Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Very new at this. A friend of mine is currently in possession of my old snake, but now that I've moved across the country, he lives many states away from me. I would love to get my snake back, but I have no time to fly or drive over there and pick him up myself. I DO however, have money to get him shipped over here!

But I have no idea how to do it or what to tell my friend about it. Any advice would be loved! Do I have to go through a special shipping company? Or are we able to do it ourselves and still be safe?

The ball python in question is full grown, I would say around 4 foot, if that helps any.

Thanks in advance
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Innocent as a dove you will harm no one, but wise as a serpent no one will harm you. - Haug

Fed ex in a pillow case, double boxed with extra padding.

You will need to use heat packs, and secure the pillow case by tying the top shut.

A BP is VERY strong and can bust open a box without much effort.

Personally, just to be safe, I would wait until the weather warms up.

I ship snakes, but mostly baby colubrids, A fully grown BP has to be similar, however I don't think it will fit in a deli cup
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Regards,
Wayne A. Harvey
Dances With Reptiles
Thamnophis

1.0.0 Ball Python - Python regius "Cain" Rescued from a crack house
0.1.9 Eastern MilkSnake WC "Carmella" adult super sweet temperment (Eggs all hatched!)
1.3.13 Storeria dekayi - Brown Snakes Casper, Xena, Athena, Copper, Sharon & Kids
0.1.0 Thamnophis cyrtopsis Easter Black Neck Garter "MoJo"
0.2.0 Thamnophis ordinoides - Northwestern Gartersnake(Blue Phase)
1.1.0. Thamnophis elegans vagrans Wandering Garter
2.2.0 Thamnophis Sirtalis - Florida Blue stripe Garter
2.1.0 Thamnophis sirtalis - eastern Garters
0.0.1 Thamnophis HybridAlbino Checkered Normal eastern"Mutt"
2.0.0 Thamnophis sirtalis - eastern Garters (xtreme orange phase)
1.1.0 Thamnophis RADIX - Snow Het
0.1.0 Thamnophis RADIX - Christmas Albino
0.0.1 Thamnophis sirtalis - Red Phase Eastern Garter red and white stripes
0.0.1 Thamnophis butleriButler's Garter Snake
0.0.4 Thamnophis proximus orariusCoastal Ribbons
0.0.7 Thamnophis sirtalis - Eastern Garter babies 7/11/08
0.0.7 Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis HET Anerythristic Scott Felzer stock.
0.1.0 Thamnophis sirtalis Eastern Snow "Snowflake"
0.0.1 Thamnophis sirtalis infernalis California Red Sided (R.I.P. little guy)
1.0.0 Thamnophis pickeringi - Puget Sound Garter "Sky" (adult, Sky blue)
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon - Water Snake - "Aqua" adult WC Pink eater!
0.0.1 Amelanistic Corn Snake "CY" Sub-adult CB
1.0.0. Pueblan Milk snake "Oreo" adult CB
1.0.0. ASIAN GREEN SNAKE 3' WC Cyclophiops major"Limon"
0.0.1. Savannah Monitor "CHOMPER" Getting Huge!
1.1.3. Green Anole "Crystal" & "Chris"
0.1.0 Oscar (Astronotus ocellatus) - "Peach" (A Monitor with fins)
1.0.0. K9 "ACE" Black Cockapoo
0.2.0. Feline"Felix"(R.I.P. 4/27/08) "Kaja" & "Silver"
2.1.0. calico RATS
??.??.?? Mice - Feeder farm - Crickets / fish / Giant roaches
More herps than I could ever list out back on the land.

The shipment absolutely must be overnight. You can expect it to cost a bare minimum of about 50 dollars depending on just how far away it's going.

I've never seen packaging for a python or boa, I would say it has to be a pretty secure box even with the snake in a pillowcase.

As wayne said, you should wait for warmer weather. Make sure to check the weather along the entire path of travel between you and your friend -- it would be a horrible thing if it's warm and sunny at the start and end points but the snake freezes to death because it's -20 at one of the stops along the way. Even the heat pad would not compensate for that.

For small snakes most shippers tape one of those disposable hand warmers to the bottom of a deli cup and then put the deli cup in a pillowcase, insulate it with newspaper, and package into a box. I'm not sure what you would use for a heat pad for such a large snake

So assuming I waited until the beginning of summer when all the snow was melted, got my friend to put the python in a pillow case in an adequately sized box, with newspaper as insulation and heat packs for warmth, and made sure the box was taped shut securely, that would be all that had to be done? Fedex will ship live animals like this, or is there some sort of extra fee for critters?
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Innocent as a dove you will harm no one, but wise as a serpent no one will harm you. - Haug

come to think of it, you may technically need to be certified by fedex before you or your friend can ship. It gets a little complicated and lots of people ship without certification and I'm unaware of anybody who has ever had a problem with it. Since you will be waiting for warmer weather and have some time to spare, you may want to repost this question on the kingsnake shipping forum:
http://forums.kingsnake.com/forum.php?catid=19#1591092

Please do NOT ship, or encourage anyone to ship, a snake without being certified by the shipping company you/they use. Please! Our hobby is being threatened enough as it is.

In order to ship a snake through FedEx the person doing the shipping has to be a FedEx certified Live Harmless Reptile Shipper. It's not a hard process to go through and usually only takes a few weeks to get certified. By the time the weather warms up good enough for safe shipping from an inexperienced shipper both parties will have had plenty of time to get FedEx certified, read up on how to package it, etc...

At the moment FedEx is the average Joe's main option to ship non-venomous snakes. Snakes can also be shipped by Delta (airport terminals) but due to the lack of local facilities & door delivery, FedEx is the most commonly used.

For a 4ft BP, I'd probably suggest using Delta. Your friend can contact the Delta shipping office at his nearest airport. Cost between FedEx & Delta will be pretty close to the same, with Delta maybe a tad cheaper. However, he'll have to take the snake to his nearest airport & you'll have to pick it up at your nearest airport.

Maybe some people have been able to slip some snake shipments through FedEx without being certified, but it sure jeopardizes our hobby as a whole. Not only that, but it jeopardizes some people's profession, including me, because the money I make from Internet sales & shipping through FedEx helps feed my family.

Let a few unauthorized snake shipments go bad, or they escape in transit and then watch everyone cry because FedEx puts a stop to allowing even certified shippers to ship. Everyone will be stuck with having to buy only what's available locally, or, pay a higher price for Delta shipping.

If an unauthorized shipment is caught by FedEx there's a good chance the snake will be dead & dried out by the time it's returned to FedEx facility nearest to the shipper, where it will sit until they go face the music, fines, penalties, and/or whatever else.

UPS' policy states that they do not allow the shipping of snakes through them. Although, some longtime customers appear to have agreements that allow them to do so. UPS, at this point in time, does not allow the average Joe to do it.

Shipping a snake through the United States Post Office is a federal offense.

There's a reptile company now in the works of starting a shipping portal that I believe anyone/everyone can use. It's supposed to kickoff sometime in March. Keep an eye on the big banners at the top of the pages here at Kingsnake.com for future announcements.

As for packaging - Do a Google search for: shipping snakes and read several of the links. Don't just read one, two, or a few, but several. Get various ideas. Most of them will be for shipping through FedEx, not necessary Delta standards, or requirements.

Best wishes!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

www.natures-signature.com