Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am jumping through the proverbial hoops to get Fedex certified, and I had one question about the boxes.

Do they have to say "Live Harmless Reptiles" or are the "Perishable: Handle with care" boxes work.
I know I have gotten snakes in the perishable boxes, but I want to be absolutely sure I send what they want when I send them my test package.

Thanks.
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"What is man without the beasts?
If all the beasts were gone,
men would die from great loneliness of spirit.
For what happens to the beasts,
soon happens to men.
All things are connected."

-Chief Seattle (Duwamish Tribe)

Yeesh...that first sentence was barely in English. Don't mind me...I am sick and all hopped up on Tussin...

It was meant to say "Are the perishable boxes acceptable?"
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"What is man without the beasts?
If all the beasts were gone,
men would die from great loneliness of spirit.
For what happens to the beasts,
soon happens to men.
All things are connected."

-Chief Seattle (Duwamish Tribe)

Wouldn't it be better to just ask Fedex?
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PHLdyPayne

Forum Princess

The only reason I asked is because on the sheet they sent me showing how to pack a box, they have a live harmless reptile box, but I have gotten different boxes on snake orders.

I've had Live harmless reptile boxes, perishable boxes and boxes that just had the company name (ie. Outback Reptiles).

I figured rather then call them and get rerouted 3 times like I did today, I'd just ask here since a lot of people ship.
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"What is man without the beasts?
If all the beasts were gone,
men would die from great loneliness of spirit.
For what happens to the beasts,
soon happens to men.
All things are connected."

-Chief Seattle (Duwamish Tribe)

Fed-ex is just testing the packaging they don't care what it says.
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Tosha
JET Pythons

nihil facimus sed id bene facimus

If you book through ShipYourReptiles.com, you don't have to get individually certified, and it still goes FedEx. It is also the only way to ship to a residential address within FedEx live shipping policy, and SYR is the only one to offer an on-time delivery guarantee.

Walt@SYR is a live person for customer service questions, and he knows his stuff.
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robyn@proexotics.com

ShipYourReptiles.com
Pro Exotics Reptiles

So they're officially back up?
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"What is man without the beasts?
If all the beasts were gone,
men would die from great loneliness of spirit.
For what happens to the beasts,
soon happens to men.
All things are connected."

-Chief Seattle (Duwamish Tribe)

If you would like some "tips" on becoming certified feel free to shoot me an e-mail. I just went through the process this past fall. I can provide you with PDF's and the proper #'s so its not a PITA when trying to call or find info.

Thanks
Anthony
agoldreptiles@yahoo.com
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If you plan for 1 year, plant rice.
If you plan for 10 years, plant trees.
If you plan for 100 years, educate mankind.

We have been back up with FedEx for a month now, and it is going very well. FedEx has laid out a much clearer relationship than anything UPS ever offered, and they have specific approval boards in place for an "outside the box" shipper like ShipYourReptiles.com.

More info at our site, in the Help section, including specific answers to your box labeling questions.
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robyn@proexotics.com

ShipYourReptiles.com
Pro Exotics Reptiles

Awesome. When I have babies to ship I'll have to check shipyourreptiles out then.
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"What is man without the beasts?
If all the beasts were gone,
men would die from great loneliness of spirit.
For what happens to the beasts,
soon happens to men.
All things are connected."

-Chief Seattle (Duwamish Tribe)

What if SYR gets banned again from shipping?......always nice to have a back up plan.......

Jason
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jason.trott78@yahoo.com

We didn't get "banned" in the first place.
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robyn@proexotics.com

ShipYourReptiles.com
Pro Exotics Reptiles

i'm FedEx certified and have noticed that lately some of my shipments are getting delivered several hours or more later than FedEx stated guarantee times. Are you guys seeing this? What is supposed to happen if FedEx delivers later than their guarantee delivery time?

The vast majority of packages are delivered on time. For Priority Overnight, delivery is 10:30am to most addresses.

Overall package volume, weather, and mechanical delays can affect delivery time.

With a non-SYR FedEx shipment, there is no recourse for a late delivery, there are no shipping refunds. But when you ship with SYR, we offer an on time guarantee, so if the package is delivered late, you can get a refund on the cost of the shipment. There is a TOS to that, you can read about it at our site in more detail.

