kenneth Yates of South Carolina

First off I am sorry that the animals perished. It is a sad thing when it happens at all. Delta has the guarantee for the animals so have you filed your claim with them about the dead ones? I am not saying that Ken is not responsible for the poor packing job but Delta is responsible as well for the dead animals.

Shipping in cold weather always entails risk. The final decision is in the hands of the shipper to check if it's reasonably safe or not to ship. The buyer should also be flexible enough that if he sees temperatures are borderline with freezing, he may ask for the shipment to be postponed until the weather breaks. There is no snakes you need that badly as to risk their lives shipping them in inclement weather.

Kevin, sorry to hear of your loss. I hope you already notified Delta to file a claim in case Ken does not make good on the dead snakes. There is a time limit, so if you did not do so yet, notify Delta ASAP. Ken may not be required to pay you for dead snakes, but Delta is required to. It looks like Delta may have left them on a cold loading dock too long, which would not be Ken's fault, so file a claim ASAP
Best of luck
Fred Stano

So sorry to hear of the loss.

What was the duration of the flight time? I'm asking because 2 years ago my husband and I left town for 3 days over New Year's. There was an electrical failure in our neighborhood, and the inside of our home was well below freezing when we got home. After speaking to neighbors, we learned that the power had gone out about 3 hours after we left, so our snakes had been exposed to extreme cold for more than 24 hours, but they didn't die. Are mambas more sensitive to temps than boas or pythons?

Sorry guys, but I have to disagree with you.... even though it might be Delta's responsibility, it is certainly NOT Delta's FAULT that the snakes were DOA.... This part of the problem falls directly on Ken Yates!.... If the box was packed PROPERLY, there should have been no reason why those poor snakes should have died.... heck, I can ship a dart frog to Minnesota in the middle of the winter and I will guarantee that it will get there nice and cozy warm!....

In the winter months, you should put NO airholes in the outer box what-so-ever.... you should seal every exposed outer edge of the box with tape so NO air gets in or out.... you should use TWO 40-hour heatpacks in a 1/2"-3/4" styrofoam-lined inner box, with massive amounts of shredded newspaper as packing material.... if you follow this scenario, you will NEVER have an animal arrive DOA.... I've sent hundreds and hundreds of packages out during the winter months and have NEVER EVER had a DOA (using my packing method)....

If Ken used the proper styro, the proper heatpacks, and the proper packing material, we wouldn't be having this discussion....

As far as Delta goes.... I am a verified shipper with Delta, and I've shipped out 4 large boxes of animals in the last 2 months.... I have been told that they have a special heated room in the terminals for animals, they go in a heated cargo area in the plane made especially for animals, and then a heated room at their destination.... I doubt very much that they're left on the tarmac for a while in transit because a lot of these crates are just that, CRATES with large airholes and NO heating elements inside.... Delta would be foolish to jeopardize the health of the animals since they KNOW they are responsible for their care.... they wouldn't have any business left....

This whole catastrophy falls flatly on Ken Yates' shoulders.... It all boils down to a total lack of shipping knowledge and compassion for the animals...

Not to mention the outright THEFT he did to Upstate Exotics!!

That's my story and I'm sticking with it!

Neil