Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A ball python I ordered (50% poss. het. albino female) was shipped out on Wed. the 22nd using UPS next day air. Unfortunately due to adverse weather conditions her shipment was delayed by one day. She finally arrived this evening and she was dead. Both 40 hour heat packs were still quite warm to the touch and the box was padded with newspaper. However, the 3.5 inch wide by 2 inch DEEP deli cup that contained her had no padding whatsoever in it. It was a baby ball python so there was a lot of space in that cup. The shipper said that he could gaurantee live arrival because it took too long. She obviously got jumbled around a lot and without padding in the cup there was nothing to absorb the shock but her poor little body. I believe that if there had been some kind of padding in it that she would have arrived alive, even after two days because the heat packs were still working. So I guess I have a dilema. What do you think? Is the shipper at fault? I realize it was not the best week to ship to Ohio. But I couldn't of known that an ice storm would knock out electricity all over the state and delay her shipment. Really my point is that it doesn't appear that she was shipped correctly.

n/p

The biggest mistake was shipping that day. It was in the midst of a severe cold snap that affected the whole Northeastern US. Add the Christmas shipping volume, weather airport delays, etc. and it was a recipe for disaster. It requires patience to just not ship when the conditions are not safe. You did not say what temp the snake arrived at, but I suspect it died of hypothermia and not from being shaken in the deli cup. The shipper may not be obligated to replace your snake, but if he has another one it would be right to do so, or to refund your money. That's my opinion.