Sam - FedEx changed their live animal policies within the last year or two(not certain of exact date). This is the current policy regarding live animal shipments:
Live Animals and Ornamental Marine Life (Including Live Fish)
FedEx Express does not accept live-animal shipments as part of its regular-scheduled service and does not transport household pets such as dogs, cats, birds and hamsters. FedEx Express may accept certain shipments of live animals such as horses, livestock and zoo animals (to and from zoo locations only) on an exception basis if approved and coordinated by the FedEx Live Animal Desk (call 1.800.405.9052).
If approved by FedEx, we may accept non-venomous reptiles, amphibians, live/tropical fish and beneficial insects on an exception basis under the following conditions:
1. Shipments must be from a business to a business (from a breeder to a pet store, for example).
2. The shipper must have its packaging tested and pre-approved by FedEx Packaging Design and Development for the type of animal being shipped. Call 1.800.633.7019 for assistance. It is the responsibility of the shipper to adequately package shipments for all temperature extremes and handling conditions.
Contact your FedEx account executive for details and additional requirements.
Since this change, all waivers specify business to business; however, even those waivers which do not specify this are still held to the change in policy according to my account rep. FedEx can refuse the shipment if it is not addressed to a business. Some will tell you it is ok to ship to a residence if it is a home based business but this is not true. Some, like myself, will ship only to a FedEx staffed facility for pick up in an attempt to comply with this condition but even that isn't 100% on the up and up. The reality is, if the package is addressed to a residence, it is not in compliance with FedEx policy or the waiver under its current policy.