Shipping Nonvenomous Reptiles

I found this really good link a while back in regards to shipping. Figured it might help someone.

http://triplemoonsexotic.com/articles/shipping-live-harmless-reptiles/

Thanks for posting that. It was a good read. I need to get certified to ship soon.

Great article with lots of good info! I highly recommend SYR instead of or along with getting certified. Their on-time insurance is a great backup for late deliveries and most importantly, at least to me, they allow you to ship to residences which certification prohibits.

What is everyone's stance on air holes with heat packs? I am generally against air holes for the reasons discussed in the article but have lately read sad stories in Fauna from supposedly regular shippers where they believe the animal asphyxiated because they did not add air holes when using a heat pack. I realize the boxes are not air tight but is there enough air flow to safely "feed" the heat pack without adding holes?

There was a discussion on another forum about using SYR instead of getting certified and several people seemed to think it looks more "Professional" if you are certified to ship on your own. You've gone and jumped through all those hoops. I'd love to use SYR (as jumping through hoops is not fun) but if its going to look more professional for my customers if I am certified to ship via Fedex, then so be it.

I haven't shipped yet, but I plan on doing small airholes in the box. People have been doing it for years, and I'd rather have more ventilation then not enough.

I don't do air holes. From what I understand, reptiles consume far less oxygen than humans and other mammals. I believe cardboard is permeable enough to allow enough oxygen for the reptile and supply the heat pack. Air holes in the winter time is a big no-no in my opinion. It lets the heat out and allows for drafts, not to metion defeats the purpose of hot/cool packs. I will tape up the entire top of the box and just put one strip on the bottom during the winter and the opposite in the summer with cool packs. This would allow very little air transfer but mostly to purge excess temps that could build from the packs.

I don't consider what I do to be right, just what makes the most sense to me and if I do have a casualty, I have no one to blame but myself

I did recieve a hatchling once that was in a completely (I mean COMPLETELY) sealed styrofoam container that I am sure did not allow air exchange. He made it 20-24 hours and arrived absolutely fine and ate right away.

ClarkeReptiles wrote:

There was a discussion on another forum about using SYR instead of getting certified and several people seemed to think it looks more "Professional" if you are certified to ship on your own. You've gone and jumped through all those hoops. I'd love to use SYR (as jumping through hoops is not fun) but if its going to look more professional for my customers if I am certified to ship via Fedex, then so be it.

I haven't shipped yet, but I plan on doing small airholes in the box. People have been doing it for years, and I'd rather have more ventilation then not enough.

I've ran this over several times in my head in re to SYR. I'm starting to hear better things like, better price, insurance, protection etc. I'll admit, sometimes I get worried when I am receiving through SYR as I do not know how knowlegdable the shipper is, however, I have received some packages that were very poor from certified fedex shippers.

I think if you get FedEx certified and ship SYR, you can have the best of both worlds. Letting the buyer know "Hey, I'm certified with fedex, but will be shipping SYR at a better cost" might work out better than using one or the other.

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I believe cardboard is permeable enough to allow enough oxygen for the reptile and supply the heat pack.

Okay, this is my thought as well. I guess the shippers improperly packed their animals and are blaming it on the air supply (not too sound harsh).

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I think if you get FedEx certified and ship SYR, you can have the best of both worlds. Letting the buyer know "Hey, I'm certified with fedex, but will be shipping SYR at a better cost" might work out better than using one or the other

This is a great idea and I think I will get FedEx certified but continue to use SYR. The prohibition on shipping to Residences is an automatic dis-qualifier for me if there is an another option. I don't mean to shill for them but another advantage is SYR has their own high-up customer service rep that handles all delayed packages. It is much easier, more efficient, and better for the animal than trying to fight through the general customer service on your own which I have done a couple times for late priority express live feeder packages and it is not fun. Also, it has been confirmed that SYR packages specifically travel in pressurized, climate controlled air cargo which is not necessarily true if you ship yourself.

