SHIPPING SCHEDULE UPDATE
March/April 2025
This has been the worst winter we've seen in a long time in KC and around the US. A lot of breeders I talk to are saying this has been the worst winter they've ever had for shipping. I'll be working some major overtime to get shipments caught up as quickly as possible, but it's going to take us a few more weeks to get everything scheduled and shipped. The good news is that spring is here and I don't anticipate many more weather delays on our end until it gets warm this summer.
Please be patient as we get shipments scheduled and shipped.
With most of the United States being too cold to ship for the better part of two months, and then suddenly warming up, we're experiencing a huge surge in shipment requests like we've never experienced before (in over 20 years of business). Keeping up with the shipping requests AND the increased workload of actual shipping is extremely challenging, but we'll be working hard to get caught up as fast as possible.
Please Remember - Wholesale Orders Must be Scheduled a Minimum of One Week in Advance
If you're awaiting a wholesale shipment, please keep in mind that we need at least a full week to get your shipment on the schedule. Larger shipments may require 2-3 weeks advance scheduling for the months of March and April, depending on what's already scheduled for the date you request.
With every shipping day booking up solid, it's best to give us a range of dates that will work for you.
While we can normally squeeze in smaller orders at the last minute, that's going to be very difficult right now because every shipping day is booking up solid within a week or two of the actual ship dates and that's with us expanding shipping capacity and working a ton of overtime! In order to expand our shipping capacity, I've been starting work around 6:00 am on shipping days and dropping off at the hub just before they close at 8:00 pm. We'll be shipping at full (expanded) capacity every shipping day for the next month or two, so the more flexible you are with scheduling, the more easily we'll be able to get you scheduled.
Please Remember: Heat packs are not safe for most crested geckos in most situations.
This is particularly the case with younger geckos, so please check your weather to ensure your overnight lows will be ABOVE 32F (freezing) at a minimum before scheduling. While crested geckos can actually handle cool temperatures better than species like ball pythons and leopard geckos, they can't take the heat as well, which means heat packs present a risk of overheating for crested geckos that they don't for other species.
Wednesday shipping for Thursday arrival is currently booked solid through early May.
This is the day we have always reserved for extremely large shipments, so that our more popular days (Monday and Tuesday) aren't consistently backed up.
AVAILABLE SHIPPING DAYS
- We ship geckos on Monday, Tuesday and *Wednesday each week.
*Wednesdays are almost always booked solid 3-4 weeks in advance due to distributor and export orders.
- We cannot safely ship on Thursdays or Fridays
We cannot safely ship on Thursdays for Friday arrival, due to the risk of delayed packages not being delivered until Monday. Friday for Saturday arrival presents the same risk, only it costs more for Saturday arrival and it could be Monday before you get the geckos, should a "1 day" delay occur. Shipping on Friday means Monday arrival, if there's not a delay, so Fridays are obviously out too.
- We ship FedEx Priority Overnight, meaning shipments will arrive the following day.
If you request Monday shipment, your order will arrive on Tuesday, etc. Shipping to your local hub will now be required if weather is on the hot or cold end of the safe range (listed below).
SCHEDULING TIMELINES
WHOLESALE ORDERS
Please allow a minimum of 1-2 weeks to schedule shipment of wholesale orders. Normally one week is sufficient time, but there are instances when weather and/or holidays will cause delays. As always, I appreciate your understanding and I guarantee your wholesale shipment will be well worth the wait. :-)
NON-WHOLESALE ORDERS
We can typically get non-wholesale orders out the next available ship date, as these orders generally only take a few minutes to pack.
Please Understand Requested Ship Dates Are Not Guaranteed.
We ship hundreds if not a thousand plus geckos per week, so the shipping schedule can become very hectic at times, particularly after weather has been uncooperative for extended periods. As such, the schedule can then fill up a week or two ahead of time as weather improves. Most of the time, we're able to ship within the week, but please sure to confirm with Anthony your shipping date is available BEFORE making any changes to your schedule, such as requesting a day off of work.
3 STEPS FOR SCHEDULING YOUR SHIPMENT
To schedule your shipment, simply email anthony@acreptiles.com and include the following info...
