• Posted 12/19/2024.
    =====================

    I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?

    So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.

    But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.

    Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.

    I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big if a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.

    =====================
    Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.

    And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
  • Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

Shipping skinks?

S

seishin

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I wanted to ship a skink to someone, and was planning to use UPS, but the UPS folks tell me I can't ship a live animal unless I am an "authorized shipper" (ditto Fedex).

Can anyone recommend a shipping service that will allow me, as a private individual, to ship a live skink within the U.S.?

Thanks!
-- Celeste
 
correction made

The big 3 (FedEx, UPS, DHL) all have small animal shipping waivers which are required, by policy, to ship live critters. You didn't say what kind of skink, but USPS does accept lizards.

it seems that UPS does not require a waiver to ship permitted animals
 
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Thanks for the info, Harald! Can you tell me how to get one of these waivers, as the local UPS Stores and the customer service folks at 1-800-GO-FEDEX don't seem to know about them...

-- Celeste
 
The easiest way is to set up an account online. Then contact your account rep and tell him/her that you want to get the waiver to ship live reptiles (with DHL, it is a live animal waiver). Finding, and making initial contact with your account rep is the most difficult part of the process.
If this is just a one time deal, you may find it easier to locate a UPS or DHL facility (not a shipping store) and just go in and ask. You may get lucky and be told that a small lizard is no problem. The other option is to just call them and set up a pickup, and hope they take it (don't try that with FedEx). The down side to that option is that the company policies state that if they have reason to believe that you are shipping anything illegal, or in violation of their TOS), they can stop delivery at any time...meaning that your package could get stuck en route.
 
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How come I can't find anything in the "shipping animals" guidelines that states that you have to have an account with them in order to ship? I just had a skink shipped to me by a person that doesn't normally ship and does not have an account. I printed off a copy of the shipping animals guidelines page for him to have in hand when he shipped. When he got to the station and asked if they ship live animals, the gal didn't know so she was going to check, and he said " I just happen to have a copy of your accepted animals." She looked at it and said "Well, I guess we do ship live animals." My skink was on his way here with no problem. Maybe try that.. here is a link to the page I copied... http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/re...imals.html#Accepted+/+Prohibited+Live+Animals
 
I guess that explains why I couldn't locate the UPS waiver info on my computer earlier.
I have heard comments about people being authorized shippers with UPS before, though...both from UPS and "authorized shippers"
 
Ramie's link was *very* informative -- thank you very much! Do you have any idea what is meant by the paragraph on that web page which states:

"Package Testing: Any packaging used or developed to transport animals should be submitted to an International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) certified package testing laboratory for pre-shipment testing in accordance with ISTA Procedure 3A before being offered for transportation." ?

It sounds like there's still a hoop to be jumped-through before shipping a skink... Can I *purchase* ISTA certified packaging anywhere, or do I need to *get* my packaging certified by them (which sounds similar to the process required by Fedex)?

-- Celeste
 
I'm still looking into the "ISTA Certified Packaging" requirement, but in the meantime, I found this on a U.S. Postal Service website:

9.3.3 Small Cold-Blooded Animals

"Small, harmless, cold-blooded animals (except snakes and turtles) that do not require food or water or attention during handling in the mail and that do not create sanitary problems or obnoxious odors are mailable (e.g., baby alligators and caimans not more than 20 inches long, bloodworms, earthworms, mealworms, salamanders, leeches, lizards, snails, and tadpoles)."

found at:
http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/601.htm#wp1064884

However, I have had NUMEROUS experiences with USPS "Overnight" service actually taking more than one day... So I would personally not recommend shipping a live animal with them...

-- Celeste
 
Just found this company:

http://superiorenterprise.com/index.php?Superior Enterprise

they seem to carry a great selection of shipping products.

I asked someone there (who shall remain anonymous), and was told that the ISTA requirement just refers to a crush strength, and that their boxes meet that crush strength. I also read on an archived leopard gecko discussion forum
(http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/printthread.php?t=61180&page=2&pp=5)
that the requirement says "should" be tested, not "must"...

O.K. -- armed with that info, and the recommendations of others that one should go through an actual UPS *facility*, not one of their franchise "stores", I'm ready to go back and talk to some actual UPS folks about shipping as a private individual.

Wish me luck!

-- Celeste
 
UPS does not have packaging "requirements". If you reread that statement, all it is really saying is that you should make sure your packaging is suitable for the intended purpose...not that they require you to submit it for testing.
 
What type of skink are you trying to ship? Delta Dash or Continental Quick Pack are the safest ways to ship live animals. I'ts expensive, but worth it if you want to be sure they are safe.

Kisha
 
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