What to expect, possible DoA?

[Zeirath]

I'm new to the forum, just made a new account, have been interested in Tarantulas for the last couple months after getting my first!

So I'm probably being paranoid, I purchased my second T two weeks ago and it was finally posted last Monday, they don't post late in the week to avoid the spider being stuck in a depot over the weekend. Unfortunately it didn't arrive, it's now Saturday night and I'm freaked about whether I'm going to get a DoA or not.

It's spring here, so the weather is warming up, with average daytime temps reaching 27C(80F) and night time temps reaching average 12C(54F)

I'm hoping my delivery comes Monday and I'm freaking out over nothing...but 7 days in postage kinda has me a bit freaked. Opinions? If I do get a DoA how should I handle it?

 

[N8tive556]

I'm new to the forum, just made a new account, have been interested in Tarantulas for the last couple months after getting my first!

So I'm probably being paranoid, I purchased my second T two weeks ago and it was finally posted last Monday, they don't post late in the week to avoid the spider being stuck in a depot over the weekend. Unfortunately it didn't arrive, it's now Saturday night and I'm freaked about whether I'm going to get a DoA or not.

It's spring here, so the weather is warming up, with average daytime temps reaching 27C(80F) and night time temps reaching average 12C(54F)

I'm hoping my delivery comes Monday and I'm freaking out over nothing...but 7 days in postage kinda has me a bit freaked. Opinions? If I do get a DoA how should I handle it?

Most places I know of have a LAG (Live Arrival Guarantee) however this is also at times restricted to overnight. First thing you should do is check there policies if you can't find anything and you do get a DoA just email them and tell them your situation a lot of breeders I find to be very understanding and will work with you, of course this just may be my experience however it's worth a shot! Please,I look forward to updates, don't forget to post what happens! I hope everything goes well for you!

 

[Zeirath]

Most places I know of have a LAG (Live Arrival Guarantee) however this is also at times restricted to overnight. First thing you should do is check there policies if you can't find anything and you do get a DoA just email them and tell them your situation a lot of breeders I find to be very understanding and will work with you, of course this just may be my experience however it's worth a shot! Please,I look forward to updates, don't forget to post what happens! I hope everything goes well for you!

Unfortunately I haven't been able to find any policy on DoA's, the place I purchased the T from is a pet store in Melbourne(Australia) as I haven't been able to find anywhere else, breeders or otherwise that sell T's here. Seems weird to me that it'd even take this long to arrive by courier given it's less than 300kms away. I've sent the guys an email letting them know my package didn't arrive this week and hopefully if I do get a DoA we can sort something out. I've heard stories of T's surviving up to 3 weeks in the mail although not being in such good shape on the other end!

Will update with the status of the T when it arrives, it's only a juvenile so hopefully that will give it alright odds.

 

[N8tive556]

Yeah T's while, while delicate, can be rather Hardy I mean after all you don't undergo millions of years of evolution just to be wiped out by a postal service, Good luck!

 

[Enn49]

My last order took 9 days from Poland to the UK and both arrived safe and well. As long as they're well packed they should be fine.

 

[MassExodus]

I've always went with overnight shipping...paranoid is my middle name though. I hope it arrives safe and healthy, please keep us updated. I hear those Aussie T's are tough little buggers.

 

[Zeirath]

I've always went with overnight shipping...paranoid is my middle name though. I hope it arrives safe and healthy, please keep us updated. I hear those Aussie T's are tough little buggers.

They only use one method of shipping which is supposed to be 'express' courier, somehow I don't think 5 business days is express, especially being in the same state, I have some goodies coming from California in the US(not T's, we're not allowed to import exotics here) which will arrive Monday, after 3 business days. Kinda sad really =/

 

[MassExodus]

They only use one method of shipping which is supposed to be 'express' courier, somehow I don't think 5 business days is express, especially being in the same state, I have some goodies coming from California in the US(not T's, we're not allowed to import exotics here) which will arrive Monday, after 3 business days. Kinda sad really =/

That is sad...someone from the UK was telling me they had to pay extra to track a shipment...I think it was Enn49. It's a basic program that autoupdates when packages reach waypoints and are logged in..it shouldn't cost anything. You guys are making me rethink my irritation at our mailing services here..we have it pretty good I guess.

