Due to how many poor shipments we have received and many inquiries on the subject I thought I would share our shipping guide. Perhaps someone can pin this thread to help others... How To Ship Live Reptiles Shipping live reptiles is relatively easy. The first thing you need to do is acquire packing materials. Styrofoam lined boxes, pre-punched deli containers, heat & cool packs, snake bags, and other containers are readily available to help you in your shipping endeavors. Many people also use household or substitute items as well such as pillow cases, glad-lock sandwich containers, and regular cardboard boxing with cut insulation pieces from local hardware stores like Home Depot. Whichever you choose the instructions below should help you get your animal to its location safe and sound. If you require packing supplies feel free to contact us and we'll help you out, we'd rather see it done properly than risk losing an animal due to improper packaging. First, assemble your styrofoam lined box. If making your own cut your pieces to match this photograph. Gather your other materials such as your heat or cool pack, deli container, newspaper, and packing tape. Package your animal comfortably inside its container. If it is a species that requires more humidity than most, be sure to moisten the paper towels or bedding you include. Always secure the lid to the container or bag. In this case we use common electrical tape to make this happen, it works very well. Regular packing tape works also. Loosely crumple up your newspaper and line the bottom of your box, place your container in the middle and pack the sides and surrounding areas as well. Do not pack too tightly as it will restrict airflow and if using a heating pack it will not allow the contents to reach a favorable temperature. Just be sure the contents are packaged to avoid any movement of your containers during shipping, no more, no less. In this example we will ship assuming it is winter and temperatures have dipped below 65 degrees overnight. We use 40 hour heat packs for most of our cold weather shipping. Open the heat pack up and shake it vigorously. This activates the pack. Place the pack, RED LINE OUT, on the styrofoam lid of your box. The red line identifies the location of openings which allow air to enter the pack and active the contents. If this is blocked the pack will not work. Tape the pack to the lid as shown and be sure to press down on the length of the tape making sure it is secured to the lid and will not fall off in transit. When using cold packs follow the same method but wrap the pack with a few sheets of newspaper to collect any condensation. Do not ship using cool packs unless temperatures along the way exceed 90. It is rare cool packs are used. During the winter ship using heat packs when overnight temps dip below 65 or so.... And even when using heat packs never ship if overnight temps travel below 30-35. Line the top of your container with another thin layer of newspaper, you never want a cold or hot pack to have direct contact with your animals deli cup or bag. It can potentially harm the animal. Inspect the contents one last time to be sure you have followed the previous steps properly and then place your lid on your container. Close and tape your box. Be sure to tape not only the center crease, but the side as well. Do not worry about poking holes in your box like many people do. Cardboard is porous and air will circulate during the overnight trip. Lastly, be sure to mark the outside of your box in regards to contents. "Live Harmless Reptiles Inside" or similar is always a good choice, as well as "This Side Up" and "Keep Warm". I'm sure many carriers do not care and treat most packages the same but it does not hurt to take extra precaution! That's about it, affix your label and ship your package! Be sure you use a carrier such as Federal Express or UPS. And ALWAYS use Next-Day Air service, never 2-Day! We use priority overnight service from FedEx that guarantees our deliveries to our customers doorstep no later than 10:30am to most locations. This assures us our animals spend as little time as possible on-the-road or in-the-air and minimizes stress. Carriers will not insure or guarantee live parcels so you must do everything within your power to make sure your shipment is a success. The United States Post Office does not ship reptiles and does not offer any safe next-day delivery methods, not to mention shipping live reptiles USPS is illegal. Do not attempt this to "save a quick buck". Not only are you breaking the law, but there is slim chance your animal will make it to its destination alive. We hope this helps, safe shipping! -Top Shelf Exotics-
Chris, This is a very good guide, the only thing we do different and have had really good success with is we put a layer of egg carton on the bottom of the box, punch out the top holes on them and the heat pack is taped to the bottom, under the egg carton. This way even in all the joustliing of the package, the reptile in the deli or bag, can not get any direct contact with the heat pack and it also allows better airflow for the heat pack, which makes them heat up better. The heat comes throught the holes in the top of the egg cartons and it also allows a bit more cushioning on the bottom of the boxes for packages that get slammed down more in shipping. We have used this for a few years along with the 40 hour heat packs and one thing we hear often from people is the babies come out warm and wanting to eat (lizards anyway do)
Great post, but I need to add that it is not illegal to ship reptiles via the USPS. Its illegal to ship snakes, turtles, turtle eggs, and venomous retiles. Its not illegal to ship them entirely. You can ship lizards, amphibians, and alligators if you follow their shipping guidelines. Check out http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub52.pdf item 526.6 for more info.
