Shipping Reptiles
By Lori Green
No matter what shipping company you choose to send your turtles and tortoises, safe packaging is the most important part of the whole process. We provide guidelines for you to follow to safely ship your turtles. While no one method or shipping company is 100% effective, this is the shipping method Turtle Homes recommends and uses.
Materials needed:
two strong boxes, one that fits inside the other
newspaper
packing tape
thick permanent ink marker
wire mesh screen (summer)
hot glue (summer)
heat packs (winter)
For a large tortoise, purchase a plastic animal crate from a pet store.
Click here for printable shipping labels
Basic Shipping Plan
Follow this basic shipping plan with little variation.
1. Line the inner box with crumpled up newspapers. Place the tortoise in a sock or pillowcase, depending on its size, and tie it securely. Place the bagged animal into the inner box. During warmer months, create air holes in the box. Do not put air holes in the box during colder weather. The animal will not suffocate. Failure to put your tortoise into a pillow case can result in having your tortoise walking around loose should the box become wet. Surround the animal in crumpled newspaper balls until the tortoise is securely in place. By packing your turtle tightly, you keep it from turning itself upside down. Being upside down within the box will put extra pressure on a turtle or tortoise's lungs, and make it difficult for it to breath. Death can occur if this position is prolonged. Tape the inner box shut.
2. Line the outer box with newspaper. Place the inner box into the outer box. Surround the inner box with layers of crumpled newspaper to provide a buffer against temperature changes and sudden impact. Tape it shut. Make air holes in the outer box during warmer weather.
3. Using the thick, permanent marker, mark your full name, address and phone number on the box. If the shipping label is lost somehow, the shipper will still have an address to contact you.
4. On all four sides of the outer box, write "Live Harmless Reptile" and "This End Up" (with indicator arrows). You may choose to download a copy of our prepared labels.
Winter Shipping
Turtle Homes does not recommend you ship when temperatures are below 40°F (4.4° Celsius). Because unplanned delays in shipping will expose the animals to low temperatures for extended periods, always use a heat pack designed for twice the shipping time. Turtle Homes suggests the minimum of a 40-hour heat pack for a one-day trip. Purchase these heat packs at camping or hunting supply stores and sporting goods stores. Due to the heavy volume of holiday mail, shipping reptiles any time during the month of December is strongly discouraged. If you must ship during the cold weather, wait until January. Never ship aquatic animals in moist substrate during cold weather.
Summer Shipping
Ventilation is very important in the summer months. Delays in hot trucks can easily cause your turtle to overheat. In both the inner and outer boxes, cut two ventilation windows that you cover with the wire mesh screen (carpenter's cloth, hardware cloth from a hardware store). Hot glue the screen over the holes you just cut. Position the inner box within the outer box to insure cross ventilation. Create at least four windows; in very warm weather, you may want to add more. During the warmer months, pack the inner box with damp substrate but not damp enough to saturate the box and make it weak. Always use a pillowcase even in warm weather. If you are shipping smaller turtles you can pack them in tupperware and use moist substrate. We do this when shipping baby box turtles. They burrow into the substrate and remain comfortable for the trip. Always pack baby box turtles and aquatics in moist substrate during the warm weather. They dehydrate easily and the trip will be very uncomfortable for them if packed dry.
Shipping Companies
Airborne Express is either no longer in business or considered a reliable transporter of live animals
Please call United Parcel Service's main number 1-800-pick-ups to schedule pick ups of turtles and tortoises. Their hub is in Kentucky, and as of last year they allow the shipping of live turtles and tortoises and will take all precautions to ensure a safe arrival.
Marking your box is important
Past recomendations said to mark the box "Live Harmless Reptile". We no longer recommend that you mark the box this way. Several reports of thefts have been reported so we no longer advertise what is in the box. Instead we recommend you use statements such as
Fragile
This end up
Do not expose to extreme temperatures
In addition to the proper markings we have found that placing American Flags on the box helps mark which end of the box to keep upright. We place American flag stickers on all 4 sides of the box. For your convienence we have created downloadable shipping labels with flags on them.
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