Shipping Hazards

[Monty]

I got to thinking about this sitting here tracking my snake shipment, and one of my buddies brought up a good point how do you know how they are handling the packages with the animals in them i mean seriously you dont know if one person decided they were gonna play basket ball with it. what are your inputs i mean i've never had a problem on a receiving end but im sure it happens from time to time

[Wh00h0069]

You have no guarantee that the shipping carriers will not mishandle the box. Snakes have died during shipment, but most get from point A to point B unscathed.

[wendhend]

I agree that there are no guarantees, except the one that you, the shipper, make to your customer for live delivery of their animal. You have to be prepared to refund them if it dies along the way for some reason. There are a lot of little things you can do, though, to help ensure that the animal arrives safely. I always ship in boxes labeled "perishable" in hopes that they will be handled a little more carefully and not exposed to extreme temperatures. Proper styrofoam lining on all sides of the box will help to ensure that it can withstand more weight being placed on top of it and will help to insulate the critter(s). I always check the weather in both locations and include a hot or cold pack secured to the top of the box if it seems necessary. I tape the snakes inside of their deli cups to help prevent escape and minimize the time they have to spend in the box by not taking them to the FedEx office until afternoon, knowing that my local FedEx doesn't send them off until 3:00 PM. I notify the customer of the tracking number, estimated time of delivery and request that someone be there to receive the package. So far, I have had only one package that was delayed a full day but never any dead or injured critters. There is always going to be some risk with shipping, but could you imagine how limited our selection would be without any shipping options?

[MTovar]

During my first year of School, I took a job at Fed-Ex. I did not see much playing with the boxes or rough package handling during this time. When I did see 'rougher' handling, it was due to the very heavy weight of the box.

Packages are not in the care of people as much as one would think. The belts extend all the way into the trucks. In areas where you might be concerned about hard handling practices, if one does not work fast enough, the person got moved to loading. Loading was much more closely supervised.

Boxes do fall, slide, jiggle. But i never saw a fed-ex worker shaking a box violently next to his ear saying "I wonder whats in here".

The good packaging practices of breeders takes care of most things the packages go through. I hope this helps

EDIT: I assume UPS is similar to fed-ex in set up

[Monty]

thank you all for the input i was just thinking about it when i was waiting on a package which by the way came thru 100 percent fine and an hour earlier then the expected arrival time.

[BallsUnlimited]

ive had over 60 reptiles shipped here in every kind of weather and only twice has there been a problem with the animals. One fedex guy didnt even ring the door bell just left it next to the door outside in the cold and i had a few normal balls come in with r.i. wither it was from already having it or the shipping was too much it showed the next day after i received them. Other than that ive never had a damaged box or snake come in ice cold. In 36 degree weather i will get snakes in where the inside of there box and the snake will be around 86 degrees give or take a degree or two. This is done with a temp gun the moment the box is open. Other than what i listed above ive never had a single problem with the way they ship\handle them. Ive worked at ups and any live animal that i dealt with was handled with care and not just thrown around like the other stuff.