Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm shipping from Ohio to Maryland. What would you guys recomend? I don't want to send usps because I've heard that they hold live animals for 2 days before shipping! I was thinking ups, but they say that they don't accept live animals. I've heard about Delta Dash before, does anyone know about this? Their website said that they accept live reptiles. Is this the best way to go? What would that cost? I really need advice badly, this is my first time shipping and I'm a little nervous! Thanks!

Hi,
UPS will ship live harmless reptiles as long as you have an account with them.
It is very easy to get one and it is free.
I ship all my reptiles through UPS and I have never lost one yet.
Get an account and they will ship your reptiles.
They will also pick up your package at your home.
Hope this helps you.

Did not know they "openly" accepted snakes!
-----
RicK Denmon

Ball Boutique,Inc.

It just depends on who you talk to... the guys at my local UPS shipping center will ship out my snakes no problem. That being said it is against UPS policy to ship snakes, geckos/lizards/turtles are fine, but snakes are against company policy.

The airlines are still the only way I know of to ship snakes without breaking any laws or company policies.
-----
-Ross Payan - www.LeosAnonymous.com

Leos Anonymous

Ball Pythons, Red Striped Leos, W.Hognose and Screaming AFT's

yup nm
-----
RicK Denmon

Ball Boutique,Inc.

they too will hook you up at home to home....and will do it free.......

JY

it has been my expierience that ups is the better of the shipping companies. the thing is you have to use thier overnight service and you cant really tell them what is in the box. i usually say that it is valuable equipment that is fragile., so they are more cautious with the package. put a few well placed air holes in corners and make sure the animal is packed well. then hope for the best. i have had bad luck with air borne xpress. fed ex is ok but i like ups.

Leopard tortoise recieved with "hold at Airborne for customer pickup" because temps were over 110 in the Phx area. When I went to pick it up, they had sent it for home delivery 3.5 hours before I had arrived. Thier own tracking information showed it was received with the hold, but they sent it out anyway. If it was a BP, it would have been dead! I filed a "Service Failure", their response was that the "SERVICE PROVIDED WAS WITHIN OUR SERVICE GUIDELINES" simply because the package was delivered within 24 hours. I would recommend you never use them or buy from anyone that does!
Paul

my problem with airborne was when my albino ball was shipped to me. very clear address on the package and cant miss my house. never got the delivery. so i called and they showed that the package was recieved by me but i had no such package in my possesion. i happened to go out side in my rage and took a walk . i saw 2 packages sitting on my neighbors porch 4 houses up the road. i went to look and i'll be damned there was my box. i couldnt believe it. so i called back and they just said they were sorry but there wasnt anything they could do and they were glad i found my package. i was floored. i will never use them again.

Basically you have to pull a fast one on the parcel shippers to ship snakes (claim lizards or something like that) and if it dies too bad. I had UPS tell me a multi thousand dollar ball python was going to be delayed a day when it was over 100 deg F but fortunately it got found in a few hours and made it fine. I don't think you even want to consider the Post Office as there might be actual laws involved.

Delta really doesn't seem to want the business as they make it rather difficult for someone to become a shipper (hence all the smaller guys shipping under board with the parcel carriers). My info might be a little dated as it's been a while since I last tried but basically Delta’s employees don't want to inspect snake boxes so they only accept shipments from "known shippers". I've heard they have recently implemented a policy on how to become a known shipper (before it was basically that you had to be one before the first Gulf War, unfortunately I didn’t save enough receipts) so if you can promise enough volume and live close enough to the airport you might be able to get them to come out and inspect you.

Just letting the original poster know that it is actually a federal offense to ship snakes via USPS. Hell, I think you can also get in trouble for knowingly accepting a shipment of snakes.
-----
-Ross Payan - www.LeosAnonymous.com

Leos Anonymous

Ball Pythons, Red Striped Leos, W.Hognose and Screaming AFT's

First off you are correct about getting a Delta account. I do not personally have one, but a friend does. It took about 6 weeks befor they came out and inspected, and you must ship atleast 3 items every six months. Now for the reason I hate Delta. I was sending a pair of Pastels to a guy in Minneapolis. I live in Indianapolis, so this isn't a real long flight. However, first the animals were to go through Cincinati, and then on to Minneapolis. Well the first day I went to ship, they tell me its raining too hard so they will not be able to ship. However, I checked commercial flights and nothing was canceled. So I went back a week later. First off the worker was completely rude. Then once I thought everything was fine, I find out the package was left in Cincinati, and missed the flight to Minneapolis. They then told me that it would be on the next flight, about an hour later. Well of course it wasn't on that flight either. So finally after sitting in Cincinati for about 4 hours, it is finally put on a jet to Minneapolis. So instead of arriving at 6 it was about 11. Thats just not what I expected from a $70 shipping charge. I always thought Delta was the best shipper, but I have MAJOR doubts now. I haven't used them since, and I'm worried about ever using them again. Plus they only insure for $750, which is way too low on most Ball Python morphs. Just my experience.
Jason

I think Airborne is the worst of all your choices. If you ask 5 different people, you will get 5 different answers. I have not had any problems with UPS or FED EX, but Airborne lost a snake last month that was being shipped to me. The box had been retaped, but when I opened it, there was 4 containers and 3 snakes.(one of the 3 remaining snakes died the next day.) There was obviously a live snake in the container recently, because there was fresh feces still in the container. If the buyer is willing to pay, Delta Dash is the best way to go, since the animals will be shipped and received in less than 6 hours in most cases. But, remember, anything can go wrong, and sometimes it does. All the shipping companies are jerks when it comes to shipping snakes, so sometimes you have to conceal the identity and ship them listed as lizards. You can get permits from different shipping companies, but that is a tedious process, and you still have no guarantee that your animals won't sit in a hot depot overnight(or over a weekend) when a mistake is made, and believe me, sooner or later, a mistake will be made. Just hope it happens with a $30 gecko and not a Piebald Ball Python. Good luck with the shipping!!!