1. LIST THE DATE (OR RANGE OF DATES) THAT YOU WOULD LIKE US TO SHIP.
For the safety of our geckos, we always want to make absolutely sure that we aren't booking a shipment to arrive on a day you're going to be away. If you tell us to ship "as soon as possible", that will not secure a spot on the schedule at that time. We will still have to check back with you before we add you to the schedule for a particular day.
TIPS FOR CHOOSING A SHIPPING DATE
I never mind working with you to find the best date, but if you're in a hurry to get on the schedule before it fills up, a couple of things might help facilitate that.
- If there happens to be a range of dates that will work for you, include that in your email.
That works out especially well because we can just schedule you for the soonest available, and safest, of those dates. We will then let you know what date you're scheduled for without a lot of emailing back and forth.
*Remember, Wednesday for Thursday arrival books up a couple weeks out, if not more, so there's usually a good 3 weeks lead-time for Wednesday shipments. As such, Wednesday isn't usually a good date to quickly reschedule a shipment.
- Avoid requesting shipment on days that weather is not going to be safe.
Check your forecast and ours (64014) to determine the most likely dates that shipping will be safe, and try to avoid requesting shipment on dates that will not. If you request a date that ends up being too hot/cold, we will be happy to reschedule you, but we may have to schedule you for the following week if there's no room left on the schedule for the following shipping day. See temperature guidelines below on this page if you're unsure what's safe.
2. LIST ALL ORDER NUMBERS THAT WE'RE SHIPPING
VERY IMPORTANT - If you place another order after you've scheduled your shipment, you must email us with an updated shipping request so that we can put that new order number on the schedule. Otherwise, it will likely not ship with your previous order(s).
3. LIST THE TOTAL NUMBER OF GECKOS EXPECTED
This helps avoid any confusion on shipping day that might cause some of your geckos not to be shipped. PLEASE don't forget to mention any bonuses we agreed to send, wholesale geckos, etc.
*PLEASE BE SURE TO EMAIL AN UPDATED SCHEDULING REQUEST IF YOU ORDER MORE GECKOS.
If you place a new order after you've scheduled your shipment, please be sure to email us again with your newly revised list of order numbers and total number of geckos you're expecting, so that we can add your new order to the schedule.
Live Gecko Shipping Process & Guidelines
I may not reply to your scheduling email right away. Please don't panic.
I am not ignoring you, I promise! :-) Because I have to schedule shipments on the back-end of our website from a computer, I will flag emails for later review, often from my phone, and then do the scheduling in batches. This enables me to plan my shipments out carefully, so that we can fit in as many orders as is safely possible on a given day - and hopefully never end up running out of time and having to postpone orders at the last minute.
If shipping day comes and you still haven't heard back about your shipment, please shoot me a text!
My personal cell number is 816-509-0712. Please mention your name and order number if we haven't already texted before. Texts are preferable to phone calls. My phone gets terrible (if any) reception out in our metal building. Texting is far more reliable.
Shipments are Scheduled "Pending Safe Weather Conditions"
We reserve the right to postpone a shipment if we feel it's in the best interest of the geckos. I have probably spent days of my life rescheduling shipments and emailing customers, but I can only sleep at night if I know geckos aren't dying because of careless shipping practices. If, on shipping day, we determine that we cannot safely ship your package due to unsafe temperatures, we will contact you via email to let you know shipment has been postponed due to weather. I *seriously* hate doing this, but sometimes that's the only ethical option.
Safe Shipping Temperatures
All Shipment Scheduling Pending Safe Weather Conditions Safe shipping temperatures are something we take very seriously here - they are literally a matter of life or death. We only ship geckos when temperatures are safe. It is your responsibility to know your weather conditions and to only schedule shipping when temperatures are safe.
Minimum Overnight Low: Above 32 F
Maximum Daytime High: 85 F or lower for hatchlings - 90 F or lower for adults.
*Shipping for Pickup at your nearest FedEx Ship Center ("Hub") may be required when weather conditions become too risky for home delivery.
