Notice: I am currently on paternity leave. Shipping is paused and will resume the week of July 14th. Restocks will be delayed as well. Please see the "When will my order ship?" section of the FAQ for more details.
As stated throughout the checkout process, by placing an order with Springtails US, you agree to all terms outlined on this page.
When will my order ship? When will my order deliver?
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Supply orders will ship within 4 business days of the order being placed, supply orders typically ship Mon-Wed.
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Live animal orders placed after 8am CST Thursday will not ship until Friday of the next week. Orders placed before 8am CST on Thursday will always ship Friday of the same week. For example orders placed after the 8am Thursday cutoff on the 1st will not ship until the 9th and orders placed before the cutoff will ship on the 2nd. I only ship live animals on Fridays to ensure the fastest shipping times for the safety of the animals. The 8am Thursday cutoff is to allow for adequate order prep time as Springtails US is a one-person business.
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In certain cases a notice will be posted in advance on the main shop page and/or throughout the checkout process informing of a delay in shipping due to holidays, extreme weather, expected USPS shipping delays, personal events, etc. Other times an email will be sent out informing of an unexpected delay effecting already placed orders, so if your order seems to be delayed please check your inbox and spam for an email from ryne@springtails.us before personally reaching out to ask. In these rare cases your order will ship in accordance to the specifics of the checkout or email notices.
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Live Animal Orders will typically deliver Mon-Wed after shipping on Friday.
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Supply orders typically deliver 3-6 days after you receive a shipping confirmation.
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Please reach out if your order seems to be taking longer than usual to deliver.
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Please understand that currently Springtails US is operated entirely by only one person.
I am currently on paternity leave following the birth of my first child and will not be shipping orders during this important time for my family. Shipping will resume the week of July 14th on a first-come, first-served basis, barring any unexpected complications.
As I am a one-person business, some orders may continue to ship later than the usual deadlines outlined below as I work to catch up during and after that week. Once I’m fully caught up, I will remove the paternity leave notices from the website, and shipping will return to the usual schedule outlined below in this section.
This is a new notice updated 06/27/25. If your order was placed at the time of the old Paternity Leave Notice I will be reaching out to you via email to inform you of the delay. Thank you so much for your patience and for the incredible support I’ve received.
Live Arrival Guarantee, Hold for Pickup, Refunds, and Returns
LAG (Live Arrival Guarantee):
Deaths in a Springtails US order are extremely rare due to my careful packaging with insulated boxes and a range of temperature controlling packs but they can still occur. Read below how orders experiencing deaths can be eligible for refund or replacement, and scroll to the bottom of this section for contact information.
- Must contact me within 3 hours of the delivery time posted by the carrier service and provide photo or video proof if you want a return or replacement due to DOA (Dead On Arrival). Orders which are held for pickup at a post office have an extended 24hr LAG. If you experience a DOA please reach out even if you haven't made the time limit and I will do my best to make things right. I understand that excessive deaths during shipment are not always the customer's fault so I'll offer exceptions in most cases. Always feel free to contact me!
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Delayed orders:
-Please reach out via email to ryne@springtails.us if your live animal order hasn't delivered by end of day Wednesday after shipping the previous Friday. I will then reach out to USPS to get the package back on track.
-Orders which have been in transit for 10 or more days due to postal delays can be replaced or refunded if the animals are DOA or if after a USPS investigation they are determined lost. It is never the fault of the buyer if a delayed package is DOA. Please reach out if your order is experiencing a delay in transit or if your delayed order arrives DOA. Infrequently orders will spend 5 or more days in shipping but will almost always still arrive alive because of my careful packaging.
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Special hold for pickup requirements:
-Isopod orders will be automatically sent to your nearest USPS post office if forecasted low temperatures are below 40F or forecasted highs above 85F during expected days of delivery. If you cannot get to a post office to pick up your animals please reach out to me before ordering and I'll do my best to accommodate. Most isopods are more sensitive to temperature swings than springtails hence these Hold For Pickup requirements only for orders containing isopods.
-You will typically be emailed by USPS which address your order is available for pickup. If you do not receive this information via email or the USPS tracking page and your order appears to be held at your post office please reach out to me for the hold address. Sometimes tracking will say the item is still in transit and/or does not change past the "Arrived at post office" or "Delivered to mail room" label. Please reach out to me if this is the case as it likely means your order was held for pickup.
-Any order can be sent to a post office instead of your home if you request it in the order comments field at the final page of the checkout.
All other products:​
-Product refunds and returns are handled on a case-to-case basis. I will need a reason provided to help me understand the nature of the refund/return for the product.
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Please reach out to ryne@springtails.us for all inquiries regarding DOAs, refunds, returns, and reshipments.
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Can I order supplies and live animals in the same order?
To ensure the safety of the animals and to facilitate a streamlined automated checkout process I do not allow animals and supplies to be purchased in the same order and shipped in the same box. That being said, you can reach out via email to ryne@springtails.us and I may be able to accommodate some requests.​
Where do you ship to?
I only ship within the US (excluding Hawaii or any US territories) and do not have plans to expand to other regions.
Springtail Shipping Methods
Large counts of springtails may ship in only one cup. For example a 100ct or 500ct of Folsomia candida will still ship in only one cup. Very large counts will be split into multiple cups. If you would like your springtails split into multiple shipping cups please specify that in the order comments section of the checkout process.
I use three shipping methods for springtails:
-Paper towel in 2oz cups
-Springtail Clay in 8oz cups
-Springtail Plaster in 2oz cups (currently only used for A. caecus & S. quadrimaculatus)
-I use paper towel for species that I suggest culturing on soil. I use paper towel because it is a secure and clean way to safely ship springtails which I transfer from soil into these shipping cups. They can survive on the paper towel for a week or more. To get the springtails off of the towel and into the culture you can either put the whole paper towel into their new culture and wait for them to get off or unfold the paper towel and gently knock them off and into the soil.
-I use clay for the species which I suggest culturing on clay and which handle shipping on clay well. You can keep these springtails in their clay lined shipping cups and continue culturing them in there or tilt the shipping cup and tap them out into a new culture.
-I use plaster for the small globular springtails because it tends to be safer than the other options and allows for easier viewing upon arrival. You can transfer the whole shipping container to their permanent enclosure or temporarily culture them in their shipping cup.
Isopod Shipping Methods
Isopods ship in ventilated cups with damp sphagnum moss and leaf litter to keep them fed. Large counts of isopods may ship in only one cup. For example a 10ct or 100ct of Porcellionides pruinosus will still ship in only one cup. Very large counts will be split into multiple cups. If you would like your isopods split into multiple shipping cups please specify that in the order comments section of the checkout process.