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How should I ask my water dragon to be shipped?

J

Jazeira

Crested Gecko Breeder
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I think I am going to order a female water dragon or two from a person in Wisconsin. I am in Missouri. I'd like to do next day air I think (whatever is quickest), but what would be the best way to ask that the dragon be packaged? I want it to be as unstressed as possible.

Thank you.
 
The seller should already be familiar with shipping reptiles.

If they are not, you can have them go to their local herp shop (where they should already have a relationship with the owners/managers) and ship through them.

If it (they) come any way other than next day air, I would be quite upset.
 
What's better FedEx or UPS?

They've only shipped small lizards before, nothing as big as an adult water dragon.
 
Ok, browsing "Ship Your Reptiles" I see that it says lizards longer than 6 inches can't be shipped with UPS... they have to be shipped in wooden crates?

Can anyone give me some advice on how I should go about getting my dragon? I have never had a reptile shipped to me before, but I have been looking for a year now for an adult female water dragon where I live and can't find one.
 
I think you are misreading something....(either that, or SYR is giving bad info)
USPS limits lizards to 36 inches in length; but, as of the last time I looked, UPS had no such (posted) restriction.
Wooden crates are required for reptiles too large to be safely contained in standard strength cardboard boxes...but those would most likely have to be shipped via air freight.
 
I got curious, and had a few minutes to look.
(I believe) This is the passage you were referring to:
Snakes larger than 4 inches in diameter or 8 feet in length, and lizards larger than 6 inches in diameter or 36 inches in length, cannot be shipped with ShipYourReptiles.com or UPS.

To ship a giant snake or lizard, you must build or buy a strong wooden crate and ship it using a freight service such as Delta Air Cargo
Click to expand...
*bold type added by me, for emphasis*

Regardless of whether UPS will "allow" lizards larger than 6 inches in diameter or 36 inches in length (as linked above, UPS' TOS/policy does not list that size restriction), SYR is well within their rights to state those animals cannot be shipped via their service.
The water dragon you are purchasing probably doesn't exceed those limits, though, so if the shipper is so inclined. FWIW, I think it is presumptuous of a buyer to tell the seller how to pack and ship...especially when that buyer doesn't know. Ask the buyer how he plans to do it; then, if you disagree, or would like something done differently, discuss your plan with the seller.
If the shipper states he (she) is inexperienced, that pretty much opens the door for the buyer to state what he (she) wants.
 
Thanks. I must have misread that. I only had four hours of sleep yesterday...

They've only shipped small lizards before and asked how I would like them to package it. They said they might us a 24x24x24 box.
 
$$
Dimensional weight is a killer, and the 2ft height is totally unnecessary for shipping. Before you worry about what size box, you need to decide how many you are getting.
 
Only one. Yes, when calculating the price is like 3-4 times the cost of the dragon!
 
It's pretty ridiculous. Are there any reptile companies/big breeders who sell water dragons?
 
Right now I've asked the person to see if they can get a smaller box to ship the dragon in. They are going to look for one and get back to me. Maybe this will caught down the cost some?
 
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