Shipping in winter

What temperatures do you consider safe to ship trropical snakes in? I have never had an animal die before durring shipping and have basialy refused to ship in bad weather before, however I have only just guessed on how bad, bad weather realy was. Obviously you wouldnt want to ship in cold weather that delays were a probability, but where would you draw the line?

Thanks Shaun D

I normally evaluate each situation independantly and determine if shipping is acceptable.
I do have a few general guidlines I follow most of the time.

If your packaging methods are proper, you can ship in fairly cold temperatures. I usually draw the line at 40°F myself, and will use two heat packs instead of one when the temperatures are that cool. This, along with good packing and insulation will see them through.

If there is a good prediction of a serious snow storm, I postpone until that has passed. Planes get grounded and such that the risk of delays is increased to a point I am not comfortable.

During the holidays, I don't ship anything at all during the 7-10 days before Christmas. I prefer to avoid the highest volume of shipping for the year that occurs during that time period.

If I have any surplus left after Christmas, I usually just plan on keeping it until warmer weather. However, we often get warm spells during the winter that easily allows for shipping, and when this is the case, I may do a little.

For me though, I have nothing I need to sell so badly that I have to risk problems concerning weather. It's no problem for me to keep anything I may have 2-3 extra months if that's what is necessary to ensure safe delivery.

During the winter though, you just have to evaluate the conditions at the time and make a judgement call. I find it best to err on the side of caution however, and will usually not even offer animals for sale when bad weather is expected. When the weather surprises you during a sale, most people I have dealt with were understanding and rational enough not to mind putting off shipping for safety reasons. Those that are not have the option of a refund if I deem the conditions bad enough that I simply refuse to ship.
A sale to me is not worth it when I feel the odds are against safe delivery of the animal, and when someone insists on taking the risk and receiving their snake despite the temperature dropping in the teens and a blizzard on the way, I have reservations about selling to them in the first place.

A few threads down from here is a similar topic with a couple of excellent posts. The quote from John Schmitt and the message from Neil Gubitz both give some excellent advise for cold weather shipping.

Reptiles can be shipped in cold weather conditions if they are properly packed. I just shipped a tortoise to upstate NY and it arrived in excellent condition.

Mike Greathouse
Reptilian Dreams

I know for a fact that in my neck of the woods - the Air truck for one of the major shippers is the last to be unloaded in the morning. The guys that work there start early in the morning - and they really have to hall butt to get done. Recently, a guy who was unloading brought along some water to drink while working. As they got ready to unload the air truck cargo - his water was frozen solid.

Just make sure to pack them very well and warmly, if you are going up north. Also - a word of caution, pack them well - lots of cushion - because no matter how much warnings you put on the package - they treat all the boxes just the same.

I love using them - you just have to know how they will be treated, and pack accordingly - and in the winter - WARMLY.

Monte - Powergeckos

A sale to me is not worth it when I feel the odds are against safe delivery of the animal, and when someone insists on taking the risk and receiving their snake despite the temperature dropping in the teens and a blizzard on the way, I have reservations about selling to them in the first place.

Clay,

One of the best shipping policies I have heard so far. Congratulations!