How long can a tarantula survive in transit? (FedEx delay)

[oceanegg]

Hello! I'm getting my first tarantula and I'm very worried. I ordered her on Tuesday but I'm worried that they might not arrive alive. they still haven't arrived and I have no news on when they will. The seller's website says they account for delays when packaging but I'm still worried. the temperature isn't too bad where I live (chilly but not freezing). do you think they'll make it? idk if it matters but they're a 2-1/2-3 inch female brachypelma boehmei.

 

[HOITrance]

I ordered her on Tuesday

She may not have shipped it yet. 99% of vendors have their shipping schedule posted on their site. Most often then not they will ship the week FOLLOWING your order. So if you ordered on Tuesday, then she would be shipping your spider out on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday the following week on overnight delivery. Vendors deal with a lot of orders and it would be logistically difficult, if not impossible, to ship your spider the day after you order it.

Now if you have a tracking number and it already shipped, I would contact her directly to let her know. But i am going to guess she will ship it next week.

And to answer what could happen in a delay...it depends on several factors. Temps, humidity, premolt, recently molted, packaging, amount of air holes, size of spider. All of those can widely vary the answer, and none are set in stone rules.

 

[oceanegg]

She may not have shipped it yet. 99% of vendors have their shipping schedule posted on their site. Most often then not they will ship the week FOLLOWING your order. So if you ordered on Tuesday, then she would be shipping your spider out on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday the following week on overnight delivery. Vendors deal with a lot of orders and it would be logistically difficult, if not impossible, to ship your spider the day after you order it.

Now if you have a tracking number and it already shipped, I would contact her directly to let her know. But i am going to guess she will ship it next week.

And to answer what could happen in a delay...it depends on several factors. Temps, humidity, premolt, recently molted, packaging, amount of air holes, size of spider. All of those can widely vary the answer, and none are set in stone rules.

i should probably have specified, but yes the spider was shipped on Tuesday. the reason I made this post is because through the FedEx tracker it says the shipment was delayed.

 

[HOITrance]

i should probably have specified, but yes the spider was shipped on Tuesday. the reason I made this post is because through the FedEx tracker it says the shipment was delayed.

I would contact the seller then. If it is being delivered to a hub, not all are open on weekends (the one in my area isnt). I hope your little friend will be ok, but after 3-4 days it really can be up in the air

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I had that happen Along time ago no Doas but as said above lots of factors you never know.

 

[oceanegg]

I would contact the seller then. If it is being delivered to a hub, not all are open on weekends (the one in my area isnt). I hope your little friend will be ok, but after 3-4 days it really can be up in the air

thankfully its being delivered to a dollar general (didn't even know FedEx delivered there), i just hope it arrives tomorrow. if not my worries will increase a lot.

 

[darkness975]

thankfully its being delivered to a dollar general (didn't even know FedEx delivered there), i just hope it arrives tomorrow. if not my worries will increase a lot.

They can survive for a while but that is dependent upon the conditions the package is subjected to.

It won't survive long if it's left outside in a cold warehouse with no heat pad, for example.

 

[LilithArachne]

I hope your T makes it safely

 

[fcat]

I want to say @cold blood once spoke of their resiliency due to love of tight dark spaces, minimal metabolic demands....and cited a very delayed package...everyone was fine... Maybe a month or a few weeks, if he beats me to the answer otherwise I'll keep looking.


Edit

Oxygen Consumption Rate of Tarantulas

This is mainly brought up from my newbie confusion of shipping Ts and how long they can last before their air runs out, but then again, I don't know what goes into boxing them up. Anyways, Questions! What's the rate of consumption for a sling compared to an adult? Have there been any recorded...

arachnoboards.com

First time buying online

It's my first time purchasing online and I wanted to know how long does it take for a seller to ship a tarantula? I don't mind the wait because it's a live animal but I'm also curious.

arachnoboards.com

 

[viper69]

No one knows - depends on weather and how it was packed, the worst part of any delivery are the temps in the truck, a vendor did an actual shipping experiment on this.

 

[cold blood]

I wouldnt be too concerned...temps arent harsh right now.....I just shipped a package last week...it sat here in WI until a cold front hit (30's), then shipped out in the cold...got to AZ and sat in a hot delivery truck for 8 hours...both ends were less than ideal....no problems though....as long as packing is good, and it should be, it shouldnt be an issue.

 

[FatBadBay]

I don't always trust FedEx when they say it's delayed. I had it happen twice at the FedEx hub so I went in anyway to check and my package was there both times.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

I will always advise anyone buying from a dealer they never bought from before to read the online dealer review section first.

Second, can always ask members but no dealer name can be public, only in private message, (for the new members out here). Also cannot publicly provide links to T's for sale on dealer's sites, pm only. I know because not only is it in the Forum Rules, I made that newb move when I first joined.

My own experience it always starts with how good the packing is done from the seller first and foremost. Slings can survive quite a while in transit but packed poorly and you'll have slings suffering from desiccation. You can wind up with D.O.A.'s or slings that die in a day or two after receiving them.

I lost a total of 6 slings from one breeder due to this with one of them being a rare. I questioned their packing which was not received well.

There is very few sellers I'll buy from for many different reasons. There's been a few that are crossed off the list after purchasing.