Frequently Asked Questions

See our privacy policy here.

How our freebie program works

Our rewards program lets you earn multiple freebies on a single order! Here’s how to qualify:

1. Spend & Earn: Your freebie credit is your pet invertebrate subtotal after discounts and before shipping. Dry goods, feeders, supplies and enclosures do not count toward it.
2. Add Your Own Freebies: Freebies are not automatically added; remember to add them to your order.
3. Make it Count: Every freebie shows its cost in its title. Take any combination whose costs add up to your credit. There is no cap on how many freebies you take, only on what they add up to.
4. Adjustments: If you add freebies you’re not eligible for, we’ll do our best to notify you. During high-volume periods, we may remove unqualified freebies without notice.
5. Forgot Your Freebies? Place another order to claim them, and you can combine total spending across orders for additional freebies!

Your discount, your free shipping and your freebies all stack. Once your invertebrate total after discounts reaches $300, shipping to a FedEx facility for pickup is free.

See our shipping terms here: Shipping Terms

See our refund and cancellation policy here: Cancellation Policy

See our terms of service here Terms of Service

There are two reporting windows and they buy different things.

Report within 2 hours of delivery and we reship. That is the full guarantee.

Report within 24 hours and we replace it on your next order. You are still covered, the replacement just travels with your next shipment rather than going out on its own.

The 2 hour window is for FedEx facility pickup. Home delivery is 30 minutes, because by then the package has spent longer on a truck that is not temperature controlled.

Why the windows are tight. Invertebrates, especially tarantulas and centipedes, dehydrate quickly in transit. Unpacking soon after the package is ready prevents avoidable harm, and it tells us clearly whether a problem came from shipping so we can take responsibility for it. A late report removes our chance to help at all.

We review every case individually. If something is reported the same day we will do our best to find a fair resolution, even outside the strict windows.

You pick everything at checkout. There is no survey to fill out afterwards.

1. Place your order and choose your freebies. Freebies are not added for you, so add them yourself before you check out.
2. Choose your arrival date at checkout. You select the day you want your animals to arrive.
3. You get a confirmation email within 24 hours. If you do not see it, check Spam and All Inboxes and mark it as not spam so our later emails reach you.
4. We check the weather. We look at conditions on both ends against the date you chose. If it is not safe for the animals, we do not ship, and we tell you.
5. You get a second email before we ship. It confirms your shipping day and exactly where the package is going. Heading to your door, we say so. Heading to a FedEx facility for pickup, we tell you which one.
6. We ship FedEx Priority Overnight and add your tracking. FedEx emails you updates directly. If FedEx has no delays, your animals arrive on the day you picked.

We find your nearest FedEx facility for you. Not every FedEx location accepts live animals. You do not have to figure out which ones do. We look it up and route your package to the closest one that does, and we tell you where it is going before it ships.

If you have a special request for your order, put it in the order notes at checkout.

Unlock UNLIMITED FREE animal order additions to your box when you pay for shipping. This offer is for animals only, cages are excluded as they take up extra space.

When you place your first order and pay for shipping, you can add to that order at no extra shipping charge and without contacting our team.

Just place another order as normal, go to checkout, and select the FREE order addition option.

Additions must be paid for before 7 AM EST on the day of shipment. After that we cannot combine them with your original order.

No. Your qualifying total for free shipping and freebies is based on your box, not a running balance. You can combine as many orders as you want into one box before it ships, and the combined total (after discounts) is what counts toward free shipping and freebie credit. Once that box ships, the total resets, a new order placed afterward starts fresh and does not carry over from a box that has already shipped.

If you want to build toward free shipping or more freebies, add to your order before it ships rather than placing a new one after.

If you forget your freebies, then you WILL have to make an additional order with the FREE order add on option at checkout and meet the $25 order minimum to make the addition.

That does mean you will have to add $25 in items to your order, and freebies in order to add missed freebies.

