Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am very confused I want to ship a ball python to NY from Wilmington, Nc but no shippers will do this. i've tried all the major ones(ups,usps,dhl,fedex) so since I live in wilmington I asked Dean Ripa (Cape Fear Serpentarium) if I give him the money could he package and ship the snake for me (since he has a permit.)But he said NO. I talked to UPS yesterday for around 3 hours and talked to pratically everyone and opened a account because they said if I open an account I could ship the snake,so I went through the very long process of making an account. At the end I asked her "So I can ship the snake and she said hold on so, I waited (again), she finally got back on and said NO you can't ship any snakes." But, they ship alligators and crocodiles under 20 FEET which makes now sence what so ever. So after giving them a piece of my mind (got really mad after spending 3 hours on the phone to find out I cound't ship the snake)I hung up trying to figure how other people beat their system. The only advice I have recieved is to tell them that it is a lizard (which they will ship) but that is illegal and was wondering if anyone out there has any better advice at what I could do that is more legal. Thanks in advance

Derek

UPS does not accept any venomous or non-venomous snakes. I have a live animal account set up to ship my tortoises. You can check out their terms at:
Live Animal Shipping

i recieve snakes from UPS all the time and they are stamped LIVE SNAKE on the box

>>i recieve snakes from UPS all the time and they are stamped LIVE SNAKE on the box

1) there's a shipper or two who's somehow gotten permission from his local office to ship snakes (i've heard such stories)
2) it's not allowed but once the box gets in the system no one yanks it (call your local office or a national office and ask if the shipper accepts live snakes)

and a third possibility, maybe they've changed the rules they had for many years. I don't think the courier services are as safe a method of transport as airline shipping, but i know it would provide convenience and economy many people would accept as a tradeoff for any possible risks to their animals (for ex, drivers with live snakes in boxes in their trucks here in florida, where it's low to mid 90s all summer; another example, there's a post a few threads above this one, about a snake misplaced for a couple days...might parcels left on a truck simply stay there overnight, even in cold environs, if the driver is used to carrying only inert products like books, clothing, typical Amazon type purchases?)

peace
terry