• Responding to email notices you receive.
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    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

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    Posted 08/15/2025
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    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

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    Addendum: 01/10/2026
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    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

Bad Guy Fedex

Here's the deal. When Fedex works right no problem. The real problem is that UPS and USPS do not ship snakes knowingly and none of them has to depend on our business so they tend not to give a rip. Now, I know there are folks out there using both for snakes. I wish they wouldn't. The Herp Hobby/business is under fire from several quarters. We have targets on our backs. We better act like model citizens especially if we want things to go our way. That is what makes this all so frustrating. I believe that outfits that know they have the upper hand believe they can do whatever they want. So screw good customer service. What does "promise" mean? What does "Fragile" mean? It's OK to lie!!!! I'll be watching for info on how Ken's suit goes. In the meantime, I'll keep my nose clean!!! Call me paranoid, call me whatever, but we are about to lose more rights to keep the critters we love. Just my $0.02.

Pat Glazener-Cooney
 
BrokenPast said:
Now, I know there are folks out there using both for snakes. I wish they wouldn't. The Herp Hobby/business is under fire from several quarters. We have targets on our backs. We better act like model citizens especially if we want things to go our way.
Click to expand...

:iagree:

We have all the right in the world to complain about crappy service but when we get so fed up with a service that some of us resort to using illegal methods is a huge :NoNo: . As crappy as FedEx may be, we need to stick with it until there's a better option because the last thing this hobby needs is a snake getting loose in a post office/UPS shipping hub or something. :ack2:
 
How about trying to contact Robin and ask for some help ? Also, we (reptile) community should ask and recieve protection from their errors (FedEx) if our package arrives DOA do to their fault. We are paying for a service and paying well for it.
 
mxracer4life said:
There is, but Fed-Ex clearly states that live reptiles are not covered. There is no guarrantee from Fed-Ex whatsoever for a live arrival. In fact, I don't there is any company that does, but I could be wrong. I think what we are all concerned about is the fact that Fed-Ex knows they are our only option and they may be taking advantage of the situation.
Click to expand...

Delta Dash.....:thumbsup:
 
bullies&balls said:
Also, we (reptile) community should ask and recieve protection from their errors (FedEx) if our package arrives DOA do to their fault. We are paying for a service and paying well for it.
Click to expand...

Good point! I think (and I'm sure a lot of you agree) that they should extend their insurance rights to the live animals that they ship. No question. But if they actually decide to do that is another thing.

You have to consider that FedEx has us all by the shorthairs seeing as they're the only company you can legally ship your reptiles through and because of this, they could up and decide one day not to ship our reptiles if there were enough lawsuits or complaints that wound up costing them a bunch of money. Where would that leave all of us in the end? :shrug01: It's all a huge catch 22. They know this and they're basically hanging it over our heads it seems.

They aren't really obligated to make us happy if they don't want to. People will still use them regardless because that's their only option until some competition comes along (or the seller decides to ship illegally which not only gives them flack from the reptile community but also greatly endangers our hobby). Wherever FedEx can save money, they will (and that includes not providing live arrival guarantees or insurance for live animals). Such is the mind frame of all monopolies it seems. Until some other company comes along that allows reptile shipping and blows FedEx out of the water in terms of regulations and customer care, they won't be motivated to change anything (and if they do I'd be surprised) because we're stuck with them. I'm not trying to play devil's advocate here or defend FedEx in any way but I hope you all see my point.
 
garweft said:
Delta Dash.....:thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Although this is a viable option for some, it only seems like a viable option for an actual business, not the average hobbyist. According to a few people that have gotten verified through Delta Dash, they have someone come out to your facility to make sure you're an actual, legitimate business, followed by security checks that can take anywhere from 3-6 weeks.

Last time I checked up on it, the only thing you need to do with FedEx is show that you are capable of sending reptiles by sending them a "test" box and filing out an application (I would link to the process but rules don't allow me to).
 
And how can FedEx guarantee live arrival without first inspecting the animal before it is packaged? If they did that, everytime a snake dies, ship it out FedEx and collect. It ain't gonna happen.
 
kingsnake1 said:
And how can FedEx guarantee live arrival without first inspecting the animal before it is packaged? If they did that, everytime a snake dies, ship it out FedEx and collect. It ain't gonna happen.
Click to expand...

