To ship venomous via Delta, which is the most commonly used company, a site inspection by a Delta agent has to first be performed to start the processing of 'validating' you as a known shipper. They'll send someone to your residence to verify you have the animals you say you have. For me, this was little more than some younger guy wanting to come see my snakes. While the person is there, you will fill out some paperwork. Once he/she leaves and gets the paperwork filed, you should be good to go as far as shipping. The agent can explain proper boxing and packing procedures for venomous snakes, and will probably leave you some literature explaining their policies. If he/she doesn't, you can go to Delta's website and check for it there.
Generally, Delta requires venomous to be shipped in a wooden crate. They may or may not require metal bracing on the corners; my Delta people do not. The rules say that the snakes need to be double bagged, once inside a normal sack, then that should be placed inside a mesh sack.
Other than packaging, the only requirements are drop off times, which will be given to you by Delta Pets First, which is the agency you call to arrange the shipment. Anything as far as permits will vary according to where you live, but you will not, in most cases, have to present Delta with a permit either of your own or belonging to the person you're shipping to, unless you are in FL or some other highly regulatory state.
In addition to Delta, you can also ship venomous snakes through Northwest. Some people swear by them over Delta, but I prefer Delta because they are cheaper, and because NW has a problem servicing my state and many other states Delta can service. The advantage of NW is that they don't require you to be a known shipper, so there is no validation process. Anyway, I hope this helps.
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Chance Duncan
www.rivervalleyexotics.com
