Terry
At the risk of sounding cheap for the animals sake. A $50 to $70. fee that is added to a customers purchase snake of only a $50 purchase price would instead leave many of these people running back to local herp shows to buy a kingsnake or corn. So it is not ALL that bad as we may see it. A revival of herpers traveling to shows to spend money on breeders tables. Naaa. Just kiddin....I don't theeeenk it gonna happen!
We must instead learn to pack the snakes well to keep stress down. I use a deli cup filled to the top of the rim with shavings and then add the snake. Close the lid and tape the sides of the lid down by going around in a circle with black electric tape. The deli cup is then placed into a narrow but large box. One that is narrown enought to fit tight with the top and bottom of the deli cup so that it is flush with the deli cup and cannot move up and down. This box is small but adds better stability and protection. USPS offers a free box like this at their post office branches. You can pick up as many as you will need. It says "priority Mail" on the box but it will be insdie of another box anyway so no one will be able to see it. I take this box and place it in a heated insulated box and add heat or cold pack along deepnding on outside temps. I fill the rest with styrofoam peanuts to compact the boxes so any moving or jostling is impossible.
If you are shipping snakes agianst the carriers policy then I would add a few "tricks" to get your package through with minimal suspicion.
One way is to cover the clear plastic lid of the deli cup so that no one can see in. Also add some standard brown packing tape across the top of the deli cup and underneath it 1X. This make it appear safe and to difficult for an inspector to casually open and further investigate. Remember you have the black tape on the outside rim as well. In the area between the second and thrid box I put small treats into this area. I use small things mixed in with the styrofoam peanuts like fritos corn chips, X-Men candy bars, hersheys kisses ect. cheap dollar store trinkets. If they ever do decide to open the outside box there are to many things to confuse them. They won't even try to go for the two innard contents to find out what is inside. If they get that far its to difficult for them to open it. To much work for a small package . They are looking for hazardous liquids, explosives and drugs. They hardly can conceive of small colubrids being sent in 2 lb boxes.
Oh! and tape the outside box very well with the proper tape and do not have any airholes showing. I always ask the girl at the counter if she has "FRAGILE" sticker to make the box appear more professional and has to be handled gently.
If u decide to send on deli cup with one snake or a pair, place the deli cup into a small narrow box that can fit into a large white envelope and seal. This envlope with a deli cup inside of a box ends up taling a different route. Because its in an envelope it goes with the smaller documents and will not be sorted as rough as the other large boxes. This smaller exvelope will go into mail bags where we will see it is handled a lot safer/gentler. It will not have to go though a box sorter where a lot of mishaps occur and it will not be placed on a pallet loaded with other boxes that could get peirced by a forklift, squashed, left in the sun or runover.
I have shipped thousands upon thousands of packages with far less deaths and other complications than other herpers.
Or u could become a Delta "kown Shipper" where they come into your home 6 months later to see if you are a terrorist. After that you must package the boxes the way Delta dash stipulates it and unless you live close by an airport, and so does your customer. You will get a better feeling that you spent more money for the same service and you were able to do HALF the work getting it there by driving and packing under code and then when finally after arriving you have to show the agent its contents.
No thanks, I need to watch baywatch again.
