Questions about Shipping

Okay so ive got some little yellow bellied sliders in my collection, and I am wanting to cut back on them.
Currently I have five that i want to sell.

Anyway, my questions are what else am I missing from my "shipping kit" to make sure these little guys get there safely, soundly and healthy.

Shipping Kit List:
1. A shipping box.
2. Foam insulation for the box.
3. Cups/Tubs to house baby turtles.
4. Sponges for water/hydration for turtles.
5. Tape for box.
6. Newspaper for more insulation and/or packing peanuts to make it so the cup/tub doesnt slosh around in the box much during shipping.

Is there anything else im missing?

Also, I think this will be the first of many things that I ship, but shipping more than one or two things right NOW, is literally so far into the future i think that registering and getting "fedex certified" would be a waste of money at this point.
Do I need to use a special place to ship my little dudes other than just the regular fedex/ups website?
Also, do i HAVE to take the package to a fedex/ups drop site or pickup site or whatever they call it..... office to get them shipped out? Or can I take them to the local post office and have fedex/ups ship them out from there?
(reason im asking that is because the fedex/ups office is literally 2 1/2 hours away from me).

Anyway, any other suggestions or tips that anyone wants to share would be most appreciated.
I want it to go well.

Oh, and one more thing, my husband and I have been writing up a TOS for the last THREE days and its almost finished.
Want that thing in production before i ship or sell anything. XP

You cannot ship turtles via FedEx unless you either get your own waiver, or use a third party shipper that has an existing agreement with FedEx (ie SYR).
You can ship turtles via UPS without the need for any type of waiver.
Lastly, in the interest of a complete answer, turtles cannot be shipped via the USPS.
(and, no, you cannot drop them off at the post office for UPS or FedEx to pick up)

That said, UPS does pickups; or you can drop off at The UPS Store locations, and other similar shipping centers that offer that service. Sometimes, a local business will hold/send out a box (with a printed shipping label, of course) with their daily shipments.
If you go with SYR, FedEx will also pickup...or you can use FedEx Office locations (Formerly Kinkos)
*given your distance - check with either company before planning a pickup to make sure they offer that service at such distances, and what the applicable charges would be.

I checked locations, using Nevada, MO.

THE UPS STORE
101 W 29TH ST G
PITTSBURG, KS 66762
Tel.: 620-232-9797
33.6 mi

UPS Customer Center
STAFFED LOCATION
700 N HICKORY ST
APPLETON CITY, MO 64724
800-742-5877
30.4 mi

FedEx Authorized ShipCenter
Mailbox Express
110 W 10th St
Lamar, MO 64759
(417) 687-9966
24.05 mi

Obviously, just using the general location does not give an accurate distance, but those three look a whole lot closer than 2.5 hrs. (There is also a FedEx Express Ship Center in Joplin, showing at a squeak under 50 miles)


(There were also multiple closer options that would have showed up in a search, but I don't feel that drop boxes are acceptable for live animal shipments; so I excluded them)

Thanks Hhmoore, didnt know there was a shipping office in Lamar.
Last time I checked, the only one I could bring up was in Springfield and Joplin (which is an hour drive and honestly id like to save on gas money).

Thanks for the other information as well, be thinking for a while.

Lastly, in the interest of a complete answer, turtles cannot be shipped via the USPS.

can you legaly ship any reptile through the USPS???

I thought it was ilegal to ship any live reptile throught the post office I am asking cause I just recvied a chameleon that sat in a box for three days waiting to finally get deliverd from the USPS

Yes, lizards under 20 inches can be shipped via USPS (as can a variety of amphibians). I've posted the mailable and nonmailable animal listings from the USPS website numerous times over the years, so I'm not going to try to track it down on my phone. Feel free to do a search here, or on USPS.com, if you want/need the full information.