How do breeders ship geckos?

[Tokayy]

Okay so i was just curious after owning several geckos with my newest one a Tokay, was very curious as to how they are shipped if you buy them online. I have bought all my geckos in person at pet stores or from breeders and was curious how such would be shipped, especially those that need warmer climates. Are heat pads that you would use for your winter gloves thrown inside? or is there something else that gives off heat without an electrical source?

 

[Hibiscusmile]

shipping

I ship my mantis with an animal or small pet heat pack, that is probably what most breeders would use as they are typically by the hour.

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

In general they're packed in deli cups with heat packs (if needed) similar to the ones you might put in your gloves. Then placed in a Styrofoam lined box and shipped overnight (usually UPS or Fed-Ex). Shipping can very anywhere from around $50-$100 in general. However, in very cold weather, even with heat packs, shipping is not advised. I sometimes will buy an animal in January and might have to wait a month or more for proper temps in order to actually get it shipped to me.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

The heat packs you may wish to use, depending, last from 40, 60, and 72 hours. Your shipping container should be marked: "Harmless Live Reptiles" perhaps with the species' name, and special instructions as to heat preferred written right on the container. Some people do not believe that more info is better, but I like to err on the side of caution.

Some folks attempt to ship USPS Express Mail, which is cheaper. "Lives" should be shipped USPS "Express Overnight" which can be a two day out experience from the shipping day depending upon the distance.

USPS is the only carrier I know who will provide some basic heat while in transit. They even tell me that if the box goes from a USPS flight to Fed Ex, that Fed Ex must do likewise for Lives.

I have had mostly good success using USPS.

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

Although I do occasionally use USPS if the other person is fairly close by, I certainly wouldn't ship any expensive gecko through them, or any real distance. Here's a good example of how USPS treats packages...
I recently ordered 5,000 roaches. They were shipped USPS priority mail (2-3 day). It ended up getting "lost" and took almost 2 weeks to arrive.
When it did arrive, it looked like this:



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Most of the roaches were dead. Thank goodness it wasn't geckos. My Post Master said, "Oh, that happens all the time. Sorry". So do keep that it mind when choosing a shipper. Sometimes it's simply not worth saving a few bucks. On the other hand, I can say that I've had issues with both UPS and Fed-Ex in the past as well. There's always going to be some amount of risk involved in shipping.