I said the guarantee is for shipments that arrive LATE (not 2 hrs, but day/s)
 
Lacey Act or not, there does seem to be a large percentage of "live reptile" labeled boxes being delayed or misplaced. Hmm...
 
kingsnake1 said:
And how can FedEx guarantee live arrival without first inspecting the animal before it is packaged? If they did that, everytime a snake dies, ship it out FedEx and collect. It ain't gonna happen.
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same way you are.

bullies&balls said:
I said the guarantee is for shipments that arrive LATE (not 2 hrs, but day/s)
Click to expand...

Exactly. I would definitely like to see them guarantee live arrival, if they cannot AT LEAST get the package delivered the same day that it's due!
 
garweft said:
Delta Dash.....:thumbsup:
Click to expand...


Ever try to file a claim with Delta?.......You'll be lucky to see a penny on the dollars of what the shipment was worth.........

Why not post pictures of the receipt in its entirety to see what service you actually paid for?......

I ship many boxes a week, and sometimes they get delayed......It happens, and it's the price of doing business......There are other alternatives, but no one wants to pony up the money to do so........
 
Forgot to add - Those "alternatives" are still not without fault.......

I've had many Delta shipments delayed, especially when they deal with commuter flights flying into smaller Airports........At that point it's a guessing game whether they'll have room on the flight, even if it goes Dash ( which is supposed to have "priority" over luggage or AVI shipments )......
 
Personally, I am very weary of accepting snakes shipped through SYR. Period. It only takes a few weeks to get Fedex certified. I believe anyone who wants to breed with the intention of shipping, needs to take the time to do this.

Not only does it show that you are more responsible and care more that your package arrives safe and on time, but having your own Fedex account and being certified to ship without the need for a middleman such as SYR, eliminates most of these problems.

I do not trust some other company to process my shipments correctly. Being certified allows me to simply go to my Fedex online account Mngr and set every fine detail myself. Then I have a trusted Fedex lady who I can call to pick up my box as her last stop of the day. If on the off chance she is not available, my local Mailboxes etc store also has seen my cert and has arranged for me to use their Fedex guy if needed.

It isn't hard to get certified. If anyone has any qualms with SYR, then stop complaining and take matters into your own hands. You chose to use a middleman.
 
I liked my fed ex delivery guy alot. He always brought my animals in the morning even though I wasnt in the guarenteed zone and always gave my dog cookies. He would knock on my door and wait for me and he was always intrigued by what reptiles I was getting in. he even drove with my dragon box in the front of the truck with him. Ups on the other hand never knocked and just litterally tossed the boxes at the door. I was so pissed I ran out side to chew him out but he didnt care. Ups always makes my shipments late. But I havent shipped fed ex in a while so Im sure they've changed. As far as delta dash goes arent they even more expensive to use? I bought an ibizan hound puppy 6 years ago and he was shipped delta dash and total for the puppy and shipping was $2k. 11 years ago I got a pit bull puppy from washington state and had him shipped delta dash too and they lost him for 4 hours! Getting shipped from wa to nh is long enough and to get lost an extra 4 hours the poor puppy was a mess buy happy to be out of his crate and to get a bath in an airport sink. So im not sure about sending out reptiles with delta. Bur arent hots supposed to be sent out delta perferably?
 
There is a rule that you have to sign for animals upon arrival, yes? My last 2 purchases were on my porch in the cold without so much as a knock. Luckily I checked the porch every 30 minutes.
 
It's a wonder someone isn't already working on a new company that ships, catering to reptiles...or just plain catering to animal shipments. I'm sure breeders everywhere would appreciate the service and love to do business with such a company, being the customer and package care was up to par.
 
if there was a service provider that did just animals.. all day everyday.. i would even pay 20 dollars more to ship.. itd be worth the money over all i believe
 
:iagree:
Temperature controlled trucks, trained drivers/package handlers that do NOT toss/kick/flip/etc. boxes, guaranteed live arrival (ok...well, somewhat...if the breeder puts a sick animal in a box, can't really guarantee that)...*day dreams*
 
If there was a reptile specific shipping company, I would ABSOLUTELY go through them.
Although, I have shipped many reptiles through FedEx and haven't had any problems at all...these horror stories I hear about them make me very nervous though.
Also, I don't write "live reptile" or anything saying "reptile" on the box. I write "perishable". Maybe that's why I've never had any problems?? Hmmm....
 
The few times I've shipped, I luckily never had a problem. And the only problem I've had with receiving wasn't the fault of the shipping company, but the fault of the breeder.
 
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