Shipping Questions

[Goldie Orfina]

I am shipping a tarantula for the first time. The T will be travelling FedEx 2-day to the other side of the country. Problem is, now that I'm looking at temps the recipient's location might dip as low as the mid-30's (daytime highs in the 50's).

It's in the 70's (low of 50's) where I am located, so it would only be the end of the journey (I assume?) that would be that chilly. The recipient feels this is fine, but I have zero experience and I don't want to hurt this spider, so I'd like 2nd, 3rd, 4th opinions.

Assuming the T is well packed in a styrofoam box surrounded with packing peanuts, can it survive this level of cold? Should I wait to ship or try to obtain a heat pack?

Also, I read reviews of heat packs online, and people seemed to indicate that they are very unreliable, so are they even worth using?

 

[DustyD]

I have only been on the receiving end, never a sender. I believe Casey K has a reference to a packing guide, so doing a search in this forum should be easy to find it.

I did get a tarantula a month ago from two states over in New England where the temperature on the day of arrival was in the low 20s F. That person used a heating pack but kept it separated from the T by the shredded packing material.
I have had two Ts sent via FedEx from California, both in warmer times. One took a day the other missed its transfer in Tennessee and arrived a day later.

Hopefully you will get some response from some sellers.

 

[jrh3]

Always use insulated box regardless of temps. I never understood people who don’t. Its not worth the risk.

 

[Goldie Orfina]

Always use insulated box regardless of temps. I never understood people who don’t. Its not worth the risk.

Certainly. This part I've got handled (styrofoam box = insulated box). It was whether on not to use a heat pack, or to even ship under in these temps that I had questions about. Also wondering if heat packs are as useless as, say, Amazon reviews indicate. Are some heat packs superior to others? Where does one find ones that can be relied upon?

Anyway, all moot at this point anyway. I gathered as much info as I could on the topic and shipped the tarantula sans heat pack in the insulated box. Hopefully he makes it.

 

[jrh3]

Certainly. This part I've got handled (styrofoam box = insulated box). It was whether on not to use a heat pack, or to even ship under in these temps that I had questions about. Also wondering if heat packs are as useless as, say, Amazon reviews indicate. Are some heat packs superior to others? Where does one find ones that can be relied upon?

Anyway, all moot at this point anyway. I gathered as much info as I could on the topic and shipped the tarantula sans heat pack in the insulated box. Hopefully he makes it.

Uniheat is the brand made for animals. 40 hours plus.

Hopefully you didn’t use a hot hands,

 

[Goldie Orfina]

Like I said, I didn't use a heat pack -- I didn't actually have one, and the reviews didn't sound promising on the ones I was finding online, but thank you for the recommend on a brand you trust. I will look into that for next time.

I appreciate the warning and I do already know the hazards of using hot hands or other hand-warmer style heat packs.