Live Shipping

Shipping a living animal is the riskiest thing we do, and no amount of care removes the risk entirely. What follows is what we do about it, written down in advance rather than settled case by case.

The route decides, not the order date

We look at both ends and the transit city the day before. Outside 5–32 °C along the route, the box waits and you are told — not surprised the day after. Nineteen boxes were held back for weather over the last twelve months.

What is in the box

The same five things, whatever you ordered:

• Its own water, double-bagged — from the tank it was held in, not fresh mix.
• A heat pack matched to the route forecast, not to the season.
• Rigid outer with a foam liner, and no loose fill against the bag.
• Printed drip instructions, which are also on the animal’s own page.
• The record card: the number, the date and the parameters it was held at.

Overnight only

Tuesday or Wednesday, never into a weekend. Tracking is sent the moment it leaves, not the morning after, and it lands before noon the next day. Be there — an unattended box is the main cause of loss.

When it goes wrong

Photograph it in the unopened bag within 24 hours and write to us with the number and the time it arrived. We reply the same working day, with a refund or a replacement on the next suitable shipping window — your choice, not ours.

Over the trailing twelve months, 99.4% arrived alive. The policy exists for the rest, and it is written down because a policy invented after the fact is not a policy, it is a negotiation.