Your chameleon’s wellbeing comes first. Overnight courier to the contiguous 48 states, held for pickup, or in person at a reptile expo.
Arranged through MorphMarket Shipping to eligible destinations in the contiguous 48 states. Your chameleon travels in insulated, approved live animal packaging with heat or cold packs chosen for the conditions.
Hold for pickup at an approved carrier counter is mandatory. See the terms below.
By prior arrangement at selected reptile expos throughout northwestern Virginia and surrounding areas, broadly anything within about two hours of Winchester.
No overnight transit, and time to go through your chameleon’s care together. Our preference.
We will not ship or transfer a panther chameleon until it is at least six months old and individually ready to travel. Younger animals do not handle transit well, and a hatchling that seems fine on collection can crash days later.
You are very welcome to reserve an animal from a younger clutch. It simply stays with us, at our expense, until it reaches age. No exceptions to this, for anybody.
Before we ship
Payment reserves your chameleon. It does not automatically schedule shipping. Before your chameleon leaves us, we confirm together:
We ship to eligible destinations in the contiguous 48 United States where appropriate overnight service and live animal pickup are available. We do not ship internationally.
Which carrier depends on your destination. MorphMarket Shipping gives us both FedEx and UPS, and we pick whichever gives your chameleon the better route and the more convenient pickup counter. You will know which one, and which counter, before we create the label. The service is next-day either way.
MorphMarket Shipping is a courier booking service, and it is separate from the MorphMarket marketplace. We keep a store profile there, but we do not list animals for sale on it. Every chameleon still starts with a conversation.
All live chameleons travel hold for pickup. We select and verify the destination with you before the label is created. We do not offer residential delivery, and we do not ship live chameleons to PO boxes, FedEx Office or UPS Store locations, Walgreens, or other third party pickup locations.
We normally ship Tuesdays and Wednesdays for scheduled delivery the following business day.
We do not ship immediately before holidays, during designated no ship periods, or when weather or carrier disruptions make travel unsafe. We follow MorphMarket Shipping’s current shipping requirements and alerts.
Next-day service is what we select, not a promise of an exact arrival time. Availability varies by destination and carrier delays can happen.
Weather
We review forecast conditions at our location, at the expected sorting hub or hubs, and at your destination before shipping. We also weigh storms, service interruptions, and anything else that could stretch out transit.
If conditions are unsafe we postpone, even if you would prefer an earlier shipment. Your chameleon stays in our care with no additional boarding charge during a weather hold. We keep you posted and agree a new date with you.
Packing and handoff
Chosen around the forecast at both ends and at the hubs in between, not just yours. Normally a Tuesday or Wednesday.
New, approved live animal packaging: insulation, appropriate ventilation, secure containment and cushioning, clearly labeled.
You get tracking and the confirmed pickup details the moment your chameleon ships.
From the agreed pickup counter, as soon as the carrier confirms it is ready. This part is mandatory.
Heat, cold or phase change packs are chosen only when they suit the animal and the expected conditions. We prepare each shipment close to the carrier handoff so your chameleon spends as little time in the box as possible. Packaging moderates conditions, but courier transport is not temperature controlled.
On the day
Watch tracking directly and stay reachable by phone. Automated notifications can lag behind what tracking actually shows.
Collect your chameleon as soon as the carrier confirms the package is ready: within two hours of it becoming available, during pickup counter hours and before the facility closes that day. If it becomes available before the counter opens, the two hours start at opening.
Bring your tracking number and identification that meets the carrier’s pickup requirements.
If the package is delayed, the facility cannot release it, or you cannot collect as arranged, contact us immediately. Do not independently request a different destination, delivery date, or return shipment. Redirecting a live animal shipment usually makes things considerably worse, and it affects what we are able to put right afterwards.
Tell us before we schedule if your drive home will take more than an hour, so we can agree a sensible inspection and reporting plan up front.
The important part
EctothermInc guarantees live arrival when the shipping, collection and handling arrangements we agreed are followed. A carrier delay on its own does not void the guarantee.
Report a deceased arrival or any visible injury immediately, and no later than one hour after pickup, unless we agreed a different reporting window with you in writing before shipment.
Use the shipping day contact details we give you, and email info@ectotherminc.com with:
An unboxing video helps, but documenting a problem must never delay care the animal needs. Keep the packaging, and talk to us before arranging any return.
For a verified deceased arrival covered by this guarantee, we offer a refund of the animal’s purchase price and the original shipping charge, or a replacement agreed between us with shipping paid by us.
Documented carrier errors and facility access problems are assessed separately from delays caused at the customer’s end. This is a live arrival guarantee; any additional health guarantee is stated separately.
We confirm these terms with you in writing before any invoice is issued. If any of it is unclear, ask on the consultation call. We would much rather answer it twice now than have a disagreement about it later.
EctothermInc stays your point of contact for shipping questions, delays and arrival concerns. We coordinate with MorphMarket Shipping where assistance or a shipment protection claim is needed.
Any protection we buy through MorphMarket Shipping is separate from our promise to you. Our live arrival guarantee does not depend on whether MorphMarket Shipping approves or pays a claim. That is our problem to sort out, not yours.
Shipping and packaging charges are quoted before payment and itemized on your Square invoice. We confirm the shipping arrangements and the terms that apply with you before the invoice goes out.
If a weather hold runs 30 days past the agreed shipping date, you can either continue the hold or cancel the unshipped order for a full refund.
If we cannot fulfill your order, we refund everything paid on it. We will never ship into unsafe conditions to avoid a cancellation.
In the box
Not a generic printout. What this chameleon has been eating, on what schedule, and how its enclosure was set up here.
Lay date, hatch date and lineage, so you know exactly how old your chameleon is and where it came from.
You can contact us about your chameleon for as long as you have it. That does not expire.
Paying
Once we have both agreed a chameleon is right for you, we send a secure Square invoice itemizing the animal, shipping and packaging. Payment reserves your chameleon; the shipping date is arranged separately with you.
We only ever invoice through Square, from an address ending @ectotherminc.com, and the invoice is always paid by card. We will never ask you to pay by gift card, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or a friends-and-family transfer on a payment app. Reptile buyers get targeted by scammers impersonating breeders constantly. If anything feels off, stop and contact us directly through this website.
The alternative
In person pickup is available by prior arrangement at selected reptile expos in northwestern Virginia and the surrounding area. It avoids overnight transit entirely and gives us time to go through your chameleon’s care with you face to face.
The same six month minimum age and individual readiness requirements apply. Tell us roughly where you are and we will let you know which expos we expect to be at near you.
Tell us where you are and we will talk you through the options, including which expos we will be at near you.
