Returns, Refunds & Live Arrival Policy
Lobo Mantis ships live, fragile invertebrates that are sensitive to handling, temperature, and timing. This policy is built to be fair to both sides — clear about what's covered, what isn't, and exactly what we need from you when something goes wrong.
By placing an order, you confirm you have read and agree to this policy.
No returns. All sales of live animals and related products are final.
Cancel before a label prints — only after we email back to acknowledge your request.
Live Arrival Guarantee applies to overnight orders only — 2-Day is never covered — reported within 24 hours of unboxing with your unboxing video (photos help).
We check the weather before every shipment. In extreme temperatures your overnight order is routed to a staffed pickup counter — we only hold the order when no service is safe.
Final Sale — No Returns
All sales of live animals and related products are final. We do not accept returns for any reason, including but not limited to:
- Buyer's remorse or a change of mind after delivery.
- Care difficulties once the animal is in your possession.
- Sex of the mantis — we do our best to identify sex when visible, but cannot guarantee it for younger nymphs.
- Color variation — coloration varies with humidity, lighting, and genetics, and may change between molts.
- Size or stage of the nymph — mantises are sold by species, not by a guaranteed size or growth stage. Nymphs molt on their own schedule, so the one you receive may be slightly larger or smaller than another of the same species.
Unsure whether keeping live invertebrates is right for you? Review our care guides at lobomantis.com/care first. Most concerns are answered there.
Cancellations
You may cancel an order only if both of the following are true:
- Your box hasn't been handed to the carrier yet. Once your box is handed to the carrier it is in transit and cannot be canceled. Until then it stays here, climate-controlled.
- You've emailed us at hello@lobomantis.com requesting cancellation, and we've replied to acknowledge it.
A cancellation isn't effective until you receive our written acknowledgment by email — we aim to reply within 24 hours. Approved cancellations are refunded in full (including shipping) to your original payment method within 5–10 business days. We will not cancel orders that have already been handed to the carrier.
Live Arrival Guarantee (LAG)
We guarantee your mantis arrives alive under the following strict conditions. This guarantee is the only post-shipment protection we offer.
- Overnight service only — FedEx Priority Overnight or UPS Next Day Air. No slower speed qualifies. 2-Day is never covered, at any temperature, including when you choose it during extreme heat. Held-for-pickup overnight orders are covered — it is the same overnight service, routed to a staffed counter.
- Received on the first delivery attempt — or, for a held-for-pickup order, collected the same day the carrier marks it ready for pickup, by that location's closing time. (If it's marked ready after the location has closed for the day, you have until closing time the next day it's open.) Two separate clocks run on a held package and only the short one is ours: the carrier will physically hold the parcel about 7 days, but our guarantee ends when the counter closes that day. If the package is redirected, refused, or not collected by that deadline, LAG is voided even though the carrier still has it.
- Opened the same day it's delivered. Mantises left in the package overnight or longer are not covered.
- Claim reported within 24 hours of unboxing, with the required evidence (see 3.3). The claim form closes 72 hours after delivery.
LAG covers
- A mantis that is deceased on arrival, documented per 3.3.
- Overnight orders opened the day of delivery.
- Held-for-pickup overnight orders collected the same day they're marked ready (by the counter's closing time).
- Claims filed within 24 hours, with your unboxing video (photos help).
LAG does NOT cover
- Anything shipped 2-Day — at any temperature, including extreme heat. No replacement, no refund.
- Held-for-pickup orders not collected by the counter's closing time the day they're marked ready.
- Mantises that arrive alive but die later (post-arrival mortality).
- Stress or molt-related deaths; refusal to eat for 36–48 hrs is normal.
- Mishandling after delivery — left in sun, dropped, opened by another.
- Late, lost, or misdelivered packages — carrier's responsibility (Sec. 4).
- Any claim without a continuous unboxing video showing the mantis deceased on arrival (photos alone, or an edited or incomplete video, aren't enough).
- Packages refused at delivery, or undeliverable addresses.
Submit the following within 24 hours of unboxing (the claim form closes 72 hours after delivery). The unboxing video is required; the photos strengthen your claim and help me resolve it faster:
- Photos of the sealed shipping box — the carrier label, all visible sides, and any damage or temperature exposure.
- A continuous, unedited unboxing video — start on the sealed exterior, show every layer opened, end on a clear view of the deceased mantis as you found it on opening.
- Photos of the deceased mantis, showing the entire body.
- Your order number, name, and a brief note of when the package was delivered and opened.
Photos alone will not be accepted. The unboxing video is the single most important piece of evidence — it confirms the mantis was deceased on arrival, and not as a result of post-arrival handling.
Submit everything above through the claim form at lobomantis.com/claim — it verifies your order, handles the video upload, and routes the claim straight to me. Claims are filed through the form, not by email.
