Shipping

[Eirhead007]

Just inquiring about the best way to ship an adult BTSkink. Type of container? US Mail, Fed Ex or UPS? Shipping costs? Overnight? Shipping directly from state to state, no out of country. Thank you

[Fatal_S]

Personally, I use a specific reptile-shipping company (Reptile Express) to arrange my shipments. It's a bit more expensive, but I know my shipment is being looked after, and my animal is going to get to it's new home safely. If you ship yourself, be sure to use a shipping option that gives you a tracking number.

Here's a post where I show how I set up the shipping box: http://melsexotics.com/shipping-across-canada/ . It's the same for a bigger skink, just with a bigger box (a pillowcase can be used for the cloth bag).

Keep in mind that there should be 1) no holes in the box, and 2) descriptions on the box of what's inside, and to treat it kindly ("Live harmless lizard", "Fragile", "Please keep warm", "Signature needed upon delivery") - in some places these things are regulated by law, so make sure you're not breaking any laws with your shipment. Also check the company policies of who you're shipping with.

Always ship overnight. Only ship Monday-Wednesday, so the box arrives the next day. That was if there is some delay and the skink ends up in 2-day shipping, it doesn't get stuck somewhere over the weekend.

Don't feed your skink for a week before shipping. I always give a warm bath the night before or morning of shipping to 1) keep the animal hydrated, and 2) try to get them to poop beforehand.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Hopefully someone who's from the US can add some more detail for you.

[Eirhead007]

Thank you for the info! Yes, more input would be nice, from the U.S.

[donkeybuff]

I've never done it myself, so I don't have any actual advice for you, but in the US many people use shipyourreptiles.com.

[DianaBlueTongue]

I live in Pennsylvania and ship all the time using Ship Your Reptiles. They're very helpful folks, makes the process very easy. You need to set up an account with them, which is quick, easy and free.

I use Styrofoam insulated boxes, either bought online or make my own. You can buy sheets of thin Styrofoam from most craft stores and just measure and cut to the inside of the box, cheaper then the premade ones and exactly the same thing.

Depending on the time of year and the weather you're shipping in you can use shipping heat packs, cool packs or neither. Like this time of year I don't use either, not cold enough for heat packs or hot enough for cold packs. You need to be careful using heat packs, they get very hot and work by using the oxygen around them to create the heat they give off so you want to put holes that pierce the box and Styrofoam, 1-2 in each side, or you run the risk of the heat packs actually stopping working or the air in the box being used up.

Some fed ex drop off places, like Mail Boxes Ect type businesses, sometimes give you a hard time about live reptile shipments because they don't know about the waiver ship your reptiles has with fed ex and sometimes refuse the package. You want to ship from either an actual FedEx shipping hub or schedule a pick up at you home, which ship your reptiles will do for you for an extra $5. I always schedule pickups, just easier and never have problems.

[DianaBlueTongue]

Oh, and like what was mentioned above, don't feed for a few days before shipping and whatever container you put the skink in, large taped deli cup, pillow case, large snake bag, ect, put some shredded newspaper or paper towel in with it so if they do poo/pee it'll get soaked up by the paper and they don't have to sit in it for the trip. Plus is gives them something to burrow in and feel more secure.

When it comes to shipping boxes for reptiles, bigger isn't always better. You don't want them to have loads of room to move around, no mater how well you label the box "THIS END UP" and whatnot it's going to get tossed around a little bit so a smaller box will help protect the reptile from getting too banged around by rough handlers

[Fatal_S]

You need to be careful using heat packs, they get very hot and work by using the oxygen around them to create the heat they give off so you want to put holes that pierce the box and Styrofoam, 1-2 in each side, or you run the risk of the heat packs actually stopping working or the air in the box being used up.

I'm not sure where people have learned this one. I've used up to 3 heat packs (2x 40-hours, 1x 60-hour; during the middle of winter here) in a small box at a time, with the box sealed up pretty well, and there's never been an oxygen issue. I once received a box with holes punched through it (side note: this is the only shipment I've received where the heat pack had failed and the animals were very cold - but obviously I have no idea if they'd have been better off without those holes), so I did ask Reptile Express about it. I was told that not only is it not needed, but it's actually against our rules up here. All that said, I also don't think it's bad to have extra air holes, as long as it's not too cold out and there's no rules against it. But unless you're taping up every crack/corner of the box, I don't think there's an oxygen problem to worry about.

Overheating on the other hand, is a danger - so use heat packs only when needed (there are reptile-specific ones you can get - these are what I use). It's much more dangerous to be too hot in shipping than too cold. I've lost skinks who cooked to death on the way to me, but know that other people have received nearly frozen animals who've recovered. I love using Reptile Express because he'll look into the specifics of each shipment and let me know whether or not heat packs are needed, and if so how many to use. IMO the added costs in using a reptile-specific shipping company are absolutely worth it for these types of things that improve safety.

[DianaBlueTongue]

Oh I agree! I love using Ship Your Reptiles here in the state, I've had 3 boxes go out this week already, have another going out tomorrow and one coming to me through them tomorrow as well. They are very healpful and do the same thing as Reptile Express with guiding you through the process if you're new to it, help figure what sort of packaging, heat/cold pack ect.

I only say that about the oxygen and heat packs because I tend to be an overly cautious person. Heat packs require air to operate correctly, I didn't mean the animal would suffocate, just that they can stop working if enough air flow isn't given to them. One of the biggest mistakes folks do with heat pack is taping them to the insides of boxes, which is one of the biggest contributors to heat packs failing, because it restricts the amount of air getting to the heat pack. When taping them it should only be taped to the outer edges of the pack with as little of the pack covered by tape as possible. Of course in frigid weather you wanna be mindful of any holes put in the box. In fact, during winter shipping I only put holes in the Styrofoam lining but not the outer box.