Hornworms for Sale - Free Shipping

Table of Contents

How do we ship hornworms?

We pack and ship hornworms from our Pennsylvania facility.  They are shipped with UPS with 2day delivery.  They are packaged in deli cups, loaded with food and bedding for the hornworms to live off of.

Hornworms Sizes - Important

All hornworms are shipped at the same size.  When you receive your hornworms, they will be about 1/2" - 1" in length.  They are packages with enough food to allow them to grow to either mediums sized, or large size.  Please be aware of this when after you receive them.

Which size hornworm should I buy?

Hornworms are well known for their size.  So it's important to make sure they are not too big for your pet.  The rule of thumb is that the feeder insect should be no larger than the space between your pet's eyes.  This means they can safely consume and digest the hornworm.  

Because hornworms grow rapidly, you'll want to make sure your pet can handle larger sized feeder insects.

How should I store my hornworms?

This depends on your intention for the hornworms.  If you keep them at room temperature, they will continue to grow.  And eventually, they will pupate before transforming into a sphinx moth.  

Hornworms are in the larval stage, and to prolong this stage, you'll want to keep them at about 55 degrees.  If you keep them above 80, they will morph faster into a pupa, which is typically 1-2 weeks.

How many hornworms should I feed my reptile?

Hornworms have an ideal amount of fat and protein for your pet.  However, they are an understudied feeder insect, and the amount of calcium to phosphorus is unknown.  Therefore, it is wise to dust them with calcium powder prior to offering them as food.

The cost of feeder insects is generally correlated with how quickly they reproduce.  Because hornworms have to go through a metamorphosis (similar to superworms and black soldier fly larva), they are going to breed more slowly.  This is why they are more expensive than roaches and crickets.  

Using them as a staple feeder can get pretty expensive.  And because their natural calcium content is not well known, it would better to use them as a supplemental feeder.  Alot of bearded dragon owners use hornworms to stimulate their pet's appetite.  Their bright blue color will often get their pet's attention and stimulate their natural striking instincts.  

Which reptiles eat hornworms?

This really depends on your pet.  But bearded dragons and leopard geckos are going to be the most popular predators.

What is the nutritional profile for hornworms?

Hornworms are 58% protein and 20% fat.  They are light on the fat for your pet, so you'll want to offer fatty insect as well like superworms.  

Hornworms compared to dubia roaches

Here is a guide that compares the nutritional profile of hornworms to dubia roaches.  As you'll see, hornworms have some good nutritional qualities.  But they are under studies and would be better suited as a supplemental feeder instead of a staple feeder.

What to Expect when receiving crickets in the mail - VIDEO

What to Expect When Receiving Superworms in the Mail - VIDEO

What to Expect When Receiving Discoid Roaches in the Mail - VIDEO

What to Expect When Receiving Black Soldier Fly Larvae in the Mail - VIDEO

What to Expect When Receiving Dubia Roaches in the Mail - VIDEO

Conditional Live Delivery Guarantee 

The Conditions

• Customer must be home to receive delivery.  Or package must be held at Post Office.
• Destination temps must be 45 degrees F or above.  No exceptions.
• Customer must provide correct shipping address. 
• Applies to paying customers only.  Winners from the CritterFam contest are excluded from the guarantee.  

If the conditions for the Live Delivery Guarantee are met, Customer must do the following:

• Send us pics of the deceased.  Pics can be sent to contact@thecritterdepot.com
• We must be notified within 24 hours from the moment customer receives package.  

If conditions are met, we will ship a replacement package free of charge. 

Shipping In Winter - Full Disclosure

1. We will not ship when Destination Temps are below 25 Degrees F              
2. Live Delivery is Not Guaranteed when Destination Temps are below 45 Degrees F

If you are ordering crickets, superworms, or any other live product during the winter, you need to be realistic: we’re trying to ship a live product through sub 30 degree temperatures affordably.

We take extra measures during the winter to try and increase their chances of survival.  However, history has proven that customers are 4x more likely to receive perished crickets when shipped in the winter.  This is fact.