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=283180

Although in hindsight, maybe all air cargo is pressurized and climate controlled?

I didn't know residential shipping was prohibited. I've never had a problem doing it, but I'm going to go check to make sure. Hope I haven't been violating policy

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If approved by FedEx, we may accept non-venomous reptiles, amphibians, live/tropical fish and beneficial insects on an exception basis under the following conditions:



Shipments must be from a business to a business (from a breeder to a pet store, for example).
The shipper must have its packaging tested and pre-approved by FedEx Packaging Design and Development for the type of animal being shipped. Call 1.800.633.7019 for assistance. It is the responsibility of the shipper to adequately package shipments for all temperature extremes and handling conditions.
Contact your FedEx account executive for details and additional requirements.

I did not know this! Looks like I'm going to start using SYR!

Yea it really surprised me too! I read it a couple times and thought, "wait, this can't be right." There's really no way around it though other than to have the package held for pickup at a shipping hub which I prefer not to do unless it's absolutely necessary.

I've used SYR for several shipments and have had no problem. I see no reason to be certified when SYR is cheaper and allows home delivery. In fact, I shipped a snake to California last month with zero issues. As far as buyers thinking you are professional, I don't see the point. I've received snakes from sellers who were certified, but used second hand boxes and materials. I've also received snakes from SYR that looked professional. I think how you package, protect and present your animal is much more important than if you are certified or not.

I've heard its easy to get around the whole residence thing. Instead of shipping to Joe shmoe you ship to Joe schmoe at shmoe reptiles. Not 100% on that but I've heard of breeders doing it.

ClarkeReptiles wrote:

I've heard its easy to get around the whole residence thing. Instead of shipping to Joe shmoe you ship to Joe schmoe at shmoe reptiles. Not 100% on that but I've heard of breeders doing it.

I've never had to get around (being an unintentional mistake). I just put the buyers home address and name on it and it's been fine everytime.

Personally, I wouldn't ever buy from a breeder who tries intentionally to manipulate and circumvent the shipping rules. It says a lot about their integrity and how much they really care about their animals (not people who didn't know the rules).

It also doesn't matter what the name is because it is whether the property is zoned for business or residential. Those breeders who break the rules are just lucky so far that no one has really noticed. At the very least, they can have their snakes seized by Fed Ex, certified or not. More importantly, what they do reflects on all of us and Fed Ex may decide to pull certification for everyone due to the actions of a few.

Just want to state that my entire above post above was directed at shippers who know better and try to game the system, not anyone shipping residential because they didn't realize.

So it has to be zoned as a business? What about home businesses? FedEx's description isn't very clear ...

Reading it some more:

Quote :

business to a business (from a breeder to a pet store, for example).

It appears a breeder would be a business, so breeder to breeder would be fine?

I know that there is a surcharge for residential deliveries and putting a business name as the address doesn't change it being a residential delivery and having to pay the resulting surcharge. This includes home businesses. However, if you have your residential property zoned for business, then the residential surcharge is not applied. You really can't legally have a business without a business license, doesn't matter what you call it. I am almost positive that the vast majority of businesses have to be zoned commercial in order to get a license. Plots can be dual zoned residential and commercial for home based businesses but are unlikely to get the license if they expect to have significant foot traffic and insufficient parking.

I do not know that these (Fed-Ex's) definitions of residential versus commercial apply to their Certification as well but I can't imagine they wouldn't.

Here, found this on SYR's website:

Quote :

Residential delivery charges
FedEx defines a residence as a location that is zoned as a residence, including a business operating out of a home. If you’re breeding reptiles in your spare bedroom, sorry—it’s still a residence.

Thanks Brian. That makes a little more sense. So is shipping to residential address fine as long as you pay the residential shipping fee? As soon as I read that post I remembered being charged this fee before but it wasn't a big deal.

