USPS. The Bad Guys?

After a restless night filled with relentless nightmares of all that could go wrong, I awoke at 7 AM with the anticipation that disaster would surely ensue. The previously evening, I received an e-mail from Johnny at TeguTerra informing me that my tegu should arrive promptly by 10:30 AM (CST). I still had three endless hours to wait. Well,

10:30 passed . . .
then 11:30 . . .
then 12:00 . . .

At this point, I began frantically (okay, okay.. I was doing this prior to this point anyway) tracking the package through the USPS tracking service.

"Out for Delivery     XXXXXX, TX 7XXXX     September 4, 2013 10:20 am"

I incessantly checked the front door for a package slip informing me the tegu was safely delivered to the front office. Nothing. I attempted to call the front office multiple times. No answer. In fear of missing the delivery, I continued to anxiously wait for a status change online while periodically calling the front office.

Finally, at 2 PM, my boyfriend arrived home and was swiftly (possibly aggressively at this point) ushered out the door to check the front office . . .

. . . and this is the doll he brought back!

New tegu hatchling

Thankfully my tegu arrived safe and mostly warm, albeit a couple hours late. Unfortunately, I did not get videos or pictures of the unboxing as I haphazardly decimated the box to reach my tegu. I *did* get a short video of her eating green seedless grapes, though, once I determined that she was alive and okay (I apologize for the poor quality - it was taken with my phone). Her legs currently look too large for her body, and she looks as if she may shed soon. This is true love.

This has been my first experience with shipping a live animal through USPS and will most likely be my last. I received no notification that she was delivered (no letter, no update through their tracking website until 5:30 PM, no knock on the door, etc.). She also arrived past their "guaranteed" delivery time. For those who expect to receive an animal through USPS, please make sure to check your door regularly, or your front office if you live in an apartment complex. Luckily, I live in Texas where it is relatively warm in September, but the situation could have been dire had I resided elsewhere. It is partially my fault for not familiarizing myself with their shipping policies, though I do believe quicker updates to their tracking service should be implemented and better notifications in general.