Help with gecko shipping?

Hello all, I will be selling my crested gecko soon, and was wondering how to go about getting all the right supplies for shipping and then the actual shipping. I plan to ship through UPS, and I also need to know if i just need to label the box w/ anything. I will probably be asking more questions, scince I have never shipped an animal before. Thanks!

Grant

superior enterprises has everything you will need to ship it

when you have a box you need to call UPS and give them the size and weight of the box and they will give you an estimate on the shipping, they will ask for your adress as well as the adress of the person recieving the shipment, after thats all done, let them know how you want it shipped(overnight) and schedule a pickup, the guy will bring you a label.

Also you may have to have an account to ship live animals, we do here, I had to get a business account set up with them to ship live and they will only take debit/credit cards or a business check but some states may be different. Its easy to set up online with a debit card. Also if you take it to a certified UPS store they have a business account and you may be able to ship that way.

Id call UPS in your area and ask to see what the guidlines are for your area.

Also make sure to mark the box in large bold print on all 4 sides of the box, this is a federal regulation that all boxes must be clearly marked and have the Qty, type of reptile and the scientific name too (The Lacy Act):

Harmless Live Reptile
Do Not Expose to Extreme Heat or Cold
1 Crested Gecko
and the scientific name below that (don't have cresties so I don't know)

Depending on where it is going to you may need cold packs, its 93+ here with heat index it hits well over 110 and I am using cold packs with shipments now.

You will need a container (not too small but not too large, place a paper towl in the bottom to hold any excrements during shipping), a box - usually 11x9x6, and styrofoam to line the box with on all sides top and bottom.

If you are only shipping 1 animal (and not more later) you can buy a sheet of styro at lowes or home depot and the box at walmart. The container at the $1 store or walmart.

Depending on how large the crestie is will determine your container size, you can get the 4 pack of glad containers for a couple of $$ at walmart and make sure to solder (not drill) holes in the top and sides for air flow. I use 9 around the container and 4 on the lid.

I don't have cresties so Im not sure what the best size and shape container is better for them but Im sure others can help you with that.

you may have to have an account to ship live animals, we do here, I had to get a business account set up with them to ship live and they will only take debit/credit cards or a business check but some states may be different. Its easy to set up online with a debit card.

Wendy , you were able to get 'approved' online ?

I opened a UPS account and there was never any mention of this type of account . This is soooo confusing ! And i need to find out if theres anything special i need to do to ship with them .(?)

Dan,

With UPS I opened the account through paypal then called UPS and upgraded it to a Business account, they came to pick up the 1st package and said they could not take it with a personal account so I called while the driver was here and had it upgraded that day.

I only use Fed X now, had too many problems with UPS, they would only pick up here around 2pm and with it being 100 some days that too long to sit in a truck.

So I set then up my fed x account online then called them to get the live shipping certification, they had a supervisor come out and check my boxes and I had to have a 3 way call with the driver and fed x to agree that they are not repsonsible if anything dies or is late, they also said that if it has to be held due to specific temperature requirements on the box they will not be held responsible to refund shipping prices for late deliveries. I also have to mark them per the Lacey Act.

example of my summer label:
SMALL LIVE HARMLESS REPTILE
DO NOT EXPOSE TO
DIRECT SUNLIGHT
3 Leopard Geckos
(Eublepharis macularuis)

They also agreed to pick up here after 6pm as their last stop for the day so they are not sitting in a truck all day that is picking up more packages.