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shipping a dragon question....shipping a dragon question

keith_ecko Aug 29, 2003 07:09 PM

Could all you breeders who ship there dragons routinely tell me step by step what's involved in the shipping process? Who you choose for the carrier..Basically all there is to know when it comes to shipping a dragon! ha...thanks as always!

KEITH

Replies (9)

beardiedragon Aug 29, 2003 07:39 PM

according to the US post office regs they will ship reptiles (not snakes) and lizards under 20" (I believe). they ship next day by 12 and can track the package. you can also insure it.

FedEx, UPS, Airborne... will ship if you don't tell them what it is. mark it perishable/fragile and ship overnight morning delivery. since you cant tell them what it is there is no insurance.

you can also use airlines like delta dash (something like $75) but you have to go to the airport to drop off and someone has to be on the recieving end to pick up. (I have not used this method)

who ever you use, be smart. dont ship in extreme hot or cold. put the dragon in a deli cup with some paper towels for padding and to soak up poo. use styro boxes and pack them well. use heat/cold pack as needed. dont feed the animal prior to shipping.
make sure someone is home to recieve the package. in some cases you may want to have the person pick it up at the post office instead of delivery. make sure the person recieving it is within a next day delivery area.

when the dragon arrives it should get a warm bath to warm and hydrate it. then place it in its new home. it probably wont eat normally if at all for a few days to a week. its very stressfull shipping these little guys

good luck

-----
Bennett

www.beardiedragon.com

BeginnersBasics Aug 29, 2003 07:45 PM

I only use Fed ex... I have an account with them and process all my shipments online. They arrive about 5:30 pm and pick them up. I also only use their priority overnight service which is delivery by 10:30 am next morning (Most cases)
My fed ex office knows what I ship and they have never given me any problems about it (knock on wood).... It even says "Beginners Basics Reptiles" on the label as the shipper address LOL

I will NOT use Airborne... personal choice and that is because I have only ever received two packages via Airborne and both were DOA and from different suppliers.

Oh and in addition to what Bennett said..... I mist the paper towels in the deli cups before putting the dragons in them.

>>according to the US post office regs they will ship reptiles (not snakes) and lizards under 20" (I believe). they ship next day by 12 and can track the package. you can also insure it.
>>
>>FedEx, UPS, Airborne... will ship if you don't tell them what it is. mark it perishable/fragile and ship overnight morning delivery. since you cant tell them what it is there is no insurance.
>>
>>you can also use airlines like delta dash (something like $75) but you have to go to the airport to drop off and someone has to be on the recieving end to pick up. (I have not used this method)
>>
>>who ever you use, be smart. dont ship in extreme hot or cold. put the dragon in a deli cup with some paper towels for padding and to soak up poo. use styro boxes and pack them well. use heat/cold pack as needed. dont feed the animal prior to shipping.
>>make sure someone is home to recieve the package. in some cases you may want to have the person pick it up at the post office instead of delivery. make sure the person recieving it is within a next day delivery area.
>>
>>when the dragon arrives it should get a warm bath to warm and hydrate it. then place it in its new home. it probably wont eat normally if at all for a few days to a week. its very stressfull shipping these little guys
>>
>>good luck
>>
>>-----
>>Bennett
>>
>>
>>
>>www.beardiedragon.com
-----
Lisa
www.beginnersbasics.com

beardiedragon Aug 29, 2003 07:59 PM

I think every carrier has lost packages or had late shipments; but I agree with you. I hate airborne. I believe they still use contract labor. the drivers are rude and careless. I have had several shipments where they put the package on the doorstep and left. they dont even ring the bell. they delivered 2000 superworms two days late when it was in the 90s. talk about stench... woooooooweeee. They are almost always late so at least the shipping is free then.

we ship fedex once a week or so and in 5 years they only lost one package. fortunately it wasn't an animal. they found it about a week later.

A few problems with UPS getting late deliveries or drivers just leaving stuff on the doorstep. and not waiting around.
-----
Bennett

www.beardiedragon.com

madlady Aug 29, 2003 08:28 PM

Gee ..I work for them and i didn't think i was rude or careless. and i have delivered a few creatures myself. And to top it all off im not contract im union local 295 and i work directly for the company. By the way Airborne no longer exists ..We are DHL worldwide express. sorry but its hard being an employee of one of these places and get knocked all the time a few make it bad for all. And i have had numerous problems with all of them

beardiedragon Aug 29, 2003 09:05 PM

I am sure there are good and bad people just like all big companies but here in Miami, they send all the idiots to me. so all of my expeiriences have been bad. Either they show up 1 minute before the delivery deadline or later, dont speak any english, they toss the packages on the step and run off or when they do ring the bell and I tell them to wait a second they just drop the box and run. even the packages that require a signature never get one cause they dont hang around long enough. the only time we ever got to see a driver, my wife saw him pull into the driveway (over an hour past the delivery time) and went to meet him at the door. by the time she got to the door he was already getting back in his car. It was a signature required package too. she called out to him, he gave her a rude answer and left. My wife called the company to report it and it didn't make any difference. the next 3 deliveries, all the same.

just my sad story.
-----
Bennett

www.beardiedragon.com

BeginnersBasics Aug 29, 2003 07:48 PM

When I first saw your reply I thought it said "It's all crap"

Guess my mind didn't want to see "crap shoot" LOL

>>according to the US post office regs they will ship reptiles (not snakes) and lizards under 20" (I believe). they ship next day by 12 and can track the package. you can also insure it.
>>
>>FedEx, UPS, Airborne... will ship if you don't tell them what it is. mark it perishable/fragile and ship overnight morning delivery. since you cant tell them what it is there is no insurance.
>>
>>you can also use airlines like delta dash (something like $75) but you have to go to the airport to drop off and someone has to be on the recieving end to pick up. (I have not used this method)
>>
>>who ever you use, be smart. dont ship in extreme hot or cold. put the dragon in a deli cup with some paper towels for padding and to soak up poo. use styro boxes and pack them well. use heat/cold pack as needed. dont feed the animal prior to shipping.
>>make sure someone is home to recieve the package. in some cases you may want to have the person pick it up at the post office instead of delivery. make sure the person recieving it is within a next day delivery area.
>>
>>when the dragon arrives it should get a warm bath to warm and hydrate it. then place it in its new home. it probably wont eat normally if at all for a few days to a week. its very stressfull shipping these little guys
>>
>>good luck
>>
>>-----
>>Bennett
>>
>>
>>
>>www.beardiedragon.com
-----
Lisa
www.beginnersbasics.com

madlady Aug 29, 2003 08:22 PM

airborne u can ship harmless reptiles and mark the box harmless reptiles. i work there and see them all the time

beardiedragon Aug 29, 2003 08:36 PM

i did that and when i went to insure it they told me no way they dont ship animals! As did fedex and ups.

FedEx did tell me they could ship race horses and zoo animals between zoos. maybe if i get a realy big box for my dragon and mark it RACE HORSE?
-----
Bennett

www.beardiedragon.com

boastud Aug 29, 2003 11:56 PM

I live in wisconsin, and the box clearly said live harmless reptile, keep warm. Well, i found it ontop of a pile of snow on my nextdoor neighbors doorstep! It was a baby genetic stripe poss het albino. The little guy was so cold, who knows how long he was there. He turned out to be ok, but that was the last time airborne ever was used by me.

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