QUICK * need opinion on shp.

[Suncharmers]

Hey guys if anyone is there I'm shipping out a month old baby/ big kid /spunky. My dilema is here in NJ it is COOL for summer temp at about 75 he will be here until late tonight before being put on the plane. But he is going to Dallas Texas where it will be 100 - 104 degrees tomorrow. Would you use a cold pack? I'm hesitant because of the cooler temps here until midnight or so when he will then be on the plane. Your thoughts hurry I need to start packing ,,, lol

 

[Kristi23]

If it was me, I would use a cold pack. Colder is safer than too hot.

 

[tiedxupxinxknots]

I wouldnt ship anything alive if the weather is over 95...

 

[Kristi23]

I wouldnt ship anything alive if the weather is over 95...

I do agree. I don't ship over 90 unless it's to a hub.

 

[eyelids]

Don't ship...

 

[BrightReptiles]

I don't think it's legal to ship a one month old baby. Whose child are you shipping and why? I think this is a question for child protective services.

Ok now for a real answer, shipping probably isn't a great idea with that weather. Though like already stated, cooler is always better than warmer. How long would it be in warm areas? Id suggest a larger tub with loose towel in it so they can be held in place but still get to the other side to get away from or to the cool if needed.

 

[Suncharmers]

Thank you all for your imput. I usually don't ship either in real hot or real cold weather. But here and along the way it is pretty nice temps (cooler than usual) 70's so I figured if the baby arrived in Texas and was delivered in the morning then could beat the heat.

THanks guys!

 

[Wild West Reptile]

I personally wouldn't risk it Eve. If it gets held up for whatever reason, it will cook. Trust me, I'm in Texas right now and I could barely breathe outside at 10:00 this morning. There's a crazy heat wave here (figures when I visit ) and the only way I can describe it is, it's like being stuck in an oven, even when the wind blows it feels like your face is in front of a hair dryer!

I don't use cold packs because I won't risk anything over 90.

 

[Suncharmers]

Hey Chris, yeah as I said I usually do not either, it was in the 70's here so it was smooth sailing all along the way and then it would have gotten up to 100 when reaching Dallas Texas as the day went on. I packed the juvey with damp paper towel too, and was just told they received her early , :main_laugh: and she is enjoying her new home, so all went well. But I had to say I worried al night, as I don't like to ship in th eheat either.

Thanks guys!

I have many many kids to phot shoot and show off, lol see ya soon:main_thumbsup:

 

[Robyn@SYR]

100F is at the limit of what I would ship in. And in that case, I would ship Hold for Pickup to a FedEx facility. That way it arrives early in the morning, 6-8am, stays inside until pickup, and doesn't go out in the heat on a truck for delivery.

We have guidelines on how to book a "Hold for Pickup" shipment at our site:

http://www.shipyourreptiles.com/en/get_help/get_help_shipping_standards/#question-15

I know it gets crazy hot in the Southwest, especially Texas and Arizona. It can be tough to find a shipping window that works temperature wise. Geckos in particular can be sensitive to overheating during shipping. Give yourself the best chance of success and stay under 100F (as a high in both origin or destination) and ship directly to a FedEx facility for pickup.

Best of luck to you.

 

[kkigs]

Great advice, Robyn. Personally, I have all of my incoming animal shipments held, either at the airport, or sometimes a FedEx Office that is quite close to the airport.

Glad to hear it went well, Eve!

 

[Designer Geckos]

We ship routinely in hot weather and have had zero problems. You have to pack the geckos very carefully, ALWAYS use good size frozen cold packs, and take extra care to monitor all aspects of the route and weather conditions carefully....strict coordination with the recipient is also a must.

When in doubt, do NOT ship. Never put the animal in jeopardy...they rely on us for their well-being!

We did extensive testing on our method last year. We tested two different size shipping boxes from SYR, standard styro lined boxes. Our test was done under extreme conditions. We packed the boxes as if there were geckos inside. We placed a high quality digital thermometer probe in the deli cup, and packed the box with an ice pack. We left the shipping box exposed to 95-100 degree temps for 24 hours. The last hour or so, we put the boxes in a closed vehicle, where temps were 126 degrees. The internal box temp stayed in the mid to high 70s....one box got up to 80.

Our method has never failed, so we are very confident in it. The biggest concern is a delay, but we never ship when there is severe or questionable weather forecast en route just to be sure a delay does not happen. We also write "keep cool" on the box during summer months. If there ever were a delay, we would coordinate that with Fedex to place the box in an office. We've done this during a cold weather shipment delay we once dealt with. Fedex is great about doing that, but you have to be persistent, professional, and courteous about it....again, the animal depends on us.....

Best of luck. Like I said, when in doubt, do not ship.

 

[Designer Geckos]

Just as a followup, we sent out many geckos yesterday around the US and all made it safe and sound as we knew they would.

Forgot an important point in the above summary...we'd advise taking your shipments directly to a Fedex hub during hot weather so they can be inside until they are taken to the airport for the flight to their destination. That way they aren't spending any more time in a Fedex truck than absolutely necessary. This is actually a good thing to always do, but especially in hot or cold weather. The easier we can make the trip for them, the better.

 

[Robyn@SYR]

We have done the same type of testing as well, also in the cold of the winter, like single digit cold left out overnight.

A properly insulated box really works well for keeping the box temperate, in a safe temp zone for most reptiles.

Poor fitting and/or gapped insulation can be a real danger, as can including a heat pack when it is already warm out (some do make this mistake).

As Ray said, when in doubt, try to push to a better weather window. But as you gain experience, and confidence, there is a wide window of weather viability that you can safely ship in.

 

[Designer Geckos]

Good dialogue Robyn. Hopefully this thread will help some people out with safe shipping of their reptiles.

We have done testing in winter too. It revealed some startling info....in extreme cold, small heat packs were inadequate. We found that we had to use 60 or 72 hour heat packs in order to get reliable results....made a HUGE difference. 24 or 40 hour heat packs couldn't handle very cold conditions. Another thing we found in our testing, was that laying the heat pack inside the box in one of the corners was much better than taping it to the lid. We place the heat pack in a corner, and then insulate it with crumpled paper so it is in proximity to the deli cups for warmth, but not too close that it could potentially overheat the animals.

We now use 60 or 72 hour heat packs any time the weather is 45 degrees or below. They only cost a buck or two more, but are WELL worth it.

Another thing we found, is that you need to use heat packs from reliable sources. We bought some heat packs on EBAY some years ago...some failed and the others didn't last long....they'd probably been sitting around a long time. Now we only buy heat packs as needed so we use them up quickly and they are nice and fresh. The heat packs we buy from SYR BTW have all proven 100% reliable so we know they are "fresh". Not a plug for you...just stating the facts.

 

[Suncharmers]

This post turned out full of GOOD info for all of us, thanks Robyn and Ray for your imput. I agree with everything you both said. I have been shipping baby collared lizards for over 14 years so I'm not new to this but I do usually hold off in extreme temps either way Cold/ Hot. This time it was so coool on my end and most along the way , so I figured if I packed well and with damp towels / and the gecko was reiceived early enough all woudl be good. And the baby arrived safe and sound. But I do think the Fed Ex facility Hold is an excellent way to ship in extreme temps for all us.

:0) Thanks guys great thread.

PS. Robyn glad you chimed in I had tried to call you the day of shipping, lol.