We made this self-serve system, so you can add whatever freebies with your order additions at any time!

Since you choose your own freebies and there is no cap on how many you take, only on what they add up to, we see it as the customers' responsibility to add freebies, and so have created a way that customers can make additions on their own without the need of our team.

Thank you for understanding! - EU Team

You choose your arrival date at checkout, so you are setting your own timing rather than waiting to hear back from us.

We ship Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Animals travel overnight with FedEx, so they arrive the day after we ship.

Two things can move your date:

• Weather. We check conditions on both ends against the day you picked. If it is not safe for the animals we hold the shipment and tell you rather than risk it. This is the one thing we will never rush.
• Late order additions. Anything added after 7 AM EST on the day of shipment cannot travel with the original order.

You will get an email confirming your shipping day and destination before we ship, so you are never guessing.

Before you receive your new pet(s), it is best to have their enclosure(s) set up, and at the correct temperatures so your unpacking experience is better for you and your new pet.

Here is a list of things you should do when you first receive your package (from FedEx pickup or home delivery):

1. Unpack the animals as soon as possible

2. Give your new pet water

3. Report any concerns you have as soon as you notice something is not quite right. (We have very few issues with shipping, but letting us know asap allows us to minimize small issues and prevent them from becoming bigger ones.)

4. Monitor your new pet closely for the next 24 hours.

**Feel free to send us update pictures later on, or post pictures and tag us on our socials! We LOVE to see you succeed with your new animals from us :)

FedEx facility pickup is $39 flat rate overnight on all pet invertebrates and reptiles, anywhere we ship. Once your pet invertebrate total after discounts reaches $300, that $39 goes to zero.

Home delivery costs more and the exact figure depends on where you are. It is calculated at checkout. The free shipping threshold applies to facility pickup only.

Feeder insects ship on their own and start as low as $7.

The short answer is yes, BUT there are VERY specific criteria needed for this.

Remember any rare items *Typically over $150* may only be shipped to FedEx hubs to reduce complications and risk.

Since we value the lives of the animals over our own convenience, we always pickup our own packages at local FedEx Facilities.

It is now our standard to ship for Local FedEx Facility Pickup.

Advantages to FedEx pickup:

1. Your package is ready earlier in the day than home delivery since packages have to go to these facilities before being put on a truck and driven to your house (Packages are typically ready for pickup at FedEx facilities by 9am)
2. We SHIP your orders out faster since it is so much safer for the animals to pick up at the FedEx facility.
3. These facilities are always temperature controlled (Fedex delivery trucks are not). This means we can safely ship in more extreme temperatures.
4. Fedex delivery personnel are not trained for live animals, so your package may be exposed to unsafe conditions.
5. You have a 2 hour issue reporting window for FedEx facility pickup (instead of 30 minutes for home delivery)
6. If you have trouble making the trip to the facility you can have a friend or family member pick up your package for you! (Please add the receivers name, or send us an email and we can add them as an approved receiver)

Criteria for home delivery:

1. Your nearest facility that accepts live animals is over 30 miles from you. We check this for you when your order is scheduled.

2. High/low temperatures near you must not be above 80°F or below 40°F between the time we ship and 10pm near you on the day of delivery in case there are delays.

3. The order cannot contain items we consider rare or fragile. Some of the species we carry are so rare that they are hard to replace. For that reason, some items we only ship for pickup at FedEx facilities. (This will be indicated at checkout as well).

4. You MUST be available to receive the package and open it within 30 minutes. Sometimes packages do not arrive until 5pm or later, so you will be expected to be at your home, or have someone at your home all day until the package arrives so the animals can be unpacked properly and as soon as possible.

When we ship out your order, FedEx takes the package and sends it to a FedEx HUB center where it is sorted into the correct cargo container.

From here, it is then sent to your nearest FedEx Facility location. If you have your package held for pickup, it stops here. If you want home delivery (and weather permits), then the package is then put on a truck and sent to your door.

