Reptile & Amphibian Forums

In a box that is 12 x 9 x 7 how many 35 hour heat packs should I use on a 40 degree day. The snake is being delived Delta Dash, and will be in transit for about 4-6 hours.

Thanks!
-----
---------
4.16 Normal ball pythons
2.0 Pastel ball pythons
1.0 Plains Garter
0.1 Normal Kenyan Sand Boa
1.1 Anery Kenyan Sand Boa
1.0 Mid-Baja Rosy Boa
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat
1.2 Dumeril's Boa
-----My list is too long, so I'll stop here!
*Amy*

You did not mention if your using a styro lined box or not? Which would make a big difference when answering this question.

If you are using a styro lined box, which i and most will reccomend, then one heat pack should throw more than enough heat for short trip you are planning for your animals.

~ Mike

1 heat pack will be fine for a box that size, anything more and the snake could cook. We ship all winter long and use 40 hour heat packs, we sent out a bunch the other day and it was 19* out!!
The most important part of shipping is to make sure the box is insulated enough. We use 2" of crumpled newspaper in the bottom of the box , to "absorb" the cold and keep it away from the snake. We ship around 1,800 snakes a year, and have never had any losses using this method. Hope this helps.

J&J REPTILES
sales@jnjreptiles.com
www.jnjreptiles.com

Thanks,

It is styrofoam lined with shredding newspaper. I had reptiles shipped to me with only one heat pack, but I read that they generate 10-16 degrees per heat pack for a 12 x 12 box. I am glad to hear that one should suffice, as I was terrified that the box would get to hot. I read to tape one side of the pack to the inside top of the styrofoam, does that sound right?

Thanks!


-----
---------
4.16 Normal ball pythons
2.0 Pastel ball pythons
1.0 Plains Garter
0.1 Normal Kenyan Sand Boa
1.1 Anery Kenyan Sand Boa
1.0 Mid-Baja Rosy Boa
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat
1.2 Dumeril's Boa
-----My list is too long, so I'll stop here!
*Amy*

We wrap the heat pack with newspaper and tape it to the top of the box. In this kind of temps we tape it to the top in the center of the heatpack with a strip of masking tape.

you can tape it to the side or the top as some have reccomended.. but the basic idea is to keep the heat pack away from the animal... you dont want the snake to directly touch the heat pack.. remember your heating the box not the snake..

good luck!

~ Mike

If you are shipping in a snake bag, I put my heat pack inside a newspaper pocket, and place it on the bottom of the box. The snake in the bag can use it as a hot spot, or stay off of it and it can heat the entire box.

Dave

dont forget to punch a hole in the box and foam to allow air to the heat pack. the heat packs require air for them to work proprely. punch a hole and tape the heat pack over the hole. dont forget, HEAT RISES.

I put the heat pack on a side panel and crumple newspaper to put between it and the snake. I don't want to take a chance on the heat pack falling and coming in direct contact with the snake during shipping. Of course none of what we do for placement may matter since many of the package carriers are fatheads that treat them like they were full of rocks and pay absolutely no attention to the writing on the box stating which way is up or that it contains a live animal.

Well he has been shipped. Unfortunetly, there were no direct flights to Portland, so he will be boxed for something like 20 hours. I placed a small hole above the heatpack as somebody mentioned, and I placed a couple of layers of newspaper touching the heatpack, so the snake was not in direct contact. I can't wait to hear from his new owners that he made it alright! I am one of those people who worries about every detail!

Thanks for all of your help, you have made me feel more at ease!
-----
---------
4.16 Normal ball pythons
2.0 Pastel ball pythons
1.0 Plains Garter
0.1 Normal Kenyan Sand Boa
1.1 Anery Kenyan Sand Boa
1.0 Mid-Baja Rosy Boa
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat
1.2 Dumeril's Boa
-----My list is too long, so I'll stop here!
*Amy*