Swell Reptiles Reviews 2,118

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.

I used to think Swell Reptiles were excellent, and for years I recommended them to others in the trade. Unfortunately over the last 18 months the service has gone downhill, and the overall attitude and reliability just isn’t what it used to be.

We’ve had multiple issues where items were shown as in stock but then didn’t get dispatched for weeks, and we only found out after chasing it ourselves. Communication has been poor, and when we have contacted them the responses have often felt abrupt or unhelpful rather than trying to resolve the problem.

We’ve also had several orders arrive very poorly packaged, including fragile items like bulbs and glass equipment, which then arrived damaged. On more than one occasion we were asked to send broken items back rather than photos being accepted, which caused even more delays. Each time it has meant more chasing, more waiting, and dealing with what feels like a really negative attitude from customer service.

What’s frustrating is that they genuinely used to be one of the best suppliers, which is why we stuck with them for so long. But recently the experience just hasn’t been good enough, and we now tend to use Internet Reptile or local suppliers instead as the service is far more reliable.

It’s disappointing to write this because they used to be a company I trusted and recommended, but based on the last 18 months I can’t say that anymore.

This company is terrible to deal with. The first issue I had with an Exo Terra monsoon system not working out of the box and it was only fully resolved after I raised a PayPal dispute which I cancelled once it was resolved.

Gave them a second chance and they sent two 100w white python bulbs inside 150w boxes and said it was a picking issue which makes no sense as the bulbs should have been inside the box from the supplier.

I told them I needed the replacements ASAP as I had new arrivals coming. They avoided my question about sending me what I originally ordered in the meantime while we wait for the old ones to be collected. Basically I've to wait to next week for them to collect the wrong ones and wait on them recieving them before they'll replace or refund even though it was their fault. Communication is terrible with them unable to answer simple questions. I rarely leave negative reviews. I will never order from this company again and wouldn't recommend them to anyone.

I have used swell a couple of times now,and just wanted to say how great they are. Easy to use website, products are perfect, quick delivery, and reasonable pricing.
Highly recommended

It's just sad, such a shame! :,(
Swell Reptiles used t be a thriving trustworthy online retailer back in 2019 when I ordered from them vivarium £279, faunarium, and deco for the vivarium, as well as all the sizes from pinkies to fuzzies and small, small/medium, mice. So many times I ordered, so many times they delivered in a perfect relationship customer and shop.
Now this time I ordered the usual 10x small/medium mice, my usual, for my adult snake, but the order got lost, i ordered on 28-Feb-2026, then by Sat 7th March with no delivery, I contacted. Holly kindly replied, and asked if i wanted a refund. I said no, as i just had the one mouse. I asked the re-send. Today 17th March, no delivery, no email of any logistics service, and i sent another email -- as their phone 0161 351 4700 is on constant message, and I waited over 20 min and no answer, they apologise that they have been having problems.
I give the 3 stars as I had a great experience earlier, and havent used them recently, as there was a local show in my highstreet who sold these mice, and sourcing locally is always a best option. But this shop closed, so i returned to order with Swell.
It's sad that it indicates problems in a once thriving online shop.
Good luck, hope you sort out your act.

I seem to have had a better customer service experience than others. I have an exo terra thermostat that doesn’t seem to be functioning properly, albeit it doesn’t seem to be broken. I phoned and spoke to Luke yesterday. I agree it can be a long wait on the phone, but yesterday wasn’t too bad. When I spoke to Luke he asked some questions about the set up and has suggested it may be an issue with the heat emitter rather than the thermostat. From his explanation this seems to be a possibility and a sensible first option to try to resolve the issue. He followed up by saying he would consider a recall if this doesn’t work. It seemed to me that he was genuinely trying to resolve things with the least impact possible and was polite and helpful. No complaints at all. The current delays in dispatch and delivery can be frustrating when you’re trying to set up a new pet and get it right with limited experience, which is why this isn’t 5 stars. Otherwise I’m very happy with the service I’ve had.

After taking the time to travel and return items I had ordered to the store for a refund two weeks ago I was told there's no customer services there to refund at the weekend so my return was written down on a pad and told it would be sorted the following monday and to take a photo of the items I returned on the desk as proof of returning. I have sent several emails to them since and have heard nothing back and no refund has been issued. I am extremely disappointed as it's not a small amount of money and I will have to open a dispute if no one gets in contact with me.
Sadly it has put me off ordering anything from this company again.

I often order from here for my dragon and never have a problem this time ordered and didn’t receive delivery after 2 weeks which is very unusual it was stuck at yodel depot I messaged swell and Holly kindly sorted it within a couple of days the parcel was lost they sent another delivery for my items free of charge the next day excellent customer service and I have a very happy dragon
Thanks again Holly at swell

Received items quickly without any issue but trying to return a couple of faulty items is almost impossible. Absolutely no customer service. It’s been nearly two weeks since I submitted a return request and it’s still pending approval.
Update: now nearly three weeks and still nothing regarding my return. Will be initiating charge back from credit card company.

Complete waste of time.
Never order from this company. Ordered 5 rats for 10 mice and promised next day delivery for an extra £9.99. Nothing came the next day. I sent an email complaining. An email came back the following day apologising and saying she would look into it. Then another email came, saying the order would definitely come the following day, but surprise, surprise, still no delivery. Still waiting, so now I have demanded a complete refund, but have heard nothing.

Unfortunately, my package was lost. I emailed and received a response the next day, early in the morning. Holly was very kind and immediately offered to resend my order as soon as possible. I'm very satisfied.