Advice needed with shipping problems.

Thatwizard420

Chameleon Enthusiast
So Friday I ordered a chameleon online. I was supposed to get it next day by 12 PM.
Tracking and everything was correct.
I wake up super early Saturday and I’m literally by my door till 1:30 when I received a text the driver attempted to deliver the package but couldn’t.

I was by the door all morning and didn’t even hear anybody climb the stairs. I know that’s a lie, he never even attempted to.

I called UPS and after an hour I was able to get with a customer service agent. He said that by the nature of the package I can either pick up at UPS Monday, or he can try to get dispatch to tell the driver to rédeliver. I chose if he could deliver and he said dispatch would give me a call within an hour.
2 hours went by and didn’t get a call so I called them back, different agent, same response. As if it’s scripted.

my guess is I have to wait till Monday to go pick up the package.

my concerns are... Will the chameleon be dead?
Could I get my money back from UPS?
Has anyone had a similar experience?

I just want my Cham to be alright and not dead.
 
Chameleons should never be shipped on a Friday because live arrivals are never delivered on Saturdays. Chameleons should only be shipped Monday through Thursday and now with all the Covid delays, Monday through Wednesday. Shipping is very risky during the pandemic. I delivered my babies because I was not willing to risk something happening to them. My husband and I rented a van twice and drove cross county twice, to deliver our babies.

Who did you buy your chameleon from? Live animals should be shipped FedEX. It’s the most reliable service, if you want to call in of them reliable these days.
 
Chameleons should never be shipped on a Friday because live arrivals are never delivered on Saturdays. Chameleons should only be shipped Monday through Thursday and now with all the Covid delays, Monday through Wednesday. Shipping is very risky during the pandemic. I delivered my babies because I was not willing to risk something happening to them. My husband and I rented a van twice and drove cross county twice, to deliver our babies.

Who did you buy your chameleon from? Live animals should be shipped FedEX. It’s the most reliable service, if you want to call in of them reliable these days.

If only people knew what the inside of a warehouse did with their packages lol. I agree, I would never ship after Wednesday personally.

Also, I too travel the country in a van. Only it's filled with cockroaches and I hand them out to the poor.
 
What jannb said.

Good breeders have FedEx deliver it to your local hub, where you can (usually) pick it up in-person the following morning. Good breeders will only ship M-W, and just before their hub closes, so the animal spends the least amt. of time in a box (where they usually just sleep through the trip) and with a heat pack just in case.

They recommend pickup at a hub so your cham doesn't spend all day in a non-climate-controlled truck (they only heat/cool the driver's compartment).

my guess is I have to wait till Monday to go pick up the package.

my concerns are... Will the chameleon be dead?
Could I get my money back from UPS?
Has anyone had a similar experience?

I just want my Cham to be alright and not dead.
We've had the same experience (claiming they tried to deliver but didn't) many times with UPS.
Even the USPS does a better job, IME.

Sorry, I can't answer those questions—don't know if anyone can. :(
 
What jannb said.

Good breeders have FedEx deliver it to your local hub, where you can (usually) pick it up in-person the following morning. Good breeders will only ship M-W, and just before their hub closes, so the animal spends the least amt. of time in a box (where they usually just sleep through the trip) and with a heat pack just in case.

They recommend pickup at a hub so your cham doesn't spend all day in a non-climate-controlled truck (they only heat/cool the driver's compartment).


We've had the same experience (claiming they tried to deliver but didn't) many times with UPS.
Even the USPS does a better job, IME.

Sorry, I can't answer those questions—don't know if anyone can. :(

Agree, and if the weather is to cold or to hot, they don’t ship at all.
 
Underground reptiles only uses UPS I paid 20 more to have Saturday delivery.
And yes I know I fucked up, but I’ve never had a problem ordering from underground and UPS

I bought a CB Jackson
Whyyyyyyy would you do that? There are so many real breeders that have Jacksons. That are actually healthy and that will ship to you.

Everything I have heard about underground is that they are an animal flipper and that they are horrible with followup.

Hopefully yours will be ok by the time UPS finally delivers. Make sure you have this one in a quarantine cage away from your other cham... Get a fecal done before you cross contaminate anything just in case.
 
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Underground reptiles only uses UPS I paid 20 more to have Saturday delivery.
And yes I know I fucked up, but I’ve never had a problem ordering from underground and UPS

I bought a CB Jackson
All I can say is that they did not pass my vetting criteria. YMMV.
Suggest you peruse the archives and underground reptiles reviews carefully.

Some that particularly raised some concern for me were:
https://www.bbb.org/us/fl/deerfield...erground-reptile-inc-0633-90038551/complaints

https://www.yelp.com/biz/underground-reptiles-deerfield-beach

https://www.reddit.com/r/reptiles/comments/e7icax/is_underground_reptiles_a_good_place_to_get_a_pet/
 
Underground reptiles only uses UPS I paid 20 more to have Saturday delivery.
And yes I know I fucked up, but I’ve never had a problem ordering from underground and UPS

I bought a CB Jackson
I’m about to purchase a Jackson’s as well but I’m choosing to drive to the amazing breeder (cough cough Jill) to pick her up because I don’t want her getting lost in shipment.
 
I am surprised a company would ship that way. One of the first things I had trouble with was shipping. The different of it should be there and will be there.
 
you probably will not receive a refund from UPS because according to them they attempted to deliver and no one was home.

you should contact underground reptiles ASAP and let them know what happened. If they have good customer service they will probably work with you. If they don’t and it sounds like they probably don’t they may look at your tracking info and see that a delivery attempt was made but no one was home.

mad for the chameleon I hope it’s okay.
 
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