Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was curious to know who here ships boas in winter..without heatpacks? and why?

This is not a question to validate something I do, it is a question to find out who all has done so, and I wanted to know the reasoning behind it.

It stems from a package I received a couple months ago of a boa that was shipped without heatpacks, with UPS overnight SAVER! The boa seems fine now, although he has regurged 2 times in my care since arrival. And am not sure if it stems from the extreme conditions he arrived in..

Thanks all.
-----
Randall L Turner Jr.
www.aircapitalconstrictors.com

You never experience life until you have kids..then you realize what you should have done rather then what you did do

Sounds to me like the boa was exposed to extreme temperatures in ROUTE to you. A big misconception is that when you ship say UPS from say Miami to California or any other state that it goes direct from my airport to your and thendelivered from the hub at your airport to your door. This is NOT THE CASE. tHEY HAVE ROUTING STATIONS, Ups has one in tennessee I believe. Memphis or fed ex does. Either way all companies have a central hub where all PACKAGES sent air go to. They are all shipped in from all over the country and world to this central hub. Once there they get sorted and all packages going to south cali go on a certain plane , etc....etc....
What most people pack for is a direct flight fro here to there. So if it is hot in Miami and mild weather in california I may still put a heat pack or two. It all depends ont he temps at the HUB of these companies. It can be 80 here and 60 in cali but in tennessee it could be 10F.
That is the way I pack. I base heat packs according to the central hub. Heat packs generally peak at temps around 6 hours later. In that sixth hour give or take , they are at the main hub. That is the perfect time to have heat going in a box. Once it gets to cali which may be 60-85F the heat packs intensity has dwindled considerably and the temps for the snake are perfect for shipping into 80-85F, weather. The only draw back and that is why I personally have a guarantee of live arrival only if someone is there to accept box is because the packages get there by 10:30am or earlier. If itsnt signed for the 48hr heat pack /24hr heat pack is still going and the box is now in a truck that is increasing with heat over the day. Once you call and have them redeliver it has been in the truck all day with a heat pack and the heat of the truck and thus you get a very neurological snake or a DOA.

I personally base shipments on the central hubs. If it is cold there I heat the box if it is decent there I dont.
I rather ship in extreme cold with heat packs both at my place , the hub and the destination then ship in summer or spring where it may be hot here and there but not at the hub, etc.....
Sorry so long but that is my explanation for shipping things during these times.
p.s. I am not the seller of the boa to the original poster. I am only saying how I ship and have succedded in having zero DOAS or problem snakes in 5 years going on six in april.

Also the snake in question probaby got to cold at the central hub where it got routed to go to you. If that is the case I would check on it by seeing what temps where in that companies hub when the boa was shipped. Like I said it oculd be hot where you are or perfect weather, whatever and where the shipper was but that doesnt mean a heat pack is not neccesary. It is all upon the central hub.
Mike
-----
"Quality isn't Quality without customer service so I guess I sell quality"

I may be wrong, but if this is the boa that Randy told me about, I doubt that the hub stations temp really even mattered in this case. This was in December, and sent from Minnesotta to Kansas. Now, I don't know how cold it was in Minnesotta, but I remember Randy saying it was low 30s in KS, and I assume lower up north.I think the shipper really dropped the ball by not using heatpacks, but to top it off shipping next day saver, which is guaranteed to arrive by 5:30 pm, instead of next day express which would have gotten it ther by 10:30am.
The shipper even went as far as to say that they NEVER use heat packs, especially in winter, because you never know how hot it is gonna be in the warehouse, and with the heating vents, the snake could overheat. They did "redeem" themselves by saying that they have to draw the line somewhere, and wont ship in weather that is 10 degrees or below..WTF is that?

The person I had the animal shipped from lives in Minnesota, and I am in Kansas.. It was shipped in late Nov/early Dec, with a day time high temp at both locations below 32 degrees.. If the animal had been shipped via overnight for before 10:30 a.m. Delivery it would have been a bit better.. But the shipment was made for after 5:00p.m. delivery...Kinda poor judgement..imo

Later
-----
Randall L Turner Jr.
www.aircapitalconstrictors.com

You never experience life until you have kids..then you realize what you should have done rather then what you did do

I was watching this silly new show last night 'Myth Busters' where they test myths and tell you if they are true or not...

Well last night they had a special on a person who was trapped in the cargo area of a plane and supposedly survived a flight to South America or something.. well over a few hours in flight.

They performed the test and measured statistics...

I believe within a couple of hours, the temps in the cargo area dropped to as low as 55 BELOW ZERO, and was sustained at this temp for another few hours.
The study showed that a human should not be able to survive this - it was a miracle how this one person did.

So, a few hours at -55 degrees...... I would DEFFINATELY use a heat pack or two...

just my $.02

Thanks, and take care - Joe
-----
Thanks and take care - Joe Rollo
'Tis not the stongest of the species that will eventually survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change' Charles Darwin

that was a myth bust on the wheel wells not the cargo area. If it was the cargo area the pilots might possibly be frozen and ALL the goods including flowers, luggage, boxes, machines, etc would be frozen stiff.
I saw the same episode and it was based on if a human can survive in wheel well of a plane not the cargo area. Cargo areas are pressurized not only for temps but also so the pilots heads dont pop and goods on board dont implode.
neither will the plane, lol./
Mike
-----
"Quality isn't Quality without customer service so I guess I sell quality"

.
-----
Thanks and take care - Joe Rollo
'Tis not the stongest of the species that will eventually survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change' Charles Darwin

Doesn't matter if your flying in a circle around the equator where its 120 deg on the ground. It's damn cold up in an unheated cargo hull of a plane at cruising altitude. Maybe not 55 below, but definitely too cold to ever send any cold-blooded animal without a source of heat.

Hello all

I have received many emails giving opinions on the subject of to ship or not to ship with heat packs in freezing weather while shipping a tropical species...One thing popped up in many of them.. The fact that that most assumed I fed the animal quickly after receiving it... Just so no one else has to ask, I waited until the 11th day to feed, and only fed it a mouse pink (the animal was on adult mouse/rat hopper sized food items)

So please, if you want to share info with me please do so on the forum rather then emailing and stating that shipping an animal with no heatpacks in the middle of winter is totally fine, and must be the fault of the buyer if anything happens..

Later
-----
Randall L Turner Jr.
www.aircapitalconstrictors.com

You never experience life until you have kids..then you realize what you should have done rather then what you did do

I think i know who this one was ... i have heard someone else talking about his practices of no heat and shipping unless it was below 10* ... makes no sense to sell animals for $$$$ and shipping the irresponsible
-----
Buisnesses come and go everyday, what keeps you here is how you treated the customer the day before....
Check out the new website at www.junglehabitats.com and www.junglehabitats.com/forums/portal.php

Maybe this person shouldn't sell at $xxx.xx Shipped, and instead, add the actual cost of shipping and packaging when it is figured up , instead of finding every little loophole to skimp on shipping.