 

[Zeirath]

That is sad...someone from the UK was telling me they had to pay extra to track a shipment...I think it was Enn49. It's a basic program that autoupdates when packages reach waypoints and are logged in..it shouldn't cost anything. You guys are making me rethink my irritation at our mailing services here..we have it pretty good I guess.

Auspost express is good, usually overnight guarantee for same state and 2-3 days max for interstate, but this courier company I've been looking up reviews and 99% say they are a heap of..well not sure if the word is allowed on this forum haha =p I guess in future if I order from these guys I'm going to request they use a different company, although I DID find another store that also sells T's in Melbourne, have sent them a mail to see if they do postage/what company they use if they do. It's a shame I can't find any breeders atm since it'd probably be cheaper and more reliable.

 

[MassExodus]

Auspost express is good, usually overnight guarantee for same state and 2-3 days max for interstate, but this courier company I've been looking up reviews and 99% say they are a heap of..well not sure if the word is allowed on this forum haha =p I guess in future if I order from these guys I'm going to request they use a different company, although I DID find another store that also sells T's in Melbourne, have sent them a mail to see if they do postage/what company they use if they do. It's a shame I can't find any breeders atm since it'd probably be cheaper and more reliable.

There has to be somebody breeding those native T's of ya'lls. I've seen too many Aussies on spider forums..my advice is to keep looking man. Hopefully they're not selling them exclusively to pet stores..any chance of catching a few wild caught specimens, doing some breeding yourself? I don't know much about your whistling spiders, or if their habitat is limited, but it sounds like you would be doing the hobbyists in Australia a favor if you started a project... Please don't tell me it's illegal to capture them...ya'll are restricted enough in the hobby as it is..

 

[Zeirath]

There has to be somebody breeding those native T's of ya'lls. I've seen too many Aussies on spider forums..my advice is to keep looking man. Hopefully they're not selling them exclusively to pet stores..any chance of catching a few wild caught specimens, doing some breeding yourself? I don't know much about your whistling spiders, or if their habitat is limited, but it sounds like you would be doing the hobbyists in Australia a favor if you started a project... Please don't tell me it's illegal to capture them...ya'll are restricted enough in the hobby as it is..

I don't know if it is illegal to capture them but it is frowned upon, we have thousands taken from the wild every year and obviously that isn't really sustainable, unfortunately for me most of our Aussie T's love humid climates, so northern Aus is where they're at and I'm southern. We did have a breeder that used to sell T's pretty cheap, unfortunately for some reason they disappeared off the face of the planet a few months before I discovered my fascination with them!

 

[Zeirath]

Still a no show on delivery..it's only 1pm though anything could still happen!

 

[Zeirath]

So, I rang the trucking company today to find out where my parcel was, they didn't say where exactly but told me it'd be delivered today around 5pm. This was at 3pm, so instead of worried for my spider(would worry about DoA if it turned out to be that way when it arrived) and got excited. Not so patiently waiting, 4pm still waiting, 5pm hope starts dwindling and by 6pm I'm down right fuming. I've never been so mad about mail not arriving in my life, but then a little fuzzy life has never been at risk either.

I will never be ordering from these guys again unless they send through a different company, I was emailing this other pet store on and off today. they were quick to reply and happy to answer ALL of my questions, they post through Auspost express, so it's almost guaranteed overnight shipping same state, and in the unfortunate instance of DoA they will send a replacement. Not only that but they actually know their species, not just listing them as bird eating spiders, so I made a purchase, should receive a Phlogius Goliath Australian tarantula.

Still fuming about this other seemingly loss in oblivion spider, shame I didn't find this other store earlier, still not a breeder but seems a little more reliable.

