

Big Z's Habitats and Arachnids — Shipping Policy

Where We Ship

We currently ship within the United States only. Some live animals cannot be shipped to certain states or municipalities where they are restricted — see our Terms of Service. We do not ship live animals to P.O. boxes.

Processing Time

Orders are processed in 1–3 business days. Live animals ship Monday through Wednesday only, so they are never sitting in a carrier facility over a weekend. If you order late in the week, your animal will ship the following Monday (or the next safe ship day).

Animals on Hold

If you have an animal on hold, nothing ships until the balance is paid in full. Once it is, your animal joins the next Monday through Wednesday ship window and follows the same weather rules as any other order. The 14 day hold window is a payment deadline, not a shipping estimate. Full hold terms, including the 25% non-refundable deposit, are in our Refund & Return Policy.

Shipping Methods, Cost & What Each One Covers

Live animals go FedEx. You choose the service at checkout, and the service you choose decides whether your animal is covered by our Live Arrival Guarantee. Live animals leave Monday through Wednesday only. Supplies, containers, substrate, and enclosures go USPS Ground Advantage, priced by weight at our label cost. You receive tracking by email as soon as your order ships.

Shipping charges are never refunded or credited under the Live Arrival Guarantee — not the original charge, not a heat or cold pack, not the shipping on a replacement animal. The guarantee covers the price of the animal and nothing else.

Paying more does not buy an earlier ship day. Priority Overnight moves faster once the box is in FedEx's hands; it does not move your order outside the Monday–Wednesday live ship window, and it does not override a weather hold.

FedEx 2Day — No Live Arrival Guarantee, Signed Waiver Required

FedEx 2Day ($34.99) is the one live-animal service we sell with no guarantee of any kind. If an animal shipped 2Day arrives deceased, there is no replacement, no store credit, and no refund of the animal or the shipping. Big Z does not recommend 2Day for any live invertebrate, in any season, to any destination.

If you select 2Day on a live-animal order, three things happen. First, you acknowledge the risk in the cart before checkout, and that acknowledgement is recorded on your order. Second, we email you a one-page waiver to sign. Third, we do not pack the order until the signed waiver is back with us — if that pushes you past a Monday–Wednesday ship window, the order waits for the next one.

You can change your mind at any point before we pack. Email us and we will invoice the difference to move you onto an overnight service, and the full Live Arrival Guarantee is restored on that order. The gap between 2Day and Standard Overnight is $10.

Full terms are on our Live Arrival Guarantee page.

FREE — Add to live-animal box (verification required)

Gear rides free in your animal's box when a live animal is in the same order. All the animals in an order travel together in one overnight box, and that box carries one free setup per order, however many animals are in it:

• 1 enclosure smaller than 8 x 6 x 6 inches
• Substrate: one 1 qt bag, or up to five 1/4 qt bags
• Up to 3 of each add-on: hides, cork bark, wood, water dishes, cups, vials, heat pads and gauges. For example, 3 hygrometers and 3 pieces of cork bark all ride free.

Anything past the free setup ships in a second box at our normal USPS Ground Advantage dry goods rate, the same as a gear-only order, so it can take a few extra days to arrive. If checkout did not already charge it, we email you before shipping with the amount. You can pay that invoice or cancel the extra unshipped items for a refund. We never charge extra shipping without your OK. Canceling extras does not cancel or refund the live-animal order or its shipping charge.

Enclosures 8 x 6 x 6 inches and larger, including the Bark Buddy, always ship in their own box by USPS Ground Advantage and never ride free.

The 7 oz flip top has its own free shipping at checkout and does not count toward the free setup.

This option needs a live animal in the same order. It is not available on gear-only orders or wholesale orders, and we cannot combine separate orders.

If we do not hear back by the deadline in our email, we may cancel and refund the extra unshipped items so your animal is not delayed.

Weather Holds — Every Order Is Packed Weather-Aware

Invertebrates are sensitive to temperature extremes. Before every live shipment we check the forecast at our location, your delivery address, and the carrier hubs in between. If temperatures along the route are unsafe (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 will keep you updated. When a heat pack or cold pack is needed we will add one; if there is a charge it will be shown before we ship. Holding an animal for safe weather does not void the Live Arrival Guarantee — waiving a recommended hold or pack does.

Receiving Your Animal

Someone must be available to receive the package on the first delivery attempt, or you should select "Hold for Pickup" at your local FedEx facility and collect it the same day it arrives. Do not let a live-animal package sit outdoors, in a mailbox, or in a vehicle. See our Live Arrival Guarantee for full terms. Hold for Pickup is available on every overnight tier, including the free one.

Local Pickup

Local pickup in the Phoenix, AZ area may be available by arrangement for live animals — message Big Z before ordering to set it up.

Lost, Delayed, or Damaged Shipments

If tracking stalls or a package is delayed beyond its guaranteed window, contact us right away at bigzshna@gmail.com and we will open a case with the carrier and work with you. Report shipping damage to non-living items within 7 days with photos. Incorrect or incomplete addresses are the buyer's responsibility — packages returned to us for that reason are reshipped at the buyer's cost and are not covered by the Live Arrival Guarantee.