Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello RB friends. I was a lurker here and very rare poster for a while. I have some new questions about my BRB and shipping it from where I used to live to where I have since moved. I searched for this info on the forum and din't find it. So I posted this same message in the Shipping forum, but it seems pretty dead and I trust the people here, so here goes:

I'm looking to ship two snakes from San Diego, CA to Houston, TX. They are my pets and are currently with my parents after I moved to Houston (so I have control of when/how they are shipped as well.)

They are an adult Gopher Snake and a two-year-old (but not very big for her age) Brazilian Rainbow Boa. I was out in San Diego last week and both appear healthy.

I planned to use ShipYourReptiles.com, ordered their shipping kits with insulated boxes, bags, etc. I planned to use FedEx overnight as SYR recommends and have the boxes held at the distribution center in Houston and pick them up there.

However, SYR's FAQ says that if the daytime high on either end is above 88F, to wait. It won't be less than 88F as a daytime high in Houston until late September or October. Of course, right now it is very, very hot. It should be in the low 90s in a couple of weeks.

I believe many reptile stores/breeders would ship me reptiles during the summer if I were to be purchasing them, which leads me to believe I may be able to ship them safely in a few weeks when temps are in the mid-low 90s.

-Am I wrong about that? Is it not possible to safely ship them until daytime highs are in the 80s?

-If it is possible, what is the set-up as far as cold packs go? SYR and the forum has nothing about how to use cold packs in the summer with snakes. Is it necessary? Would it be a bad idea, potentially freezing them to death in an insulated box? Is there a difference in commercially available cold packs? Affix it to the top or to the side of the box?

-Would adding some extra ventilation to the insulated box be a good idea in summer, or would that just allow more heat in?

-Any other relevant tips or advice from people experienced in summer shipping?

Thanks for your time and concern!
Chris

Most responsible breeders/sellers won't ship reptiles in extreme temperatures.

Cold packs could be used to help keep snakes cool but they are only really effective in a given range. As delays can and do happen, even with the most efficient shippers, I wouldn't risk the death of my pets shipping in too hot or too cold temperatures. Wait a week or two till temperatures drop then ship your reptiles.
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PHLdyPayne

Forum Princess

Chris,
...I have shipped Rainbow Boas several times in recent weeks in spite of this awful heat. I check weather at the Fedex hub in Memphis and at the destination. If forecast is higher than 95 I usualy wait and ship another day. If forecast is for higher than 90 I pack some ice in the box. I roll several ice cubes up in paper towels and then double bag them in ziplocks. I place more paper towels or folded newspaper between the snakes and the ice bag. My goal is to control the ice melt and absorb heat energy inside the box slowly. This is also the goal with commercial cold packs. It seems to be working okay. Shipping anytime temps are high is riskier than nice weather shipping. Snakes can live a long time inside an insulated shipping box so long as the box is not left out in the sun or in a vehicle parked in the sun. As long as the box goes thru Memphis in the middle of the night and then gets delivered in the AM at destination there should be no problem. The risk is that it will be delayed at Memphis and spend an extra day there and be left out in the sun. Fedex employees have told me that boxes only very very rarely get left out at Memphis and most that miss flights and spend an extra day are kept inside. The next risk is that delivery will be delayed at destination and the box will be left out in the sun on a proch or in a truck all day. Delivery to a Fedex location with hold for pick up is better than home delivery to avoid this risk. I do not mark the box as live harmless reptiles. No matter how enlightened most people are becoming there are still some stone age snake haters out there and so IMO it is best to not mark the box. I do make stealth airholes in the box though the experts say this is not needed. I make the airholes in the styrofoam top under the flaps of the cardboard box and then bend the cardboard a little so they do not fit smoothly together and there is a very very small amount of circulation. It is how I have been doing it for years and it works so I do not change.
Good luck,
Jeff

I agree with Jeff's advice and have recently shipped to a very hot part of the states with ice and had great success.

One more piece of advice would be to arrange pickup at the nearest Fed-Ex hub location. You may want to check on this but I believe they open up at 8:00 am. The animals could be picked up there before the local weather warms up. No need to worry about them being out in the heat.
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Mike Lockwood
www.tooscaley.com

I appreciate it.
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-Chris
cdohna.googlepages.com
1.0.0 WC SD Gopher Snake, Max
1.0.0 CB Albino Banded Cal King, Manny
0.1.0 CB BRB, Mucalinda
0.1.0 CB BP, Maya