How not to use a cold pack

I just received a new snake, a Pacific Gopher Snake. This snake is actually not for me, she is for the local natural history museum.

The package was fine - basically a styrofoam box.
Cold pack wrapped in newspaper on the bottom, snake in a snake bag directly on top of cold pack. She's alive, but she's cold, she's really cold.

Seller isn't a fauna classifieds seller, but sellers please, make sure there is at least an inch, at least an inch, of packing material between your cold pack and the reptile. Cold (and hot) packs are intended to make sure the box itself does not get too hot/cold. They should not be in contact with the reptile itself.

I'm warming her up now on my hand, she isn't even movinf save the toungue flick.

Hope she pulls through for you.

Yea, i hear ya. I know i will usually tape the hot/cold pack to the inside wall of the stryofoam lining, that way there is 2-3" of packing btwn it and the animal and it can't get moved while shipping.
Hope she's OK!

I put the snake in the bottom of the insulated box~ newspaper (crumpled or shredded) on top of the snake~ tape the heat/cool pack to the lid. That way there is no way for the heat/cool pack to work it's way up against the snake~ the snake should never come into contact with the heat/cool pack~ and even if some idiot in shipping turns the box completely over~ there is newspaper between the snake and the heat/cool pack.

I don't know that these are "Facts" but on the top of the box makes sense to me as I"ve been told "Heat rises." Okay~ if I'm using a cool pack I want the "Cool" to settle down into the bottom of the box while the "Heat" rises to the top and is cooled. If I'm using a heat pack I want the "Heat" from the pack to filter through the newspaper down to the snake rather than have the direct heat from the heat pack on the snake.

Taping it to the top also makes it easy to find~ as I always re-freeze cool packs I label them when I send them out so my customers know they can do the same!!