Concerned after arrival without heat pack

Grenn

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 6, 2016
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23
Hello all -- first time poster, hoping someone can offer advice or perhaps reassurance!

This is my first time ordering a T through the post (though I have read up as much as possible).

I'm in the UK so obviously it's rather chilly at the moment. T was sent yesterday and arrived early today. Packaging job was reasonable but I noticed straight away the box was quite cold -- a heat pack was included but was unopened and had not been activated! I opened it up to test it... and it's been warm on my desk now for the entire day. Poor T! :(

The T in question is a female, juvenile B. Smithi. Body length ~ 3cm.

She came out of the packaging okay, with a little gentle coaxing from a brush. In the new enclosure she walked over to the corner and has not moved an inch since. Enclosure is in a slightly warmer than room temperature, out of direct light. Obv. there is water in the enclosure but have not dropped any food in.

I'm aware Ts can get stressed during transit and common sense tells me, give her a day or so settle down. But I'm concerned that she was sent 'cold' and unsure if there's anything else I should be doing? I'm panicking slightly ... as I say, first time ordering online.

Cheers. Any advice gratefully received.
 

Haksilence

Bad At Titles
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Should be fine. Give it a few days to settle in. It's quite common for specimens to "turn off" for a few days after ahipping
 

KezyGLA

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B. smithi are quite hardy. I believe it will be fine. Up here in Scotland the weather has been mild and ok for shipping with styro box without heat pack. Though heat pack should always be added when winter IMO.

If it was alive when it arrived then it should be ok. Did you buy from a well known seller?
 
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chanda

Arachnoking
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She should be fine. I recently purchased 5 M. balfouri slings that were supposed to be overnighted - but due to a combination of shipper error (missed the cutoff time for overnight shipping, changing the package to 2nd day) and additional delay of unknown origin on the part of the postal service, the spiders were shipped on Monday - and did not arrive until Friday. Overnight temperatures between departure and arrival points were down into the 20s (Farenheit) and they were shipped in styro but without a heat pack. I was expecting to open a box of dead spiders - but all arrived alive and well. Slings are surprisingly hardy! They've since settled into their enclosure, begun webbing, and started to feed. Once yours has a chance to settle in, she should be fine.
 

Grenn

Arachnopeon
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Dec 6, 2016
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Thanks for the quick responses guys, very much appreciated. That's all good news as well.

It's quite common for specimens to "turn off" for a few days after ahipping
That is very reassuring to hear, thank you. Yes "switched off" is exactly how she seems - in a stood up posture but frozen! Will keep an eye on her and leave her to settle.

I presume I should wait until she's active again before feeding?

Did you buy from a well known seller?
Certainly one that is well known, yes. On initial research, feedback all seemed very good but I've since read a few less-than-positive things on these forums. As I say, packaging and shipping time were all fine. Forgetting to activate the heat pack is just down to human error I suppose. I have contacted them to let them know but no response yet.
 

KezyGLA

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I presume I should wait until she's active again before feeding?

Certainly one that is well known, yes. On initial research, feedback all seemed very good but I've since read a few less-than-positive things on these forums. As I say, packaging and shipping time were all fine. Forgetting to activate the heat pack is just down to human error I suppose. I have contacted them to let them know but no response yet.
Some Ts will eat straight after transit and some wont. I f she is refusing food just try again in the next few days.

I think I know who you may have bought it from. If it is I must tell you there are plenty of other sellers in UK who do the job they are supposed to. ;)
 

mistertim

Arachnobaron
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Sep 4, 2015
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548
The cold transit probably stressed it and wasn't particularly good for it but as long as it arrived alive and got into a warmer enclosure it should be ok. As others have pointed out, B. smithi are pretty hardy tarantulas. It will be fine, just leave it be in the low light for a while and let it warm up and acclimate to the new environment. I'd wait a couple days to try feeding.
 

Grenn

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 6, 2016
Messages
23
Just thought I'd update.

Most importantly, T is showing signs of settling in. I checked last night and saw she was by her water, and when I checked later on she was inside the cork bark tunnel, so she's slowly moving around and acclimatising. Will try feeding today.

A lot happier; thanks once again for everyone's reassurance.

As for the place of purchase, initially I wanted to avoid naming names and give them a fair chance to respond.... BUT after receiving an email from them I'm shocked and baffled by their idea of customer service:

They basically said next time I should notify them in the comments section of my order if I want the heat pack activating.

Bearing in mind, I emailed them before ordering to ask about potential cold weather issues and they advised me to add a heat pack to my order.

Surely around this time of year, heat pack activated as standard? What if I'd ordered without one, would they have just sent without? Bothered to contact to advise me? Who knows. The email responses have a very odd manner about them. No apology, or advice... and the assumption I'll make future orders. I politely responded that it is unlikely there will be a 'next time'.

