• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    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

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    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.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    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....

Received 3 Terrapins via US Priority Express Mail

neilg

neilg

New member
Joined
Oct 18, 2014
Messages
140
Reaction score
8
Points
0
Location
Signal Hill, CA
i forgot to mention when i joined FC last week, that the trio of dbt monthlings i received also last week, costed me $30 shipping and arrived via $19 express mail shipping.

it just dawned on me as i threw out the flat-rate envelope today now that all seems fine with the three toddlers, that there was no sticker or writing indicating live animals as in constrast has always been the case in past and present when i receive my saltwater critters whether via USPS, UPS, or FedEx.

my inquiry is a general one and not specific to any person, vendor, or business. to the reptile sales and shipping industry, yes: is there a certain hush-hush among some or all those who ship reptiles via USPS? if so, why? (enlighten me!=)
 
From the USPS site:

525 Nonmailable Live Animals

Nonmailable types of animals discovered in the mailstream must be reported to the PCSC in accordance with the instructions in POM 139.118. Additionally, the mailer and the Post Office of mailing must be notified to prevent future shipments from being incorrectly accepted for mailing.
525.1 Live Birds

Day-old poultry vaccinated with Newcastle disease (live virus) is nonmailable. Day-old birds, except those specifically permitted under 526.3 are nonmailable.
525.2 Live, Warm–Blooded Animals

Warm-blooded animals, except for adult birds and specified day-old birds under the specific conditions in this section, are not mailable.
Cats or kittens.
Dogs or puppies.
Guinea pigs.
Hamsters.
Mice.
Rabbits.
Rats.
Squirrels and flying squirrels.
525.3 Reptiles

All snakes, turtles, and poisonous reptiles are nonmailable.
525.4 Poisonous Insects and Spiders

All poisonous insects and all spiders, except scorpions under limited circumstances (see 526.5), are nonmailable. Other nonpoisonous and non-disease-conveying insects are permitted as stated in Exhibit 526.6.
 
dhct301 said:
Its illegal. I think I know who you got them from. A guy in pa
Click to expand...


gosh i forgot about this thread and never followed up. yea..

the list posted (above) lists 'Reptiles' then:

"All snakes, turtles, and poisonous reptiles are nonmailable."

so, what about tortoises? lizards?

and what about amphibians, ie, polliwogs?

i've received frogs from haha via usps express mail (haha had not disclosed what carrier they use when i ordered and i was busy and new to the hobby so didnt pay so much attention to ethical shipping back then like i do now).
 
I would imagine that tortoises would fall under "turtles" in the eyes of the usps.
Lizards, amphibians, etc. are not listed as nonmailable. This means that you would not be illegally shipping those specific critters via usps. Although, for the sake of those critters, I would never recommend shipping them via usps.
 
ahh.. good to know! thus polliwogs newts salamander geckos etc -well all unprotected lizards and amphs acquired legally - would be legal to ship via USPS where state laws do not prohibit such species?

hopefully with some level of shipping standards..ie, insulated containers; cuz the terrapins arrived simply rolled up in a PILLOW CASE as their only insulation aside from thin cardboard box (think 'pigs in a blanket') =D
 
thanks hhmore. those Animal Shipping Requirements are way more concise than those provided at UPS & Fedex!

i mean USPS at least goes on to address publically on their site the expected time in transit, and even that it limit its employees to a particular window (maximum approx 4 hours) the animal shipment should be on the vehicle til delivery.
 
They do...but, while they require that live animal shipments be shipped Express, they also state that one should expect them to take longer due to their revised stipulations. (I don't remember where I saw that, and don't have time to look). IIRC, it's up to 3 days; which is one of the reasons that
 
Express could take 3 days?! well i can understand in rural areas out in the boonies, that would be the case and the postage at time of purchase of Express should declare that in some way.

i notice when i ship priority mail documents to fellow californians in decent sized cities/towns, the label prints with '1-day priority mail' in bold and indeed reaches them next-day apparently just as express mail would.
 
Go back and read what I posted, please. This has nothing to do with normal Priority or Express delivery, so don't try to apply your experiences with those services to it - this is specific to the shipping of live animals via the USPS. It isn't that all, or even most, shipments would be delayed; but their stipulations for appropriate conditions can result in delays.

I'll be honest, I haven't looked through that stuff in a few years - it is possible that it has been revised/updated. As I said, I don't have time to search for where I found it; but I'm fairly certain that there was some discussion about it on this site.
 
well the sentence wasn't complete, was it? ending in reasons that.

anyways what i read and can type without reading or pasting is that animal shipments must be Express, but due to revisions, one can 'expect' Express USPS shipments to take up to 3 days for delivery.. IIRC
 
Yeah - my tablet apparently thought I wanted to submit at that point...and I wasn't motivated enough to edit the post to complete the sentence. I'm certain it wouldn't have impacted your response.
Changes in their policies regarding the handling of live animal shipments made delays (for the well being of the animals) more likely.
 
aww, so a few more expected delays? well that's still good considering whatever it takes for the sake of the welfare of wildlife!

will definitely still be ok with receiving the occasional specimen via USPS as long as that animal (ie, tadpoles, lizards, etc) are still allowed.
 
Back
Top