[daggekko]

I am getting to the point where I need to have shipping stuff so I can send baby geckos off. If I wait much longer I will be overrun with babies. I have some questions about buying shipping boxes + foam as well as shipping.

1. Where do you buy shipping boxes from? Do you buy the shipping kits or do you make your own with cooler inserts?
2. Prices you pay to get your shipping supplies?
3. Where do you get deli cups from or what do you typically use instead of deli cups?
4. Shipping peanuts or newspaper to fill space?
5. Who do you use to get the best shipping prices?
6. What size boxes do you prefer to use?
7. Do you charge for the boxes and supplies?

I have done some searching already. I have found 3/4 foam pretty cheap. I just am having a hard time finding boxes that say something along the lines of live or perishable. The only way I know of for your general hobbyist to ship is through shipyourreptiles.com, which is expensive.

[Sgvreptiles]

I generally purchase my supplies from LLLreptile. ( Deli Containers, Shipping Boxes, Packing Material ) Or if I make my own I get Styrofoam from Home depot. I keep boxes from packages ive recieved as well, so at times I dont need to buy boxes. Reduce, reuse, recycle!

I prefer to used shredded papper. Pack it tightly around the geckos and fill in the gaps with it. it makes it much tighter then whole newspaper and is more compact then packing peanuts.
And the size of the box is determined by the quantity of geckos going in it. 1-2 geckos can be in a 6 inch cubed box. 10 geckos wont fit in there obviously.

Cheapest prices will be through USPS, though they have some what of a bad rep with not delivering packages on time. So I always expect the geckos to take 2 days. So make sure you have extra heat packs in the winter, and a decent sized cool pack in the summer. I always add $10-15 extra if I need to purchase a box, if I already have one then usually not.

[daggekko]

1-2 geckos can be in a 6 inch cubed box

Are your measurements taken on the outside of the box or the inside? I ask this because in my search different companies list the size as inside or outside.

Do you use 3/4 styrofoam?

Thanks for the reply!

[Sgvreptiles]

half inch or 3/4 works fine. Again it all depends on the weather. All measurements are outside.

[daggekko]

Got my shipping boxes today. I am frustrated now. I see exactly what you mean how 1-2 geckos will fit in a 6" cubed box. Have you shipped geckos successfully in that small of a box? It is looking like I'll be using them for smaller orders and ordering some larger boxes. Ugh.