We review every claim individually. We reserve the right to deny claims that don't meet all the requirements above, or where the video or photos show the mantis was alive on arrival and died afterward, or show tampering or fraud. To keep this fair for every honest buyer, I check what you submit for authenticity, including the file metadata (like when the video was recorded). AI-generated or AI-altered video or photos are not accepted, and submitting them is treated as fraud. Repeated false or exaggerated claims will result in being banned from future purchases.
Shipping Issues — Carrier Responsibility
The following are the responsibility of the carrier, not Lobo Mantis, and are not covered by LAG:
- Late deliveries beyond the carrier's next-day service window.
- Lost, stolen, or misdelivered packages.
- Packages damaged in transit — we pack each mantis with extreme care, but don't control how the carrier handles the box.
- Weather-related delays after the carrier accepts the package.
- Delivery to an incorrect address entered by the customer at checkout.
- Contact the carrier directly with your tracking number to file a claim.
- Message us at hello@lobomantis.com. A late, lost or misdelivered box is outside the guarantee, but we look at every one case by case.
- We provide proof of pickup, packaging photos, and weight documentation to support your carrier claim.
We'll help you navigate the carrier's claim process, but we do not refund or replace mantises for shipping issues caused by the carrier.
Weather Routing
We monitor the forecast for both our origin (Nevada) and your delivery ZIP before every shipment. When the forecast high is above 85°F, a free ice pack goes in the box with your mantis.
We hold the order outright — no service at all — when:
- Severe weather (hurricanes, blizzards, ice storms) forecast to disrupt delivery.
- The carrier has issued a service alert affecting your region.
- We email you to explain what's happening and why.
- If no service is safe (severe weather, a carrier service alert), your order stays held at no extra cost until conditions clear.
- A held order ships as soon as conditions clear, and we notify you when it's on its way.
- We will not sell you a guarantee we can't honor. In extreme temperatures the covered option is overnight service held at a staffed carrier counter, never an unattended doorstep. The cheaper 2-Day service stays available in normal weather and even in extreme heat, but it is not covered by LAG at any temperature — in extreme heat especially, choosing it means you accept the full risk of a dead-on-arrival animal.
- Don't want to wait? Request a cancellation under Section 2 (if your box hasn't been handed to the carrier yet).
We will never leave a live animal on an unattended doorstep in extreme temperatures, and we won't send a guaranteed shipment into conditions it can't survive — at 90°F or higher your overnight order is re-routed to a staffed pickup counter with LAG fully intact, and at 40°F or lower it ships to your door with a free heat pack (a counter pickup is offered too if you prefer). What we will not do is extend the guarantee to a slower service. 2-Day remains available in normal weather and in extreme heat, and is never covered by LAG at any temperature. If you select it, you are knowingly accepting the risk of a dead-on-arrival animal, and no replacement or refund will be issued. If conditions are unsafe for every service we offer, we hold the order. Period.
What You Are Responsible For
By ordering from Lobo Mantis, you accept responsibility for:
- Providing a correct, complete shipping address at checkout.
- Being available to receive the package on the delivery date — or, when the forecast calls for it and checkout offers Hold-at-Location automatically, collecting it from the counter.
- Picking up Hold-at-Location packages the same day they're marked ready (by the counter's closing time). The carrier will hold the parcel about 7 days, but our guarantee ends when the counter closes that day — and there's a live animal in the box.
- Opening your package promptly and following the unboxing protocol.
- Capturing the unboxing video before any other action if your mantis appears deceased.
- Reading and following our care guides, and providing appropriate housing, temperature, humidity, and food on arrival.
Chargebacks
Filing a chargeback with your bank or card company without first contacting us and following the LAG claim process above is a violation of our policy — and constitutes fraud where the order was delivered as described.
If you have an issue with your order, email us first at hello@lobomantis.com. We respond within 24 hours, Monday to Friday, and will work with you to resolve it under this policy.
Customers who file fraudulent chargebacks will be banned from future purchases and may be reported to chargeback-fraud databases.
Restocking & Refused Shipments
If a package is refused at delivery, or returned to us because you were unavailable or never collected a Hold-at-Location package before the carrier's hold expired (about 7 days — note that LAG itself lapses far earlier, when the pickup counter closes the day it's marked ready, per Section 3.1):
- We cannot guarantee the mantis will survive the return trip.
- No LAG applies and no refund will be issued.
- The order is forfeit.
We cannot reship packages that have been returned to us.
Contact
Live Arrival claims are filed through our secure claim form — not by email:
The form verifies your order, then lets you attach your unboxing video and photos and tell me what happened. It won’t open a submission until your order number and email match a real order (and it’s rate-limited) — so genuine claims reach me fast and the queue stays free of spam and bots. I review every claim personally, usually within 24–48 hours.
For cancellations, weather routing, and general order questions:
Policy Changes
We may update this policy from time to time. The version in effect when you place your order is the version that applies to it.
The current policy is always posted at lobomantis.com/policies/refunds. Please review it before each order.