Please note that we determine risk by looking at DAYTIME HIGH temperatures, not the temperature it should be on the morning of arrival. Often times, the temperature won't be over 90 until after the geckos should have been delivered. The problem with that is the "should" part. If there's a 24-hour delay, the geckos could very easily die from overheating. Unfortunately, this isn't a hypothetical concern - we actually experience these delays several times each month.
Shipping for pickup at your local FedEx Ship Center is highly recommended!
I always recommend that we ship to a FedEx Ship Center (aka hub) for pickup on all gecko shipments, especially when temperatures are less than ideal (cold or hot). This keeps the geckos off of a hot truck, prevents you from having to wait around for a delivery truck and it enables you to get pick up your geckos at your convenience that day (they'll be kept indoors until you pick up).
This isn't something I only preach, either - I take an hour out of my day, each and every shipping day, in order to drive geckos to the hub and keep them off of a hot or cold truck. As tempting as it is to let the driver come pick up our shipments, I've been doing this 20+ years and I've seen the difference that truck ride can make.
If you don't know the address of your nearest FedEx Ship Center, don't even worry about it - I can find the closest hub for you as I'm booking your shipment, and then I'll send you the address on shipping day, which is the day before your gecko(s) will arrive.
Flat Rate Shipping
We ship only within the United States . We ship FedEx Overnight to your door for $49 or your local hub for $55. There is no limit to the number of animals/orders for that shipping charge. If you want to place another order to be shipped with an existing one, you'll see that option available (at no charge) when you complete checkout.
No Shipping Cost Refunds for Late Deliveries
Contrary to popular belief, we do not receive refunds from FedEx if a live animal shipment doesn't arrive on time. In fact, FedEx is late on such a regular basis that I wouldn't have time to report every incident. We pack and ship assuming this will happen, so we almost never see health issues or DOA's due to a delay - temperature guidelines are key here, by the way.
While FedEx almost never kills a gecko, they kill a lot of days for people by making them wait around all day for a package that might not arrive until the next day. This is why I highly recommend shipping to a FedEx ship center (hub), so that you can pick the package up at your convenience. Having geckos delivered to your door sounds convenient until you've been waiting 6 hours and you find out they're not going to be there until tomorrow, meaning you'll have to wait around again.
ALL ORDERS ARE DELIVERED BY FEDEX
All orders are shipped via FedEx Priority Overnight, either to your local FedEx Ship Center or your home. We do not offer local pickup and we do not make in-person gecko deliveries under any circumstances.
Local Pickup Not Available
Due to a number of reasons that range from security and zoning restrictions to insurance policies, we do not offer the option of picking up orders at our facility. In the future, I want to open a private showroom for customers to come visit and I will update this page with that info when the time comes. Until then, local pickup is not an option.
In-Person Delivery Not Available
This is something we've actually had people insist on me meeting them to hand-deliver a gecko, and then throw insult-filled tantrums, after being told that I won't make an exception for them.
This is a highly risky and inconsiderate proposal for a customer to insist upon and I strongly encourage other breeders not to take part in this risky practice. Here's why:
1. If the customer pays in advance via credit card, PayPal, etc., then you're setting yourself up for a fraudulent chargeback because you'll have no proof of having shipped their order.
2. If you agree to let the customer pay when you meet, you're setting yourself up to be robbed. If you think that's far-fetched, then you should read this article.
3. And then there's the time. Even if there weren't the above risks, which are dealbreakers for me, I sell hundreds of geckos every week and would have to do this for every customer who requests it, which would be physically impossible.
"Shipping is too stressful!"
Not true, and if you're a breeder, don't fall for this one. Shipping a reptile is far less stressful for them than being displayed and purchased at a reptile show. They are only in transit roughly 14-16 hours when we ship them cross country. If they're not leaving the KC metro area, they'll usually only be in the box 10-12 hours, nor will they be loaded onto an airplane.
I personally appreciate your patience and cooperation while we get your geckos to you safely and in the best of health.
I know how exciting it is to get a new gecko (or 10) and I know the torture of having to wait all too well. I've gone plenty of nights without sleep because I was so excited for new geckos to show up. :-)
-Anthony