 

[MassExodus]

So, I rang the trucking company today to find out where my parcel was, they didn't say where exactly but told me it'd be delivered today around 5pm. This was at 3pm, so instead of worried for my spider(would worry about DoA if it turned out to be that way when it arrived) and got excited. Not so patiently waiting, 4pm still waiting, 5pm hope starts dwindling and by 6pm I'm down right fuming. I've never been so mad about mail not arriving in my life, but then a little fuzzy life has never been at risk either.

I will never be ordering from these guys again unless they send through a different company, I was emailing this other pet store on and off today. they were quick to reply and happy to answer ALL of my questions, they post through Auspost express, so it's almost guaranteed overnight shipping same state, and in the unfortunate instance of DoA they will send a replacement. Not only that but they actually know their species, not just listing them as bird eating spiders, so I made a purchase, should receive a Phlogius Goliath Australian tarantula.

Still fuming about this other seemingly loss in oblivion spider, shame I didn't find this other store earlier, still not a breeder but seems a little more reliable.

Jesus. I'd try everything in my power to make trouble for everyone involved..bad reviews, calling supervisors, EVERYTHING I could think of. I'd be freakin pissed as well..hopefully this ends well for the lost spider and yourself..

 

[Ghost]

So, I rang the trucking company today to find out where my parcel was, they didn't say where exactly but told me it'd be delivered today around 5pm. This was at 3pm, so instead of worried for my spider(would worry about DoA if it turned out to be that way when it arrived) and got excited. Not so patiently waiting, 4pm still waiting, 5pm hope starts dwindling and by 6pm I'm down right fuming. I've never been so mad about mail not arriving in my life, but then a little fuzzy life has never been at risk either.

I will never be ordering from these guys again unless they send through a different company, I was emailing this other pet store on and off today. they were quick to reply and happy to answer ALL of my questions, they post through Auspost express, so it's almost guaranteed overnight shipping same state, and in the unfortunate instance of DoA they will send a replacement. Not only that but they actually know their species, not just listing them as bird eating spiders, so I made a purchase, should receive a Phlogius Goliath Australian tarantula.

Still fuming about this other seemingly loss in oblivion spider, shame I didn't find this other store earlier, still not a breeder but seems a little more reliable.

I'm sorry to hear that your T still hasn't arrived hopefully it will still turn up alive and well.
Just for your future reference I would suggest that you have a look at Steve Nunn's website he's a leading authority on Australian species and would be able to point you in the direction of some reliable breeders,you can contact him through his site here's the link
http://www.thedailylink.com/australiantarantulas/
You could also try Jigalojey he's from Australia and is a member here you could drop him a PM and see if he can hook you up with some breeders as well.
Anyway I hope this helps and hopefully your T will turn up soon..,,,,,,

 

[Zeirath]

FINALLY arrived and thankfully not DoA, although he or she is slightly larger than I expected by like...a lot. Had to whack up a temp larger enclosure for it until I can get into town tomorrow and buy an appropriately sized cage.

I will get some pictures once I can coax him/her out of the vial it came in!

 

[MassExodus]

FINALLY arrived and thankfully not DoA, although he or she is slightly larger than I expected by like...a lot. Had to whack up a temp larger enclosure for it until I can get into town tomorrow and buy an appropriately sized cage.

I will get some pictures once I can coax him/her out of the vial it came in!

Excellent! Glad it worked out

 

[Zeirath]

She seems a bit sluggish and not interested in moving much, but probably just shock from being stuck in her tiny vial for almost two weeks!

 

[Zeirath]

Did one lap around her enclosure and now is just sitting like that, I killed a cricket and put it in there just in case she's hungry, will remove it in the morning if it's untouched, gunna find her a nice dark spot in a cupboard somewhere so she can adjust.

 

[MassExodus]

She seems a bit sluggish and not interested in moving much, but probably just shock from being stuck in her tiny vial for almost two weeks!

Yeah that's unbelievable man..I'd be sluggish too..