Man, this is a culture shock LOL I might have to get on the phone with FedEx

No problem. I still don't think it's okay if your not shipping through SYR or Reptiles Express. The residential surcharge is applied to them and they pass it on to you. It's only a couple bucks though. The surcharge applies to all residential deliveries, not just reptiles, but it's the only thing I can find on how Fed Ex defines business versus residential.

I probably should have paid more attention when I got certified LOL Makes me wonder though, if it's buisness to business shipping, why didn't they verify whether I was actually a business or not.

Either way, it's pretty irrelevant now. I think I will be using SYR for the better prices, access to supplies, and the fact that someone in Canada keep charging shipments to my account and I pay for it. (FedEx does reimburse me but still!)

Going to check out SYR ...

I've wondered about that too. From what I've read, it seems like the whole certification process is a little sloppy (arbitrary rejections, employees who don't understand) and needs to be tightened up.

Also, just to throw it out in case anybody local doesn't know, the Fed Ex World hub at Norfolk International is open for drop offs until 8pm.

Jabberwocky Dragons wrote:

Also, just to throw it out in case anybody local doesn't know, the Fed Ex World hub at Norfolk International is open for drop offs until 8pm.

Also good to know! Where do you bring the package at the airport?

It's a separate cargo entrance. I guess best way to do it is:

1) Take Robin Hood Road exit off 64 east

2)Turn left at the light (coming off the off Ramp) onto Robin Hood Road.

3) Continue straight through Military Highway.

4) Keep going straight down the service road, I assume its still Robin Hood Rd but name may have changed. You'll see the fenced off airport on your right and parking for employees on your left. It's a long straight shot.

5) Finally the road has a sharp curve and you'll see a long line of buildings and 18 wheeler trucks in front. The FedEx terminal is on the far left end. They don't open until 5pm though but it's perfect for me since I like the animals to spend as little time as possible in the box.

Awesome! I know exactly where you are talking about. I use to build paintball courses and 4wheeler courses over there.

Jabberwocky Dragons wrote:

Personally, I wouldn't ever buy from a breeder who tries intentionally to manipulate and circumvent the shipping rules. It says a lot about their integrity and how much they really care about their animals (not people who didn't know the rules).

It also doesn't matter what the name is because it is whether the property is zoned for business or residential. Those breeders who break the rules are just lucky so far that no one has really noticed. At the very least, they can have their snakes seized by Fed Ex, certified or not. More importantly, what they do reflects on all of us and Fed Ex may decide to pull certification for everyone due to the actions of a few.

That's true. Doesn't SYR ship through FedEx? How are they exempt from the rule?

SYR and Reptiles Express are both companies that provide 3rd party labels. It's a whole different story than an individual certification. They have an agreement with Fed Ex that specifically allows them to sell labels to uncertified people shipping reptiles and they can also ship to residences.

Besides these companies, I believe both UPS and I think Fed Ex give special exemptions on an individual basis to some of the very largest breeders since they value their large accounts. Even though UPS bans snakes, I remember reading that certain large snake breeders have permission because UPS doesn't want to lose their considerable business.

SYR and Reptiles Express both started out as huge breeding businesses (pro exotics, ghanns crickets, etc) that combined to get better shipping prices and other concessions. They figured out they could get even larger by selling 3rd party labels which would give them even lower shipping prices and more concessions (personal customer service account rep, residential deliveries, guaranteed pressurized holds, etc) although the individual companies may have had these concessions before as well, who knows.

Oh ok! I'll have to look into using SYR. Is it generally cheaper than going through FedEx individually?

I have not shipped reptiles through Fed Ex individually before but the regular price is always listed on my order and then how much I save using SYR. It's usually between 15-20% which definitely adds up over several shipments. When I check on Fed-Ex's site for transit times, the quoted price on my fake order is always higher.

It's also usually cheaper to go to a local package store to ship regular items then shipping yourself. They get a discount, just like SYR, because they have so much higher shipping volume and pass the savings on to you. For example, we take our non reptile packages to Pac-Mail and always get a label 10 or 15% off the quote online.