I have a few questions about shipping in cold or cooler weather.
1. How many heat packs, and where do you put them?
2. How many holes, if any do you punch in the box, and where.
3. Anything else I may need to know that I cant think of.

I have a package that Im going to be shipping in a few weeks. Its not going that far. Im in Wisconsin, and the package is going to Minnesota. Im a bit worried about shipping in the cooler temps. The only other options is to hold the snakes all winter, Or maybe meet the person half way. Im not really sure meeting them half way is something that can be done right now. I really dont want anything to happen to them. Temps lows should be around 40 or so at night. Any help on this would be great.

I have a few questions about shipping in cold or cooler weather.
1. How many heat packs, and where do you put them?
2. How many holes, if any do you punch in the box, and where.
3. Anything else I may need to know that I cant think of.

I have a package that Im going to be shipping in a few weeks. Its not going that far. Im in Wisconsin, and the package is going to Minnesota. Im a bit worried about shipping in the cooler temps. The only other options is to hold the snakes all winter, Or maybe meet the person half way. Im not really sure meeting them half way is something that can be done right now. I really dont want anything to happen to them. Temps lows should be around 40 or so at night. Any help on this would be great.

1. I only use one heat pack and I tape it to the inside of the styrofoam top.
2. I don't use any holes in cooler weather.
:yessir:

1. I only use one heat pack and I tape it to the inside of the styrofoam top.
2. I don't use any holes in cooler weather.
:yessir:
How cold of temps are you shipping in? Do you ship year round?

How cold of temps are you shipping in? Do you ship year round?

Nope, I don't ship less than 35 degrees.

Moved to correct section..

Nope, I don't ship less than 35 degrees.
No holes and not colder than 35. With out the holes, I'm assuming you don't go crazy with the tape and make it air tight. How would you recommend taping if I don't put any holes in.
Moved to correct section..
Thanks, wasn't really sure where to put this.

I have a few questions about shipping in cold or cooler weather.
1. How many heat packs, and where do you put them?
2. How many holes, if any do you punch in the box, and where.
3. Anything else I may need to know that I cant think of.

I have a package that Im going to be shipping in a few weeks. Its not going that far. Im in Wisconsin, and the package is going to Minnesota. Im a bit worried about shipping in the cooler temps. The only other options is to hold the snakes all winter, Or maybe meet the person half way. Im not really sure meeting them half way is something that can be done right now. I really dont want anything to happen to them. Temps lows should be around 40 or so at night. Any help on this would be great.

I feel more comfortable shipping in cold weather than I do in hot weather. Here is what I do, pretty much the same as what others do.

I try to almost always use a new insulated shipping box 12X9X6 because I feel the new boxes can hold up a little more incase of an issue while in route. I like these med size boxes even for single hatchlings for the same reasons as I just listed. A larger box has a little more chance of holding up incase of an issue like abuse, mishandling, dropped etc etc.

The first thing I do is lay a couple layers of newspaper down as an extra level of insulation on the bottom of the shipping box. I then use a liberal amount of crumpled newspaper as my packing material, crumpled up to create a nest in the middle of the box with packing on all sides.

Once I've got that nice tight nest, I add the snake which is secured in either a snake bag or deli cup. After the snake is in place I add a couple extra layers of newspaper on top of that as a little buffer between my heat pack (40+ hour) and the crumpled newspaper to which the snake is centered in the middle.

Next I secure my heat pack to the underside of the styrofoam insulation panel by taping all four sides with the packing tape. Be sure the holes in the heat pack are not covered or your heat pack will not work as efficiently.

Next I close the box up and run three strips of packing tape on the top for the final step in sealing the box.

Next I will poke two small holes on each end of the box, with a key or other small pointed object. These holes are most likely not necessary but I like the box to have tiny bit of oxygen exchange since the heat pack takes in a lot.

Next I'm sure not to drop off my package until right before the transit truck comes to pick the package up. The less time in route the better..

Good luck
:cheers:

Good luck
:cheers:

Thanks, I have seen a few videos, read a few thread, Emailed a few people. Just a little freaked out with the cooler temps. Think everything will work out. Thanks again for the help.

I do it the same way as Larry.I use 40 hour heat packs and get them ready first,so by the time i am done getting it all packed up i can make sure i dont have a faulty heat pack.
I also do something different by wrapping the outside of the box in a paper bag.
Kind of one of those things you get a feel for over time.

I'll add when you tape the heat pack to the top of the lid make sure you either wrap the tape all the way around the lid or make a pocket with newspaper for the heat pack to rest in then tape it up securely...I have had issues with the tape not liking the styrofoam so I tend to make sure it is secure on the lid.

Also....what type of animal are you shipping? You'd be surprised how well most snakes can endure short periods of cold! I'd be more worried about overheating, but WI to MN shouldn't be an issue. Just make sure that the heat pack CAN'T touch the reptile container...there should be 1/2 to 1 inch space between them.

A few years ago, I had a trio of Children's pythons sent to me in late December. The heat pack had failed and the snakes were damn near icicles, but they survived with no ill effects! You'd have to literally freeze an animal before it died.

No holes and not colder than 35. With out the holes, I'm assuming you don't go crazy with the tape and make it air tight. How would you recommend taping if I don't put any holes in.

Thanks, wasn't really sure where to put this.

I do three strips across the top and bottom. :yessir: There a million ways and such to ship and a million opinions on when and how. Usually it will also vary in different regions in the US. You will just have to figure out what will work best for you and what you consider acceptable risks. :yessir:

What size foam are you guys using? 1/2", 3/4"?

Ditto with what's listed above... another very important thing to do in cold weather shipping is to make sure the snake is completely empty. I would wait atleast two weeks without eating before shipping and I also generally pull the water bowl a day or two before shipping in cold weather. A dry empty snake should do fairly well in cooler weather for short periods of time.

For the few animals I've shipped, I've always used 3/4"



What size foam are you guys using? 1/2", 3/4"?

What size foam are you guys using? 1/2", 3/4"?

I like to stick with 3/4'' for summer and winter but I ran short this year so I did use a few boxes with 1/2'' during some extremely cold weather and it turned out just fine. I've got a couple more 1/2'' bozes to burn but after that I'm done with 1/2'' for good. It's 3/4'' from there on out, it's just better..

I like to stick with 3/4'' for summer and winter but I ran short this year so I did use a few boxes with 1/2'' during some extremely cold weather and it turned out just fine. I've got a couple more 1/2'' bozes to burn but after that I'm done with 1/2'' for good. It's 3/4'' from there on out, it's just better..


Thanks, I am in the same boat. Just shipped out something tonight with 1/2" and was curious.