Because of this complicated process, delays can easily occur if any part of the USA is affected by bad weather or a natural disaster; this does include if the natural disaster is across the country. There are scattered FedEx HUBS across the USA, so your package could go through any one of those based on what the FedEx system determines is the most efficient route.

We use FedEx overnight shipping for ALL of the animals we ship to you, because it is the service we have found most reliable for live animals. However, this does NOT mean that when you order, you will get your animals the next day. It only means the animals will spend only one night in transit when we ship.

FedEx facility pickup cuts out the last leg of the journey since it cuts out the “last leg” of the journey making it faster, safer and more consistent for those with busy schedules (almost always ready by 9am). Not ALL facilities accept live animals, so use the FedEx finder to see which one is closest to you!

We do that for you. You do not need to look anything up.

Not every FedEx location accepts live animal packages, which is exactly why we handle it. When your order is scheduled we find the closest facility to your address that does accept live animals, and we route your package there.

Before we ship, you get an email confirming the exact location your package is going to, so you know where to collect it and when.

Why facility pickup is the safer option:

• Your package is ready earlier in the day, usually by 9am, because it never goes out on a delivery truck
• These facilities are temperature controlled. Delivery trucks are not, which means we can ship safely in a wider range of weather
• You get a 2 hour window to report any issue, instead of 30 minutes for home delivery
• A friend or family member can collect for you. Add their name at checkout or email us and we will add them as an approved receiver

What makes Exotics Unlimited stand out?

The founders of Exotics Unlimited are hard core animal enthusiasts and have been this way from childhood (well over 2 decades ago).

We are here to serve passionate keepers, and give people an opportunity to keep, enjoy and succeed with the animals that have captivated us, so we can share them with you.

We take a hands on, quality over quantity approach to all that we keep, and are here to do things "the right way" (TRW) . We apply TRW approach to all facets of our brand from keeping our animals to our customer service.

We stick to what we know, so if you're searching for a store that:

1. Maintains rare animals with proper care.
2. Lets you choose your own freebies, with no cap on how many you take, only on what they add up to.
3. Stacks your discount, your free shipping and your freebies instead of making you pick one.

Then you're in the right place.

Are we the best? We will just let you decide.

There are a few ways an order can be delayed.

1. Not selecting the correct shipping option. When we have to invoice you for shipping, your order goes to the back of the line and may be pushed to the following week.

2. Inclement weather. Sometimes a storm hits one part of the country but has knock-on effects across the whole FedEx network because of heavier traffic at airports. We watch for this and we do not ship into it.

3. Late order additions. If an addition comes in too late we cannot combine it with your original order, which either delays the order or means paying shipping on the addition. Additions must be paid for before 7 AM EST on the day of shipment.

4. Too cold or too hot. If your area is outside safe temperatures on your chosen day, we do not ship. That is 20F to 100F for FedEx facility pickup and 45F to 80F for home delivery.

Subscribe free to our email list and get 10% off invertebrates. The discount applies itself at checkout, with no code to enter and no need to be logged in.

It stays active as long as you stay subscribed. Unsubscribe and it switches off.

Keep shopping with us and your lifetime spend moves you up a tier automatically. Higher tiers also get early access to rare species and first look at new drops.

ONYX comes from subscribing. GOLD and PLATINUM come from lifetime spend. DIAMOND applies per order.

ONYX: subscribe to our free email list, 10% off invertebrates

GOLD: past $1,000 lifetime spend, 13% off

PLATINUM: past $3,000 lifetime spend, 15% off

DIAMOND: any pet invertebrate order over $1,200 gets 20% off, applied automatically.

DIAMOND works per order rather than on lifetime spend, so it does not replace the tier you have earned. Whenever an order clears $1,200 it takes the 20%.

Discounts apply to regular tarantulas and invertebrates on the "All Tarantulas & Invertebrates" page.