Shipping in the winter has always been our biggest challenge.  And every other crickets vendor has the same problem.  No one wants to send you dead crickets. We want to provide you with excellent service, because we know you care about your pet. But the reality is we can’t control the weather. And there’s only so much packaging we can do before we have to increase our costs.

We still have success shipping in the winter.  

If you decide to order for a winter delivery, here's what you can do on your end to ensure you receive happy, healthy live products:

• You MUST be home to accept the delivery.  The live product cannot be left outside in the freezing temperatures, or it's certain they won't survive. 
• If we ship with the Post Office, we highly highly highly recommend that you communicate with your post office.  And that you ask them to hold the package for pick up.  
• If there is a problem, we must be notified within 24 hours of receiving the live product.

We only ship Live Products on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays

Before YOU and every other customer collectively sends us disgruntled emails on Monday asking where your order is, please know that we only ship live products on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.  And this isn't because we're lazy.  It's because we need to be proactive, and make sure the live products don't get stuck in transit over the weekend.  If they get stuck over the weekend, there is an increased probability that they will not survive the transit.  And perished animals in your mail box don't do either of us any good.  

When Will My Order Ship?

Great question.  In fact, it's too great of a question.  This question makes up 80% of our incoming emails!  And all we can think of in the office is what better things we could do with that time.  So here's the nitty gritty breakdown for when your order will ship:

• If order was placed on a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday then your order will be shipped on the following Monday.

• If order was placed on Sunday, or Monday then your order will be shipped on Tuesday.

• If order was placed on a Tuesday then your order will be shipped on Wednesday.  

And please know that these shipping schedules can change depending on Post Office holidays.  But if you still have questions about your shipment, please do not hesitate to email us as contact@thecritterdepot.com.  

Ok Bug-Boy.  But What about The Tracking?

Great question.  We will upload tracking information within 36 hours after the order has shipped.  So if your order ships on Monday, the latest we would update tracking information for your order is by Wednesday morning.  

And What About DOA's?

DOA's (dead on arrival) are a part of the business.  It's not profitable for us to send out deceased animals.  So please know that we take every possible precaution before shipping.  

But we care about our customers, because you're the ones putting us in business.  And we guarantee live delivery as long as specific conditions are met.  So if your order does not arrive alive, please let us know.  As long as conditions are met, we will have another order reshipped free of charge on the next shipment date (this excludes winter reshipments, which will be reshipped at our discretion).  

We Ship with The Post Office and with FedEx

We ship with the post office for a few reasons.

1. They keep their packages inside their climate controlled buildings.  This is a game changer.  Instead of leaving the packages out on a dock, they are brought inside the building.  Which can drastically increase the survival rate for the crickets and superworms.
2. They Deliver on Saturdays. Since they deliver on Saturdays, we're able to ship on Wednesdays.  Most packages are delivered within 2-3 business days.  So if we ship on Wednesday, that 2-3 day window falls in the same week, which avoids any Sunday transit delays.
3. Cost Effective. And one reason why we're able to keep our prices so low is because we use the post office.  USPS Priority mail is a great, and reasonable priced service.  And any savings we gain, we pass right back to the customer.  

The post office is our preferred shipper.  But depending on your proximity & time of year, we may upgrade your shipping service to FedEx for these reasons:

1. The Post Office is unreliably slow during holidays.  The drawback with the post office they don't guarantee delivery dates.  They will advertise 2-3 days for their Priority Mail shipments.  However, the don't guarantee you package will arrive in 2-3 days.  And this becomes painfully obvious during the holidays, specifically between Black Friday and New Years.  Which puts us in a tough spot because our preferred shipper with climate controlled facilities is no longer dependable.  So we'll ship with FedEx for this reason.
2. Faster Shipping/Shorter Transits.  Faster shipping and shorter transits have obvious benefits.  The live product will get delivered faster, and in a preferred habitat.  And FedEx does guarantee their delivery dates, which is beneficial for the customer.  

Unfavorable Shipping Conditions

Temperatures are a big consideration when packaging and shipping live products.  And at any time, we may decide to postpone deliveries if we feel the live product will not survive the transit.  If that is the case, we will make our best effort to contact the customer so that can make other arrangements if desired.  

