Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I have been living in Seattle for 6 years and is planning to return to Europe (France). I d like to take my Giant Green Day Gecko with me.
How can do that? I ask if I could carry it on board of plane with me, but no, they don t accept cold blooded animals. THey redirectered me to cargo where I was told that they were doing mainly Cats/Dogs.
Basically, I m looking for either a transporter specialized in pets or a breeder that could eventually ship it to me, or any other solution to be able to bring back this little guy with me.

Thank you,

BeuZ

You may want to contact UPS or FedEx or DHL. If the transit times are short enough there is no reason you couldn't ship your gecko that way, just as you can ship it across the US. The only problem might be clearing it through customs. Do your research first so your gecko doesn't end up sitting in a cold customs warehouse for a week.

Chris

>>Hello,
>>
>>I have been living in Seattle for 6 years and is planning to return to Europe (France). I d like to take my Giant Green Day Gecko with me.
>>How can do that? I ask if I could carry it on board of plane with me, but no, they don t accept cold blooded animals. THey redirectered me to cargo where I was told that they were doing mainly Cats/Dogs.
>>Basically, I m looking for either a transporter specialized in pets or a breeder that could eventually ship it to me, or any other solution to be able to bring back this little guy with me.
>>
>>Thank you,
>>
>>BeuZ

Thank you for your answer CHris.
Yes this is not the 1st time someone tells me to send it like this. I saw once a breeder who told me there was no need to fill up US fish and wildlife export permit, just to send it via UPS/ FedEX and in kernel with a heat pack. It seems I m gonna end up doing that, but I am a little worry on how the packet will be handle since I won t put "Pet" on it and how on the gekko will arrive. Basically, send it with a gekko declared inside or just as a regular package ?

Thank you

BeuZ

I am a driver for UPS (and I happen to live in Seattle, too) so here are a few tips:

-It will be cheapest if you pack it yourself and drop it off at a UPS Store, Office Depot, etc. Don't take it directly to the UPS building itself, as they will make you open the box and inspect it before shipping.
-Try to keep the box less than 1 cubic foot in volume or the price starts to go up.
-A flat box is better than a cube-shaped box, it is less likely to get tumbled around.
-The box will require a shipping document which lists the contents, country of origin, value, etc. If you go to UPS.com to print your shipping label, you can enter all the info at that time and it will print your invoice for you.
-The most important thing for you I think will be to make sure that it is legal to ship your gecko into France, if there is a customs hangup it will be there.
-I did a little research, a 2 pound box from Seattle to Paris, 8x8x8 inches will be about 78 dollars and will take 2 days.
-You need to write "Live Harmless Reptile" and the species name on the outside of the box to comply with Federal Law.
I don't know the exact regulations for FedEx or DHL but I imagine they are similar. The big question is, will your gecko be okay in a box for 2 days? You might want to post on the Shipping Discussion Forum and get some feedback. With heatpacks the temp should be okay, but I wonder about the air supply. Anyway, that's about all I can think of for now. Hope this info is useful.

Chris

My friend has smuggled lizards out of Hawaii on board......just a thought. Anyway, if you do have to put it through cargo make sure you put a few hot packs in there for it so it doesnt freeze.