Items already marked down for a weekly deal or an event special are the one exception. The discount is built into the price on those, so a subscriber discount does not come off on top. You will always know which ones they are because it says so right in the title, the same way freebies do.

Discounts, free shipping and freebies all stack. Once your invertebrate total after the discount reaches $300, shipping to a FedEx facility for pickup is free.

Keep in mind, this is for LIFETIME spend, so coming back continuously is the best way to be automatically moved up a tier.

Log into your account and see your lifetime spend!

Yes. Feeder insects carry a 24 hour live arrival guarantee, which is a longer reporting window than the one on our animals.

If your feeders arrive and they are not doing well, message us and we will send another order out to you at no cost. You do not need to make a case for it. Just tell us what arrived and we will sort it.

No, and that is on purpose. Feeders are handled by a dedicated feeder operation rather than being packed alongside your tarantulas.

Feeder insects need different packing, different ventilation and a different shipping cadence than a tarantula does, so they are handled by people who do nothing but feeders. They travel in their own box, which means they can arrive on a different day from your animals.

Both shipments are covered. Your animals fall under our live arrival guarantee and your feeders fall under the 24 hour feeder guarantee.

No. Freebie credit is built from your pet invertebrate subtotal. Feeders, dry goods, supplies and enclosures do not build credit.

That is not a penalty, it is just how the credit is calculated. Feeders are priced to be cheap to restock rather than to earn rewards.

Captive breeding comes first across everything we keep. Every tarantula we sell is 100% captive bred, no exceptions, even species like the Goliath Bird Eater, Arizona Blonde, and Curly Hair that are still commonly sold wild caught elsewhere in the trade. Most of our true spiders and other invertebrates are captive bred too, and we're working toward full coverage there. Most of our own breeding stock we raise ourselves, from spiderlings to adulthood, some of the rarest species we work with only exist as juveniles in the trade in the first place, so we breed multiple generations off animals we raised from nothing. The same captive-first approach carries over to our reptiles.

Crickets and roaches sized to about a quarter of the tarantula's leg span are the standard feeder insect. Slings and juveniles eat more often, we raise our own slings in larger enclosures with weekly feedings, while full grown adults can go a week or more between meals, sometimes longer heading into a molt, when many tarantulas stop eating entirely. A shallow water dish and a hygrometer to track humidity round out the basics.

Most tarantulas have eight eyes, arranged in two rows across the front of the carapace. Despite that, their eyesight is fairly weak. They mainly sense the world through vibration and touch, using the sensitive hairs covering their legs and body to detect movement, air currents, and prey long before they'd ever see it.

Size varies enormously by species. Dwarf genera mature as small as an inch and a half in leg span, while giant genera like Theraphosa, the goliath birdeaters, can exceed 10 inches, with recorded specimens up to 13 inches. Most pet tarantulas land somewhere in the middle, in the 4 to 8 inch range as adults. Check the individual listing for that species' expected adult size.

In the wild, some species genuinely do, though it's not a 'pet' relationship the way people mean it. Certain small frogs live inside the burrows of some New World tarantula species, and the tarantula tolerates them because the frog eats ants and mites that would otherwise threaten its eggs, while the tarantula's presence protects the frog from predators. It's a real mutualism, but it's a wild behavior, not something we'd recommend trying to set up in a captive enclosure.

Over 1,000 described species worldwide as of now, and the count keeps climbing. New species are still being discovered and formally described every year, especially in under-explored regions of South America and Southeast Asia.

No. Tarantulas are arachnids, the same broad group as spiders, scorpions, and mites, not reptiles and not insects. Reptiles are vertebrates with a backbone and scales, a tarantula is an arthropod with an exoskeleton instead. We carry both on this site, but they're entirely different branches of the animal kingdom.

Eight, like every arachnid. Tarantulas also have two pedipalps up front that look like a short extra pair of legs, they help with feeding, sensing, and in males, breeding, which is probably where the idea of a tarantula having ten legs comes from.

