Swell Reptiles Reviews 

The frozen rats and mice were left on the door step in sweltering heat and the 1000 crickets that was supposed to be med were so tiny I had to drown them to get rid of them

Never again. Ordered a tank on Tuesday 19th and paid the extra for next day delivery. They waited until Friday 22nd to organise a courier, despatched it on Tuesday 26th, and it's due on Friday 29th. 10 days for next day delivery? 'Order by 4pm for next day delivery' should be changed to 'pay for express and get economy at no extra cost, be ignored by staff and spend 90 minutes on hold because we turn our phones off'.

Turns out I'm not the only one impacted by their appalling service lately.

You sent a faulty, used item when I ordered a new item, not second hand. It annoyed us but thought okay we'll still use it, except it doesnt work. We told you we needed it before the weekend, so you said (thursday) if we go and drop it off at a dpd place, you'll send a new one out that day, for next day delivery, did it arrive? Of course not! So we tried phoning friday afternoon, no answer, been on hold for over an hour this morning, no answer, no answer to emails etc. Dont make us go out of our way to return it quickly so we can get one the next day, and then not stick to your end of the bargain!

Ordered a large Vivarium and it turned up damaged. Numerous emails sent and online form filled out, evidence provided as requested and nothing back at all. Will update as I hear anything back if I do. Better off finding a different provider in my opinion.

I’ve been a customer with Swell Reptiles for years and years now. They were always great, everything was always in stock, great prices, good communication and I’ve stayed with them.

However, increasingly over my past few orders I have noticed products are never in stock, issues with how items are delivered such as tube lights just rattling in a box with little packing to protect, customer service has become non existent.

I feel something in management has changed in the last few years and Swell Reptiles is just being run into the ground. It’s a huge shame as they have always been my reliable go to for everything I buy for my beardy, but what’s the point if there’s never any stock, if the delivery is rubbish and when you want to get in touch for any reason it’s impossible?

I think I will now find somewhere else to buy as I need a stable and reliable supplier and this is no longer Swell Reptiles.

Whatever changed over the past several years, they should definitely change back, whoever is running this company is clearly doing a terrible job and they are going to lose their customer base. Is it worth it?

They are a disgrace of a company, they don't reply to you and try and palm you off if you need refunds, I have 2 tracking codes saying they had been delivered by the post office they are trying to say one didn't arrive, when clearly it did, they never hardly reply to you, I will never use them again, I'm still waiting for my to be e sorted. I'm thinking about t taking legal action, DO NOT ORDER OFF THIS SITE!!!

Broken cabinet arrived, took weeks of emailing to get any response. I finally got a response and arranged collection. Now they have gone quiet on me and I'm without a cabinet or my refund. Avoid this company.

Placed an order late February. Received without issue.
Two items faulty so arranged to return. Took until mid March before response received and return approved. Sent items back via DPD. Fast forward to May and still no updates or refund despite e-mailing and asking for updates on returns page.
Now having to initiate charge back via credit card company. Awful and completely useless customer service.

DO NOT BUY FROM SWELL REPTILES! If you have to return anything you could be waiting months!

I ordered over £40 worth of frozen mice. The delivery came the following day the courier left it in the garden in the sun for 3hrs until I noticed. 80% where defrosted and had to go into the bin. I raised the issue with swells as they state on there site the special delivery's carnt be left unattended, which it was had a reply the following day saying as the courier delivered it to the address nothing can be done.

Paid for overnight delivery, two days later and the tracking information given shows they haven't even given the package to the courier.
Avoid

Abysmal. Won’t be buying from these fools again.

Ordered feeder insects and they say they are despatched and do not provide tracking details. This should be standard practise with any company that is sending live creatures by mail.

Come home today to find that a delivery was attempted. Now it’ll be another 24hrs before they arrive. Last time they sent me feeder insects, half of them were dead on arrival.

Don’t know what possessed me to buy from this company a second time. Customer service is also non existent. When you call them it just cuts you off.

Never giving them my custom again.

Customer service is non existent they never pick up the phone and if they do they dont have a clue on what to do, I am waiting on a refund it been 15 days and nothing so am going to have to get a charge back from my bank as swell have my returned order but they continue to ignore emails facebook messages phone calls I will never order from them again.

Unfortunately my rats i ordered got lost somewhere in the post so I emailed them and lisa replied and sent out a replacement so happy with the customer service and my boas happy she got her rats will definitely get some stuff for my reptiles here

Terrible customer service, stupidly delayed delivery (ordered next day and still waiting a week and a half later). When you finally get though to customer service they just lie to you or try to avoid questions. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME

Customer service is terrible ive rang 30 times over the last 4 working days i ordered on the 8th its now the 14th dispatched yesterday and ive received this morning also sending glass out yes bubble wrap but no fragile tape anywhere on the box. I am really unhappy with this company and for this i will not ever again buy again from them again . Also when emailing Customer service it says you wait 48 hours this was friday i emailed them over 8 times untill finally had an apology i paid 2 to 3 working days last Wednesday it should have been here monday at the latest. No money back from delivery nothing.

I wouldn’t even rate them at 1 star I think this is generous. Placed an order for delivery and then told it’s delayed. No updates, customer service is awful can’t speak to anyone and still there posting social media content and taking people’s money. This is a big problem not just my order but whole company. Can’t even get a refund to reorder as no one is responding.

Do not buy from this company, they take your money then delay everything and you cannot get through on the phone

Ordered 2 lamps Friday. Order said 2-3 working days. They arrived Saturday and far better wrapped and protected than Amazon whose lamps arrived broken.

placed an order and immedietely wanted to cancel as i forgot to add an item. No option to cancel anywhere. I tried to call up the phone and nobody answers, sent an email instead to cancel and my order got despatched anyway. Was eventually told to just order everything twice and return one of the parcels. Tried to arrange a return but the returns process is so outdated, numerous packing slips required to be printed, you have to pay for return delivery (despite me wnating to cancel in the first place). Its been nearly 2 weeks since my items were returned ive still received no refund. Trying to get through to somebody on the phone can take hours. Avoid this company.

Honestly, this has been an absolute joke from start to finish.
I ordered an Arcadia LumenIZE Pro UV Kit on 30/01/2026, paid for expedited shipping, and the unit arrived dead on arrival. I sent video proof, but Swell still dragged things out for weeks because they “had to test it themselves.” It wasn’t until 18/02/2026—after I chased them—that they finally arranged the exchange.
The replacement arrived, worked for ONE DAY, and then died. Returned again on 20/02/2026.
Their own tracking shows they received it on 23/02/2026, and I was assured the refund would be processed within 1–2 weeks.
It is now 26/03/2026. Over a month later. No refund. No communication. No accountability. And every time I call, I get a different excuse.
And now the best part:
Today I’ve just been told that instead of my refund—which I have been chasing for weeks—they’ve magically decided to send another replacement item, even though I explicitly requested a refund.
They only “arranged” this today, completely ignoring everything I've said up until now. No notification, no confirmation, nothing. Just quietly pushing through something I didn’t ask for, didn’t want, and shouldn’t have to deal with after two faulty products and a month-long refund delay.
The level of incompetence here is unbelievable. Two dead units, endless delays, zero communication, and now they’re sending items I never agreed to—instead of giving me my refund.
This has been one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever had.
Avoid Swell Reptiles at all costs.