The Many Ways of Shipping Reptiles Safely in the Summer Heat

As the summer time heat starts to go up the scale and parts of the country begin to sizzle it is important to keep in mind the challenges faced by reptile companies trying to ship animals in a safe and timely manner. Like everything else in life there’s a right way and a wrong way to ship reptiles but people will always argue that their way is the best. We are going to look at some of the methods being used for shipping reptiles safely in the height of the summer months.

Using Ice packs to combat the heat while shipping reptiles

One of the easiest methods for keeping the animals cool in the summer heat when shipping reptiles is to use an ice pack. There are a few different products available on the market to keep the temperatures inside the box to a bearable level. One of the simplest is a sealed bag of water that has been frozen solid that can accompany the animal in the box and keep the box at a cooler temperature than the outside environment. Another simple method is using a frozen gel pack, much like the ones used by athletes to achieve the exact same goal. Recently with the introduction of the Phase 22 cryopacks it is now possible to keep the box at a comfortable range of 69-75 degrees by giving off heat when necessary or cooling down when needed. This is the same product used by labs to ensure the safe arrival of delicate human tissue samples.

Using the box size and reptile bags to your advantage.

Another method of ensuring safe animal shipments in the summer heat is to pack reptiles in bags instead of cups when possible. Plastic cups tend to trap heat and stay hot longer compared to breathable bags. This may help save an animal’s life in the cases where getting too hot during shipping may occur. Another way to ease the dangers of high temperatures is to use a larger shipping box than you normally would and by allowing more space in the box preventing the temperature in the box to be affected less from the outside sources. A final way of protecting your reptile is to mind the temps at the hub as well as the destination and never ship into areas reaching in the high nineties. Also allowing the customers to have boxes held for pickup at the hub to make sure they are not riding around in a truck during the hottest parts of the day.

How We Ship at xyzReptiles

At xyzreptiles we are utilizing all of these methods to ensure that our reptiles for sale arrive at their destination in a happy and healthy manner. We are shipping in larger boxes than normal and recommending the clients have their animals held for pickup. We also closely monitor destination temps and will accommodate customers that live in hotter than average areas. It takes a bit more effort to make sure that everyone has a positive and safe experience but in the end it is all worth it.