I'm looking for advice from someone that may have shipped a large snake through Delta.
I am going to be shipping a 38 lb Blood python from Michigan to Texas. Fed-ex and UPS are out of the picture for snakes this big. I've made some calls in figured out Delta's requirements. Anything over 24" is supposed to be in a wooden crate and the floor space has to be big enough for the snake to lay flat with its whole belly touching the floor. This big girl is going to require a 3' X 2' X 1' crate. One major concern is the weight of the crate as you get charged for the crates total weight when shipping and it is a little over $2.00 total per pound. I'm planning on using 1/4 paneling for the box, but using 1/2" strips of wood every 10 - 12" as support. I'm going to insulate and help pad the interior of the box by lining it with 1" Styrofoam. It will have the air holes drilled. My wife is making a heavy duty snake bag. Once we get everything ready we will wrap 2 heat packs in paper and tape them to the top of the box and use crumpled paper as filler and more cushioning in the box. According to how the shipping works she should not be in the box more than 10 - 12 hours. I'm looking at a total weight when done in the 75 to 80 lb range. After inspection of the packaging at the cargo terminal I plan to screw the lid down.
Anyone that has shipped this way before, am I missing anything in packaging this girl?
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