For all species, we recommend keeping handling to a minimum, tarantulas don't get any enjoyment out of it, and a fall of even a few inches can seriously injure one. That said, some species genuinely tolerate handling better than others. If that's what you're after, our Beginner-Friendly collection is the place to look, we only put a species there once we've seen keepers succeed with it and found it genuinely docile, so those are the tarantulas most likely to stay calm if handling comes up. Even then, a catch cup is the safer way to move one when you need to.

The US does have native tarantulas, but it's a desert Southwest story, not an East Coast one. Aphonopelma species turn up across Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and parts of California and Oklahoma. North Carolina and Florida aren't part of their native range. Everything we keep and sell, wherever the species is originally from, is captive bred right here.

We classify a species as beginner-friendly when it checks two boxes, not just one: keepers genuinely succeed with it, and it's also docile enough that we're comfortable handing a first-time keeper a simple care sheet and knowing they'll do well. New world dwarf and mid sized genera like Aphonopelma, Kochiana, and Hapalopus are where most keepers start, along with named species like the Brazilian Black, Mexican Red Knee, and Arizona Blonde. They're calm, feed reliably, and tolerate a missed misting far better than a fast old world display species does. If you want something that stays smaller, dwarf species are a great option too, just start with a well started spiderling of at least half an inch rather than the smallest size available, since dwarf slings hatch very small. See our Beginner-Friendly collection to browse what's in stock.

In most states, yes, tarantulas aren't regulated at all. The exceptions are a handful of northeastern states that restrict or outright prohibit them, and Florida, which has its own permitting rules for certain exotics. We'd recommend a quick check of your own state's wildlife or agriculture department rules before ordering, especially if you're in the northeast or Florida. This isn't legal advice, just a heads up.

Longer than most people expect, and it depends on species and sex. Females are the long lived half of the hobby, new world females commonly live 10 to 30 years, and old world females average 10 to 15 years. Life span varies by sex too, with males of most species living considerably shorter lives than females. A tarantula is a genuinely long term pet, not a passing one.

Tarantulas are generally considered low risk to keep once you know a bit about the species going in. New world species carry venom that's mild to moderate, similar to a bee sting at most, and several rely on urticating hairs instead as their main defense, not all of them. Old world species carry stronger venom, moderate to potent, but it still isn't considered lethal to a healthy adult. Respecting a tarantula rather than fearing it is the real skill: give it its space, learn its temperament, and it settles into being a genuinely low maintenance display animal.

The New Caledonian Giant Gecko (Rhacodactylus leachianus), also called the Leachianus or Leachie, is the largest gecko species in the world. We captive breed them in-house across our Grande Terre and Small Island Mix bloodlines. See our Leachianus Geckos collection to browse what's in stock.

It depends heavily on species and morph. A common, widely available morph runs far less than a rare or unusual pattern of the same species, and a giant species like our Leachianus geckos costs more across the board than a smaller one. Check the individual listing for current pricing, since it moves with availability.

We alternate between a prepared crested gecko diet (a powder like Pangea or Repashy mixed into a smoothie-like paste) and live crickets dusted with calcium, on a simple Monday, Wednesday, Friday rotation, powder one feeding, crickets the next. That mix covers their nutritional needs without a lot of guesswork.

Adults typically reach around 8 inches in total length and weigh in under 60 grams, modest by gecko standards, especially next to a giant species like our Leachianus.

Gargoyle geckos are a genuinely long term reptile pet, commonly living 15 to 20 years in captivity with good care, sometimes longer.

We recommend housing gargoyle geckos individually. They can be territorial, especially two males together, and even a carefully chosen pairing needs close monitoring for stress or aggression. Housing them solo is simpler and lower risk, gargoyle geckos don't need company the way some other pets do.

Yes. The same captive-first approach that shapes our tarantula program carries over to our reptiles, prioritizing captive bred bloodlines, including the Grande Terre and Small Island Mix Leachianus lines we breed in-house.