But if the temperatures are too cold, we can package the crickets with heat packs.  And if they are too hot, we can package them with cold gel packs.  But these alone doesn't guarantee live delivery.  

But either way, we need to keep a close eye on the weather when we get into the extremes.  So please keep that in mind when expecting deliveries.  

Winter Shipping Policy

1. We will not ship when Destination Temps are below 25 Degrees F              
2. Live Delivery is Not Guaranteed when Destination Temps are below 45 Degrees F

If you are ordering crickets, superworms, or any other live product during the winter, you need to be realistic: we’re trying to ship a live product through sub 30 degree temperatures affordably.

We take extra measures during the winter to try and increase their chances of survival.  However, history has proven that customers are 4x more likely to receive perished crickets when shipped in the winter.  This is fact.

Shipping in the winter has always been our biggest challenge.  And every other crickets vendor has the same problem.  No one wants to send you dead crickets. We want to provide you with excellent service, because we know you care about your pet. But the reality is we can’t control the weather. And there’s only so much packaging we can do before we have to increase our costs.

We still have success shipping in the winter.  

If you decide to order for a winter delivery, here's what you can do on your end to ensure you receive happy, healthy live products:

• You MUST be home to accept the delivery.  The live product cannot be left outside in the freezing temperatures, or it's certain they won't survive. 
• If we ship with the Post Office, we highly highly highly recommend that you communicate with your post office.  And that you ask them to hold the package for pick up.  
• If there is a problem, we must be notified within 24 hours of receiving the live product.

 Remember...

Dead crickets or superworms don't do you (the customer), or us (the cricket grower) any good.  So let's work together to ensure your live product survives the transit.  

We can only ship Live Products on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays

We want to get your products delivered quickly just as badly as you do.  But the reality is that shipping live products isn't the easiest task.  And that means we have to be disciplined and strategic when we ship.  Otherwise, there's an increased probability that perished crickets will show up on your doorstep.  And that doesn't do any good for the customer or shipper.

We Ship with The Post Office and with FedEx

We ship with the post office for a few reasons.

1. They keep their packages inside their climate controlled buildings.  This is a game changer.  Instead of leaving the packages out on a dock, they are brought inside the building.  Which can drastically increase the survival rate for the crickets and superworms.
2. They Deliver on Saturdays. Since they deliver on Saturdays, we're able to ship on Wednesdays.  Most packages are delivered within 2-3 business days.  So if we ship on Wednesday, that 2-3 day window falls in the same week, which avoids any Sunday transit delays.
3. Cost Effective. And one reason why we're able to keep our prices so low is because we use the post office.  USPS Priority mail is a great, and reasonable priced service.  And any savings we gain, we pass right back to the customer.  

The post office is our preferred shipper.  But depending on your proximity & time of year, we may upgrade your shipping service to FedEx for these reasons:

1. The Post Office is unreliably slow during holidays.  The drawback with the post office they don't guarantee delivery dates.  They will advertise 2-3 days for their Priority Mail shipments.  However, the don't guarantee you package will arrive in 2-3 days.  And this becomes painfully obvious during the holidays, specifically between Black Friday and New Years.  Which puts us in a tough spot because our preferred shipper with climate controlled facilities is no longer dependable.  So we'll ship with FedEx for this reason.
2. Faster Shipping/Shorter Transits.  Faster shipping and shorter transits have obvious benefits.  The live product will get delivered faster, and in a preferred habitat.  And FedEx does guarantee their delivery dates, which is beneficial for the customer.  

Unfavorable Climates

Temperatures are a big consideration when packaging and shipping live products.  And at any time, we may decide to postpone deliveries if we feel the live product will not survive the transit. 

Often, the live product will only survive extreme temps if they are held in an air conditioned post office for pick up.  At any time, we may have the package marked "Hold for Pick Up."  In these situations, the package will be held for pick up and the customer will need to make arrangements to pick up the live product.  

But if the temperatures are too cold, we can package the crickets with heat packs.  And if they are too hot, we can package them with cold gel packs.

But either way, we need to keep a close eye on the weather when we get into the extremes.  So please keep that in mind when expecting deliveries.