diff --git a/agentops/sdk/exporters.py b/agentops/sdk/exporters.py
index 69e872135..d2969ec3a 100644
--- a/agentops/sdk/exporters.py
+++ b/agentops/sdk/exporters.py
@@ -66,7 +66,10 @@ def __init__(
         if compression is not None:
             parent_kwargs["compression"] = compression
 
-        super().__init__(endpoint=endpoint, **parent_kwargs)
+        # OpenTelemetry >=1.45 dropped the exporter's `_headers` and `_session` attributes, so keep our own session
+        # and hand it to the parent through its public `session` argument.
+        self._auth_session = requests.Session()
+        super().__init__(endpoint=endpoint, session=self._auth_session, **parent_kwargs)
 
     def _get_current_jwt(self) -> Optional[str]:
         """Get the current JWT token from the provider or stored JWT."""
@@ -104,7 +107,7 @@ def _filter_user_headers(self, headers: Optional[Dict[str, str]]) -> Optional[Di
     def _prepare_headers(self, headers: Optional[Dict[str, str]] = None) -> Dict[str, str]:
         """Prepare headers with current JWT token."""
         # Start with base headers
-        prepared_headers = dict(self._headers)
+        prepared_headers = dict(self._auth_session.headers)
 
         # Add any additional headers, but only allow non-critical headers
         filtered_headers = self._filter_user_headers(headers)
@@ -137,8 +140,8 @@ def export(self, spans: Sequence[ReadableSpan]) -> SpanExportResult:
             current_headers = self._prepare_headers()
 
             # Temporarily update the session headers for this request
-            original_headers = dict(self._session.headers)
-            self._session.headers.update(current_headers)
+            original_headers = dict(self._auth_session.headers)
+            self._auth_session.headers.update(current_headers)
 
             try:
                 # Call parent export method
@@ -153,8 +156,8 @@ def export(self, spans: Sequence[ReadableSpan]) -> SpanExportResult:
 
             finally:
                 # Restore original headers
-                self._session.headers.clear()
-                self._session.headers.update(original_headers)
+                self._auth_session.headers.clear()
+                self._auth_session.headers.update(original_headers)
 
         except requests.exceptions.HTTPError as e:
             if e.response and e.response.status_code in (401, 403):
diff --git a/tests/unit/sdk/test_exporters.py b/tests/unit/sdk/test_exporters.py
index 65f5a4e3c..a7016609e 100644
--- a/tests/unit/sdk/test_exporters.py
+++ b/tests/unit/sdk/test_exporters.py
@@ -6,8 +6,9 @@
 from unittest.mock import Mock, patch
 
 import requests
-from opentelemetry.sdk.trace import ReadableSpan
-from opentelemetry.sdk.trace.export import SpanExportResult
+from opentelemetry.sdk.trace import ReadableSpan, TracerProvider
+from opentelemetry.sdk.trace.export import SimpleSpanProcessor, SpanExportResult
+from opentelemetry.sdk.trace.export.in_memory_span_exporter import InMemorySpanExporter
 from opentelemetry.exporter.otlp.proto.http import Compression
 
 from agentops.sdk.exporters import AuthenticatedOTLPExporter
@@ -233,6 +234,38 @@ def test_full_export_cycle(self):
             # Test clear method
             exporter.clear()  # Should not raise any exception
 
+    def test_export_sends_jwt_and_custom_headers(self):
+        """The real parent export path must put the JWT and allowed custom headers on the request."""
+        memory_exporter = InMemorySpanExporter()
+        provider = TracerProvider()
+        provider.add_span_processor(SimpleSpanProcessor(memory_exporter))
+        with provider.get_tracer("test").start_as_current_span("span"):
+            pass
+
+        sent = []
+
+        def fake_send(session, request, **kwargs):
+            sent.append(request)
+            response = requests.Response()
+            response.status_code = 200
+            response._content = b""
+            response.request = request
+            return response
+
+        exporter = AuthenticatedOTLPExporter(
+            endpoint=self.endpoint,
+            jwt=self.jwt,
+            headers={"X-Custom-Header": "test-value", "Authorization": "Malicious-Auth malicious-token"},
+        )
+
+        with patch.object(requests.Session, "send", autospec=True, side_effect=fake_send):
+            result = exporter.export(memory_exporter.get_finished_spans())
+
+        self.assertEqual(result, SpanExportResult.SUCCESS)
+        self.assertEqual(len(sent), 1)
+        self.assertEqual(sent[0].headers["Authorization"], f"Bearer {self.jwt}")
+        self.assertEqual(sent[0].headers["X-Custom-Header"], "test-value")
+
     def test_export_with_different_compression_types(self):
         """Test exporter with different compression types."""
         compression_types = [Compression.Gzip, Compression.Deflate, None]