There is no live arrival guarantee offered, there never has been through UPS and FedEx. But we are working on that now, and I am super excited about it. Soon.
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robyn@proexotics.com

ShipYourReptiles.com
Pro Exotics Reptiles

Sorry, I have to disagree with you Robyn.

I have used FedEx for many years and if they do not get the package delivered on time and it is the fault of FedEx and not a natural, act of nature holdup such as iced airport or weather holdup, I have gotten my shipping charges refunded many times. As a matter of fact, one time when it happened, I split the refund with the recipient...it was only fair to him. I am now FedEx certified to ship reptiles and I could not be more happy with this company.

Susan Sentman
SSNAKES Reptiles

I hear what you are saying Susan, but if you check your FedEx certification contract, the on-time arrival guarantee is specifically excepted from the live reptile shipping certification. If you can get a refund from them, great, but once they hear about it, not so great : )

It is a similar issue to the residential delivery. They may deliver your live reptile to a residential address, but it is specified in the FedEx certification that live reptile shipments are only to be shipped to addresses zoned as businesses. We (SYR) are the only current live reptile shipping account with a residential exception, and we worked hard to get it.

UPS and FedEx have both been very particular and at times quite demanding on the live reptile shipping side of things. I do want to see folks follow the "letter of the law" on these touchy issues, but I also realize there is lax enforcement at times : )
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robyn@proexotics.com

ShipYourReptiles.com
Pro Exotics Reptiles

Thanks Robyn, those are some things I did not know.

Do you require your shippers to mark contents on outside of box?
I know here in Florida even my Fish & Wildlife inspector told me
"by law...you must mark contents". It makes me uncomfortable due to the occasional shipping employee(s) who dislike snakes /reptiles so much they would actually kick the box around and intentionally deliver late.

Susan Sentman
SSNAKES Reptiles

It is a catch 22.

I am with you, I want minimal special attention to my reptile shipment. The reptile phobia of folks that need to handle your package is more detrimental than anything else. Just deliver my package tomorrow morning on time, that's it. Don't be scared of it, don't run from it, don't throw it across the room, just deliver it like any other package.

But there are legal marking requirements, and states like California are inspecting more and more packages (of all types) for proper labeling.

We cover proper labeling on our site, at the link below. The requirement includes marking the outside of the package "wildlife" and including a itemized packing slip or receipt within easy access.
ShipYourReptiles package labeling FAQ

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robyn@proexotics.com

ShipYourReptiles.com
Pro Exotics Reptiles

>>Do you require your shippers to mark contents on outside of box?
>>I know here in Florida even my Fish & Wildlife inspector told me
>>"by law...you must mark contents".

I'd have to go back and try to find the section and citation in the Lacey Act, but I do believe it's illegal to NOT label the contents of the container with the species name(s) and quantity under any circumstance. I also believe the penalty is a felony. Every time I ship I label the box with content (species name(s)) and quantities. I don't plan to ever get called out on it!

Matt

Thanks Matt, I was not aware this was so well defined in the Lacey Act. Definitely something to think about and like you, I certainly don't want to get caught in that one either!

You are correct Scientific Name, Common Name and Qty must be on the box - I think it even says it should be next to the address or something of that nature (so you can't hide it).
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Tosha
JET Pythons

nihil facimus sed id bene facimus

I've received two shipments this winter. Once to my house and once to my work. I had two different ETAs but both shipments were delivered within the window and between both shipments all 7 animals were alive and are doing really well. The animals were shipped with lows in the twenties. Excellent shipping jobs by both Royal Constrictor Designs and East Coast Reptile Breeders.

Given proper packaging and use of heat packs, you should be able to ship throughout the winter, with some flexibility for extra cold days. Glad to see that your shippers packed well and got you a safe arrival!
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robyn@proexotics.com

ShipYourReptiles.com
Pro Exotics Reptiles

I was very pleased with it, I've been certified for awhile myself but having the residential delivery was extremely nice.

I got certified using one of the "perishable" boxes.
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www.jasonrbartolettreptiles.webs.com