Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Actually, it is not against the rules and regulations of the USPS to ship live animals but there are some restrictions. These can be found in USPS Exhibit 526.6. Small, harmless, coldblooded animals are allowed. They cannot: exceed 20 inches in length, need attention such as food or water during transport, cause unsanitary conditions or have obnoxious odors. They must be able to arrive in good condition considering normal transport time between point of departure and destination.

I have shipped and received many animals via USPS, including Bearded Dragons, and only encountered one problem in a shipment from CA to Michigan during a holiday week. One thing to consider is whether or not the receiving post office is a major hub. If not, overnight may not be guaranteed. If this is the case you can arrange for pick-up at the nearest post office that is a major hub. I did this in July with a shipment coming to Michigan from Connecticut. My post office is not a major hub so I asked that the box be marked for pickup at the Saginaw, MI office before being sent to my city. The gentleman working the mail dock called me less than 5 minutes after the box arrived so that I could come pick it up. Very smooth shipping experience.

If you know how to do it it's not only cheaper but just as safe as any form of shipping out there.

Robert
-----
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,
adored by little statesmen, philosophers and divines.
Ralph Emerson

Ya, they'll ship them for ya. They'll also lose them, send them to the wrong city, and delay them for ya. IMO USPS has got to be the most irresponsible carrier out there. Also if you're not in a major city or hub you can give up on next day delivery with them. I'm in BFE Wyoming and it always takes 2-3 days to get here with the closest major hub being Denver which is about a 10 hour drive lol.

Sean
-----
Heart Mountain Herps

I have received reptiles through USPS, and all have arrived without any problems, so far. However, it's better for me to use UPS overnight when I need to ship. I already have an account with them, they'll come by & pick-up my packages(for an additional fee) when I'm not able to leave here. I've had back surgery twice & another one pending. I like to be able to track my packages so I know everything is going as scheduled. I've had no luck trying to track shipments sent to me by USPS. It's almost like there's nothing to track, and you just have to sit & pray that it arrives on time.
My $.02,
Cricket

Like I said in a post that was erased...... I probably wouldn't ship through USPS again but it can be done without incident. People are gonna do what they want no matter what anyone says and they should know how to do it if that's thier choice. I have always been able to track the packages though. Seems that everyone has had different experiences with the USPS. Good input!

Later,
Robert
-----
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,
adored by little statesmen, philosophers and divines.
Ralph Emerson

I think that if we looked hard enough, we'd find someone that's had problems with any & all methods of shipments. Choosing a shipper is almost like voting for President. You just have to take all your experiences & decide who you trust the most. Then, hope you didn't make a wrong decision.
Cricket

So true. I've had one problem with USPS and one problem with UPS in 8 years of shipping. I also have an account and a contract with UPS to ship reptiles. The one problem that I had with UPS was when a box was marked for pickup at the facility and they put it on a delivery truck anyway. That poor animal sat on a hot truck all day in Wyoming because some jerk didn't pay attention. My one incident with USPS was because an animal was shipped to me from CA during a holiday (Thanksgiving) week.

Granted, you have no control over what happens to that animal between the departure and receiving ends. But if you contact both post offices they usually do whatever they possibly can to accomodate your needs. Tracking information is slow but it is possible to track these shipments.

But when push comes to shove do you really want a gov't employee being responsible for your precious cargo?

I am a diehard Fedex Priority Overnight person, no problems yet with fish or herps. UPS seems to be mentally challanged most of the time and can't follow instructions worth a damn. Last week they left a dragon on my doorstep, didn't even try to knock.

Fed-Ex did the same thing to me. Just depends on the people delivering, offices it comes out of...etc.... If anything can happen bet it will sooner or later no matter what or who you do or use.
-----
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,
adored by little statesmen, philosophers and divines.
Ralph Emerson