Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am wondering where I can find 18 hour heat packs (Locally) and would also like to hear of others with there shipping experiences for Dart Frogs. As far as stuff like packaging, insulation used, stuff like that.
Thanks in advance.
Josh

shipping of dart frogs:

thumbnails travel better than larger darts - the smaller the better it will travel...

ive had all of my dars shipped to me in the past here in the UK (UK to UK)

during the summer months here (warm ish when its not pissing it down with rain ! ) shipping darts are easy.

signed for delivery, with the darts in a small containers containing a leaf and some paper towles that are very moist to keep humidity high.

then lots of air holes, and news paper around the dart frogs to insulate is - top any damage if its dropped buy the muppets in the postal service

Jono
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0.0.3 D. Galacs (3 females?!)
0.0.2 D. Vents (one down 2 to go ? > )
2.2.0 E. Tricolour (eggs!!! all healthy!)

England, UK
gjuk@ntlworld.com

Hey Josh,
I noticed that you posted this on another board as well. Do not use hand warmers!!! There is a huge difference between heat packs and hand warmers. Hand warmers are for keeping hands warm. They heat up quickly , hot, and burn out faster. Heat packs have a high temp of usualy aroung 100 or so , but averaging 75 , are adjustable as to how much air will be exposed to the pack and last from around 30 to 40 hours incase your package gets "lost" along the way. I can not stress enough not to go to your local convience/Walmart/gas station and buy a hand warmer. Other than the hand warmer warning , I either use styro boxs that come to my brother's clinic or I make a styro liner out of sheets and coustom fit it to a box of the right size, usualy about 10-12 inches cubed, depending on how many frogs I am shipping. The styro should be at least one inch thick. I am glad that you are checking around different boards for different opinions. Good luck with your frogs.

Rich Frye

Josh,
I should have added a few other things.
After you have an adequate box and heat pack, styro peanuts are very good insulators, I use them to fill the void in the box. A heat pack can be "adjusted" as to how much air gets to the pack by placing tape over the area marked as air intake. On very cold nights it is best to place tape to secure the pack so that much air can get to the intake. On warmer nights you will want to cover some of the intake so you do not get a high temp from the pack. I would not put any air holes in anything at all. You are trying to keep the temp in the frog container( a deli size cup 3-6 oz size) as close to 70ish as possible. You want to insulate them from temp swings. The frogs require VERY LITTLE air at all. You could keep a Dart in a 4oz deli cup for many days without them needing any additional air, they will not suffocate. This applies to quarantine tubs as well, no hole needed. Ship overnight early.

Rich

Thanks for all of the info. Don't worry about the hand warmers I will definitly not be using those. I am probably going with the 40hour heat packs and also making my own styro boxes (a little cheaper). Thanks again.
Josh