fedex.. fed up..

[Ginevive]

I just want to vent again about fedex. If you plan on shipping reptiles with them, say, before the year 2020, I would get the ball rolling asap. Why? I got my test box out to them in August, and I am still not fully certified yet. My paperwork is tied up in their "legal department" and my rep says that there is nothing he can do to speed things up.
I did everything on my end in a timely manner, and I wish that I could have the same in return. I have 2 people who have paid for their snakes; I did make it clear that I was still in the midst of being certified. And I do not mind keeping their snakes until this is wrapped up; till spring if it means that long. I am not comfortable shipping the snakes after, say, this weekend; the weather is going to take a nosedive friday.
Just a vent..
If anyone has tips on cold-weather shipping, please advise me. I will not do it if it is not safe. I have nice Omaha-Steak type styro coolers and hand-warmer packs. I know that Adam said that he ships in cold weather. I plan on setting up a test box overnight to see how it goes if it comes to this and we don't get a callback this week (temps in the 50s for now, not too cold..)

[Rapture]

I don't believe those hand-warmer packs last long enough for shipping... the ones I have seen say they last 10 hours, but that might not be long enough just in case the box goes somewhere it shouldn't have and takes an extra day or two to get to its destination. If you need packs designed for shipping, check out http://superiorenterprise.com

[recycling goddess]

i use 60 hour heat packs myself for silkworm orders...

[lord jackel]

The one thing to keep in mind about FedEx is that their airplanes hold are heated (to 80 degrees or so), so are their trucks (to a lower degree). The warehouses are heated as well...so there are only a few times a priority overnight package might be exposed to really cold temps (waiting when the truck is loaded, airplane unloaded and going from truck to door). Just some info to ease your mind a little about shipping in colder temps.

But you should still do a test box with one of those min/max temp gauges to see how the box does at just holding the temps fairly steady (checks your insulation)

[Blue Apple Herps]

I wouldn't use the hand warmer packs that are made for human use. They get pretty hot (IIRC up to 140?) and don't last very long. I use 40 hr heat packs: http://superiorenterprise.com/produc...roducts_id=229

These are designed around shipping animals. They last 40 hrs which is perfect in case there's some problem or delay in the shipment.

If temperatures are above freezing on both ends then I'm usually comfortable with shipping. If they're below that, or if there's a looming storm, etc that could seriously foul up the shipping (plane delays, etc), then I don't risk it.

[serpents-prey]

i had the same problem a few months back when i traded my corn for a guys bp. we had to trick them and set it up as an express overnight and label it live animal but don't tell them what it is. sure enough the guy came by and picked it up and my corn was in ohio the next day.