How to Ship

A Customer had asked me to show him how I ship snakes, and I realized that this was a past question that was requested, and I apologize for not getting to it sooner. 

Here is how I ship.  

First, the customer picks out his or her snake... I am going to send this awesome super kick-ass Axanthic Red Eye Shatter Pattern Ball Python with an incredibly infected tounge. 

And don't you LOVE my Futon Cover? Yeah... Classy! 

 Then, I get all of the shipping supplies for the box that I need. I go thru Superior Shipping Supplies, and they have great product in a timely manner.

So I pick a box that is appropriate for the size of the snake. In this case, this is the smallest box I ship with, which is 7x7x6. This is ONLY for a single or pair of Ball Python babies. 

If you have something larger, go with a larger box. If you are unsure, larger is always better. 

And then, I put it together. The insulated portion of the box works very well, and fits exactly the box that you purchased.

And then, you add some filler. I use old newspaper crumpled up. You can also use paper shreds (which are kinda annoying, cause they get EVERYWHERE) or something else cushy. My friend uses the cotton that they sell to fill pillows. 

The box is ready for a snake. BUT WAIT!?!?!

How am I going to get that snake in there?

Snake bag. Or Snake cup. I usually use snake bags, as it is easier and cheaper.

Also, depending on the weather, you may need a heat pack or a cold pack, both shown. Heat packs are much more useful, as you ship overnight, and nights tend to be cold. 

ONLY USE 40hr (or MORE) Heat Packs. 

DO NOT USE 20-30 Hr PACKS. They get too hot too quickly, and can cook your animal.

I use a Heat Pack in shipments where the animal will be subjected to temperatures under 60 degrees F, and Cold Packs in shipments where the animal will be subjected to temperatures over 95 degrees F.

In shipping, you MUST, and I cannot stress this enough, PAY ATTENTION TO THE WEATHER OF THE LOCATION YOU ARE SENDING THE ANIMAL TO. 

Pack accordingly. 

Pack up your snake, get your temp things prepared. Freeze your cold pack the night before, and wait to open your heat pack until 30 mins before.

Tie up the bag. Bye bye, Snakie! 

Place the bag in a safe, cushy area of the box, where nothing can jostle it around.

If you are using a heat pack or cold pack, the question remains, where do you put it?

Well, you can do it the easy way, and put it on the bottom of the package, way underneath all of your beautiful filler paper. Both Heat and Cold packs can be placed this way. 

BUT! If it is not going to be super hot or super cold, but you want to be careful, what I do is I tape the pack to the top of the inside of the box, like so... (kinda).

Take it out of the packaging, and tape it to the top. Flip the top over so that the heat pack is INSIDE the box, and seal it up! 

Make sure the animal does not have direct contact with the temperature source.

Seal up the box, make sure you have it all set, and tape up the shipping label. 

Then, off to the shipping service hub you go!

I use Fedex primarily, and you can drop off the animals as late as 6PM. Some places you can do as late as 8PM. I like to wait until an hour or two before the cut off time to prevent the animal from sitting in the box longer than it has to.

Get home, box up, ship out! That's the way we roll around here...

And of course, I ask for a signature upon arrival to insure that the animal has been received, as well as a confirmation e-mail from the customer to make sure that the animal arrived safely.

So there you go, my friends. 

I hope this tutorial has been helpful. 

Maybe I'm missing something? 

Let me know in the comments section if you have any questions!

Have a great day!