Shipping leos in extreme temps

[ExcessiveHerps]

Has any one ever lost a leo due to over heating while being shipped even with an ice pack used?
Thanks
Xavier

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Once. Since then, if the temps are over about 92 degrees I ship very late in the afternoon and have the package held at the UPS counter for customer pick-up.

 

[PaulSage]

I haven't had any geckos die in shipping, but then again it rarely gets too hot here.

I have found though, that lining an insulated box with foil-faced bubble wrap helps maintain the temperature inside the box. Also, wrapping cold packs with regular bubble wrap makes them thaw more slowly, thus keeping a more consistant cool temp inside.

 

[Voodoo]

Ice packs.....

Its always Africa hot down here in New Orleans.......If I didn't ship in warm temps I would never get to ship.......so I started using those gel ice packs......they work great.......I've never had a problem shipping since I started using them ~knock on wood~........:main_rolleyes:

 

[ExcessiveHerps]

I bet I'll beat your temps VD I shipped a leo yesterday evening when it was 103 it did stay at fedex for a few hours before heading to the airport although here it could be after midnight and still 100 plus degreess in the hottest of the summer. I also use gel ice packs and she arrived this morning in NY safe and sound. Although I was concerned how hot is too hot, I'm shipping another tonight and going to put a digital thermometer in the box to see what the inside of the box temps are. I don't think I'd ship at any hotter than I did last nigth I was pretty worried but it went well it can get 115 plus degrees here during July & August. Luckily it doesn't last too long without dropping in the low 100s for a couple days or more.
Thanks
Xavier

 

[Jedi Master Bruce]

Someone shipped me a gorgeous leo overnight in the summer and insisted on using a cold pack. They put in a medium-small box with styro and a giant frozen cold pack the size of a brick. The leo was cold and sluggish when I got her and was brown like a burned-out tremper. The leo did recover eventually. The shipper meant well, but it didn't work out real good.

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

This is something that I have worried about all year every year because of my high temps and others low temps or the other way around.

If I send a box out at 7pm when its 85 here and it goes to where it is freezing or below..... Heat pack or no?

Using a cold or heat pack in a small box can do more damage than good IMO. Using a larger box with more airflow and more heat to cold temp range would be much more suitable.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Someone shipped me a gorgeous leo overnight in the summer and insisted on using a cold pack. They put in a medium-small box with styro and a giant frozen cold pack the size of a brick. The leo was cold and sluggish when I got her and was brown like a burned-out tremper. The leo did recover eventually. The shipper meant well, but it didn't work out real good.

It is always better to err on the side of too cold than to have them die of overheating. They just go into a 'cold coma' and with gradual warming will usually do just fine. Oveheating will kill them for sure.

 

[ExcessiveHerps]

Well I just got word from the receiver from yesterday's shipment it was 104 outside when I sent the leo to the fedex facility and probably a few degrees cooler by the time it went on a truck the the airport that evening. The box was 71 and 76 when I packed it up (daul probe thermometer) one probe was by the ice pack one by the deli cup, anyways looks like it got down to 53 and 67 in the box. I've wondered for some time if the icepacks I use are too large and I even taped the corners on the styrofoam due to the temps being so high but the leo was a Tremper Albino only 18 grams and it didn't brown and was alert when the package was opened. I think I'll due a few more reading if other customers don't mind next time I plan to not tape up the inside.

 

[Lizard Lair]

I've done some experimenting with different sized ice packs and have found that a little bit goes a long ways. I tried to test for the absolute worse case scenario to see how hot the box would get. I used an 8x8x8 box with 1/2" foil backed foam insulation, and 2 oz. of ice gel. Then I put the box in direct sunlight on a hot day to try to duplicate how hot a UPS truck would be on a 95º day. The hottest the probe closest to the ice pack got after 1 1/2 hours was 86º with a surface temperature on the outside of the box of 125º. But the excessive heat melted the ice pack so that the cooling was pretty much finished. But with 4 oz of gel it works great. That isn't much gel! I can see a huge gel ice pack freezing a poor leo!

 

[Aubrey's Reptiles]

A couple of weeks ago I shipped some leopards out to Las Vegas. Our night lows here were in the mid 60's and the temps there in Vegas were in the low 100's ( around time of delivery to the customer). I had packed them with 2 gel ice packs wrapped in paper towels ( I noticed quite a bit of condensation in our test boxes) and they made it with no problems. I might decide to hold the packages at the hubs next time in that type of heat just in case of delivery problems.

 

[leopardgecko95]

I haven't either but I dont ship in extreme temps. I don't want to risk a leo's life just because someone isn't patient enough to choose a day when it isnt to hot or cold.

Aubrey,
Did the geckos live?

 

[Aubrey's Reptiles]

Aubrey,
Did the geckos live?

Yep:main_thumbsup:

 

[leopardgecko95]

lol,your a professional at shipping in extreme weather

 

[Aubrey's Reptiles]

lol,your a professional at shipping in extreme weather

No, actually that was only the second package I have ever sent. I just spent alot of time testing my shipping boxes in various conditions using cool packs. I also keep up to date with weather conditions ,I have found weatherunderground.com very useful in searching weather conditions in the region in which I plan to ship to.

 

[Montezuma]

Hey Shelly, long time no talk!

I think I can say I have the most experience of anyone about shipping leos in hot weather (BTW, had you beat on temps there Xavier... Phoenix has been around 110 lately, today it's 117)
***The best cold pack is the cheapest cold pack. A 20oz bottle filled 2/3 with water and frozen. The biggest key is packaging... 3/4 inch styrofoam all the way around. Cut a piece of styro thats about 1/2 the height of the box and use it to divide the geckos from the bottle. Then you want to insulate the entire inside with shredded paper. I have never lost anything out going but I have had 2 people ship in ways I told them not to and lost 2 quite large shipments.
Hope that helps... it worked for me!

 

[Lizard Lair]

Hey Gene, haven't seen ya around for awhile - great to see ya! Nice idea for packaging, I'll have to test that one out. Might be to much for my temps though, we're a tad cooler than you

 

[Jeanne]

Hey Shelly, long time no talk!

I think I can say I have the most experience of anyone about shipping leos in hot weather (BTW, had you beat on temps there Xavier... Phoenix has been around 110 lately, today it's 117)
***The best cold pack is the cheapest cold pack. A 20oz bottle filled 2/3 with water and frozen. The biggest key is packaging... 3/4 inch styrofoam all the way around. Cut a piece of styro thats about 1/2 the height of the box and use it to divide the geckos from the bottle. Then you want to insulate the entire inside with shredded paper. I have never lost anything out going but I have had 2 people ship in ways I told them not to and lost 2 quite large shipments.
Hope that helps... it worked for me!

Gene,

That sounds like a great idea! Next time I ship, I may have to try that.Thanks for the tip :main_thumbsup: