Help allay my fears of getting a ball python shipped to me.

[MarkieJ]

With 15 ball pythons in my collection, I have managed to buy all of them from local breeders, reptile shows, pet stores, and reptile-specific stores. I have never had a snake shipped to me, but would like to make my next purchase in this manner. I have done the research on the business I will potentially purchase from, and they have nothing but positive reviews.

How many of the ball pythons in your collection were shipped to you? Any problems occur? Thanks in advance!

Mark

[loonunit]

Hi Mark,

I think the best way to allay your fears is just to wait until spring. If you ship in April or better yet May, the chances of your beastie freezing to death in on a runway in Denver or baking to death on a runway in Phoenix are pretty much nil--even if something goes wrong and the snake ends up bouncing around the country for an extra day or two.

But I'd also check the BoI before buying, too--some breeders do a better job of packaging than others. And some are known to go beyond the call of duty when a snake does get lost in the system. If at all possible, you want one of those people at the other end of the transaction.

[loonunit]

(For what it's worth, I've had over half my collection shipped to me. And nothing bad has ever happened, except that I've had snakes arrive from Florida in February cold and grumpy. But I've been very lucky--I wasn't always as careful as I could have been researching breeders.)

[Homegrownscales]

I've had good experiences for the most part I've only received 1 doa snake. And through shipping I've received 25 out of my 30. Shipping works well as Long as the shipper is responsible and packs right. But it's totally true of you want to be absolutely sure ask the seller If
They would be willing to wait
For another month or two.

[Robyn@SYR]

If your shipper does their job responsibly, uses proper materials and follows proper weather guidelines, there is no reason to expect anything less than a safe live arrival.

We did 50,000 shipments last year through our ShipYourReptiles.com site. DOA's and exceptions were less than one percent OF ONE PERCENT! That is a very low number : )

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Most of my animals have been shipped to me (only 7 were picked up at shows), most of the animals I have sold were also shipped, and I never had any problem on either end.

[blackcrystal22]

I've had at least 6 snakes shipped to me with no problems.

[Monster Dodge]

ALot of the big name breeders post vids on youtube of there shipping methods which I think is awesome. Check em out and you will lose your fear

[MarkieJ]

If your shipper does their job responsibly, uses proper materials and follows proper weather guidelines, there is no reason to expect anything less than a safe live arrival.

We did 50,000 shipments last year through our ShipYourReptiles.com site. DOA's and exceptions were less than one percent OF ONE PERCENT! That is a very low number : )

Thanks Robin (and everyone else)! I'm glad to see that SYR is up and running again.

[Wh00h0069]

I have had at least over fifty snakes shipped to me, and have shipped out more that that. All have arrived safely, and I have never had any sick snakes due to shipping. The last snake two shipments that I shipped out was around Christmas, which was very cold in my area, and they both arrived safely. As long as the shipped follows proper shipping procedures, they should be fine. You should ask the shipped about their shipping guarantees though. If they do not offer live arrival guarantee, do not buy from them.