The vendor is indeed the one some of you have guessed at. Ah well, once bitten and all that...

As I say, the most important thing, T seems to be doing okay.
 

TownesVanZandt

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May 12, 2015
Messages
1,041
Just thought I'd update.

Most importantly, T is showing signs of settling in. I checked last night and saw she was by her water, and when I checked later on she was inside the cork bark tunnel, so she's slowly moving around and acclimatising. Will try feeding today.

A lot happier; thanks once again for everyone's reassurance.

As for the place of purchase, initially I wanted to avoid naming names and give them a fair chance to respond.... BUT after receiving an email from them I'm shocked and baffled by their idea of customer service:

They basically said next time I should notify them in the comments section of my order if I want the heat pack activating.

Bearing in mind, I emailed them before ordering to ask about potential cold weather issues and they advised me to add a heat pack to my order.

Surely around this time of year, heat pack activated as standard? What if I'd ordered without one, would they have just sent without? Bothered to contact to advise me? Who knows. The email responses have a very odd manner about them. No apology, or advice... and the assumption I'll make future orders. I politely responded that it is unlikely there will be a 'next time'.

The vendor is indeed the one some of you have guessed at. Ah well, once bitten and all that...

As I say, the most important thing, T seems to be doing okay.
That´s good to hear! Luckily, there are plenty of very good sellers in the UK :)
 

KezyGLA

Arachnoking
Joined
Apr 8, 2016
Messages
3,013
As for the place of purchase, initially I wanted to avoid naming names and give them a fair chance to respond.... BUT after receiving an email from them I'm shocked and baffled by their idea of customer service:

They basically said next time I should notify them in the comments section of my order if I want the heat pack activating.

Bearing in mind, I emailed them before ordering to ask about potential cold weather issues and they advised me to add a heat pack to my order.

Surely around this time of year, heat pack activated as standard? What if I'd ordered without one, would they have just sent without? Bothered to contact to advise me? Who knows. The email responses have a very odd manner about them. No apology, or advice... and the assumption I'll make future orders. I politely responded that it is unlikely there will be a 'next time'.

The vendor is indeed the one some of you have guessed at. Ah well, once bitten and all that...

As I say, the most important thing, T seems to be doing okay.
I am glad your T is doing well

If it is TB you can expect no customer service. They dont care about their customers or their animals. They couldnt give a hoot if your T died in transit as they have plenty more and just want to make a buck. They are incompetent. I would hate to see what conditions they keep them 'in store'. I have made the mistake of ordering from them twice before. Both times they messed me about for weeks and both times with horrible customer services and I was even threatened by email when I left them a bad review on their FB page.

I am not alone in this. They used to have a good rep a couple years back which is what they are still relying on. After an influx of bad reviews on their FB page they have since removed the review section. They are a complete mess.
 

chanda

Arachnoking
Old Timer
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Jun 27, 2010
Messages
2,229
They basically said next time I should notify them in the comments section of my order if I want the heat pack activating.

Bearing in mind, I emailed them before ordering to ask about potential cold weather issues and they advised me to add a heat pack to my order.

Surely around this time of year, heat pack activated as standard?
Wow... That's basically the same as if you ordered a hamburger at McDonald's and they served you a raw, frozen beef patty on a bun, then when you complained, they said "Well, you didn't say you wanted it cooked! "

It's just basic common sense to activate the heat pack if you bother to include it, and I'm sure they usually do just that - they just messed up and don't want to admit it. Sorry you had to deal with the extra stress and aggravation. I'm glad the spider is ok, but I hope you left them an appropriate review to warn other potential buyers.
 

Andrea82

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Jan 12, 2016
Messages
3,686
Good to read your B.smithi is doing okay.

A bit baffled by the heatpack issue though. Why include one if they're not planning to use it??
TB also has a reputation of trying to sell to US customers, without informing them about customs and importing laws and fees.
 

KezyGLA

Arachnoking
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Apr 8, 2016
Messages
3,013
Still not 100% if it was TB. But I would still bet my mortgage it was :bored:
 

Walker253

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jun 12, 2016
Messages
554
They basically said next time I should notify them in the comments section of my order if I want the heat pack activating.
What is this seller, some 12 year old kid or something? You order a heat pack with the order because it's WINTER. Who with any level of common sense doesn't activate the heat pack? For them to throw the blame on you for not telling them to activate it is absurd. Anybody can make a mistake, but to throw it back on you for something so basic on the common sense scale shows a complete lack of professionalism and integrity. They should no longer be in business. He could have the greatest product in the world, but if it were me, I would have no hesitation in spreading this story with the sellers name attached to anyone who would listen.
I might press you for the info if I lived in the UK, but it has no direct effect on me, except to irritate me.
 
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