Strictly Reptiles and Underground Reptiles are both located in Florida. States like Florida, California, Texas, and Arizona have an abundance of reptile stores because the climate and environment is more agreeable than states in the northeast, midwest, and everything in-between.
I actually had a video of me opening both of my shipments from my order from each of these companies, but then the videos got deleted because I was editing it on my phone while my toddler was crawling all over me and the touchscreen — anyway, I still wanted to write a review since a lot of the posts I see on forums in regards to reptiles are people asking what’s a legit online place to buy from.
I’ve already did a PSA to stay away from Backwater Reptiles/Wholesale Exotics because they are a drop-shipper. They have no inventory and instead act as the “middle man” by getting orders, and then sending the orders to the supplier for shipment, while getting a cut of the payment… it’s why if you have ordered from them before, your shipment most likely came from Florida somewhere.
Well, two of the suppliers that does partnerships with drop-shippers like Backwater, are Underground Reptiles and Strictly Reptiles. Both companies are legit, but of course you’re going to get unhappy customers no matter what though, so this is just my own personal experiences with both companies.
Both offer overnight shipping. Strictly Reptiles is done through FedEx, while Underground Reptiles is done through UPS. The first company I ordered from was Strictly Reptiles just for the fact that they had inventory of what I wanted right away.
I ordered Sunday night, Monday I received an email saying my order was completed (but did not receive any tracking information), so I had to call for tracking info. They do answer their phones though, so that’s always a good thing. I spent all day refreshing the tracking info on the FedEx page, and even signed up for text updates from FedEx.
I’ve always had bad anxiety, but online shopping is definitely a trigger for it, especially when not ordering from a big corporation retailer like Walmart or Amazon. Some of the bad reviews I’ve read (and replies to comments) were about people getting sick or dying reptiles; and a lot of the replies were in regards to the customer having missed deliveries.
I did relax after I saw the package info finally being updated on FedEx, instead of just being a label created (it finally updated around 5:30PM my time, which I’m guessing was when it was finally dropped off or picked up by FedEx). I did not sleep well because of my anxiety over the order. I spent $370 on my order.
I basically waited by my window the next morning for my delivery, it finally arrived around 11:30AM. I saw the FedEx truck pulling up. The box itself was not very big, and I noticed that it seemed as if they were trying to hide the fact that there were live animals in the box… which bothered me a bit. I immediately knew that some of them were at least alive because I could actually feel them moving in the box.
I took the box outside to my yard to open immediately. I didn’t have to worry about “setup” because my whole yard is basically my setup. Anyway, I had ordered tortoises. They came in these small flip-lid takeaway containers, each individually with a tortoise. The lids weren’t snapped shut, instead it was left with gap openings in each and taped closed with the open gaps. This was so that they had air to breathe. It was actually packaged surprisingly well, and there was no way for the tortoises to hurt or bump into each other. Also, there were two ice packs in the box. All the tortoises were alive.
My next order was with Underground Reptiles. I ordered on Wednesday night and they processed the order on Thursday for overnight shipping. Their customer service was a little bit better, they tell you that you will receive a tracking number in the evening. They ship via UPS. Also, with Underground Reptiles, I left a notation that I wanted females and how to sex them, and I got what I wanted (that wasn’t really an option with ordering online with Strictly Reptiles). Most importantly, Underground Reptiles was less expensive than Strictly Reptiles.
Friday morning, I actually got an email stating that they were already delivered from Underground Reptiles — it was delivered around 9:30AM. The box was actually left on my porch for over an hour, and I wouldn’t have known unless I checked my email (that’s UPS though, and has nothing to do with who you ordered from). I was a little worried after realizing they’ve been on my porch for a while, but I wasn’t overly concerned. Right away, I liked the shipping box. In big, bold green letters it says live animals all around the box. The box itself also wasn’t very big either.
I went out to my yard to open the box. Strictly Reptiles definitely packaged better, even though the actual box for Underground Reptiles is a lot more practical. Underground Reptiles packaged the tortoises in individual cloth pouch bags that were knotted tightly shut. That didn’t seem the best method for air circulation, although I hope the fabric was cotton. Also, there was no ice packs in the box. Not only was the packaging done badly, but it seems that it was very likely for the animals to get knocked into each other and tossed around in the box. Surprisingly though, they all seemed okay.
Now, whereas all the tortoises from Strictly Reptiles were active as soon as I took them out of their containers and put them on the ground — there was one from Underground Reptiles that was a bit “sluggish” it seemed. (She was inactive and didn’t seem well at first, but she’s fine now.)
I highly recommend that you get your repitles in the warmer months if you live in a state that has seasonal weather conditions, because the best way for animals like reptiles to “settle” in is to be outside. You don’t have to worry about things like heating lamps and UV light bulbs and whatever else either when they’re in outdoor enclosures.
Despite the poor packaging, I would recommend Underground Reptiles as my first choice for the better prices and customer service. (However, Strictly Reptiles is also a good alternative if you can’t find what you want.) I definitely felt I had better options with regards to what I wanted with Underground Reptiles than I did with Strictly Reptiles. The price difference was only about $5-$10 dollars if you’re just buying one, but adds up to a lot if you’re buying in bulk (shipping also cost less with Underground Reptiles); and also it seems you can be specific with the sex of what you want with Underground Reptiles as long as you tell them how to sex the animals.
NYC Gal Out ♡ 