Need help/advice on freighting reptiles

[pirate_reps]

So I have organised to do a reptiles swap with someone from QLD (I'm from NSW).. He pays for his freight to send his reptile to me. I pay for my freight permit to send a reptile to him.

I have quite a few questions as I have not freighted before:
- How common is it to freight, with a SWAPPING deal?
- How reliable/ safe is it? (is it entirely up to trusting that this random person isn't going to send their reptile after I have sent mine?.. or can it be secure somehow?)

The most important question is how do I begin to organise my freight?.. I have done a bit of google research but have found no answers to my questions. Do I call up the post-office and organise it with them?.. or do I contact a freighting company?

Sorry for the complete noobness, but i seriously need advice on this matter.

Thanks all! Your answers are greatly appreciated!

 

[snakehunter]

Basically, yes it is a trust system. I have freighted both in and out over the years and never had a problem. Speaking over the phone instead of just messages can also help with the trust side of it.
Freight is generally done interstate by air, Qantas Freight are your guys. (It's actually illegal to send live animals via the post office as far as I know)

 

[mummabear]

This website will help. http://feathersandscalesfreight.com.au/
She is also a booking agent so can book for you. There is a section on tips for freighting.
Also remember to do your import/export permits.

 

[HiramAbiff]

Basically,

1)You do you import/export permit.
2)Call qantas freight and arrange the drop off/pick up airport and time.
3)Inform the other person what time it arrives at their most convenient airport.

To pack a reptile for freight I:
-Use an appropriate sized storage container, drill air holes in the lid and around the tub sides. Also drill a hole in each corner through the lip of the tub and the lid.
Pack the bottom of the tub with scrunched newspaper half way full, place the bagged reptile in the middle and fill the rest of the container with scrunched newspaper.
Put the lid on and use 1 zip tie in each corner hole that you drilled previously, use a permanent marker to write both your phone numbers on each side of the box, this just insures you can be contacted if something is to go wrong.

Take your packed up storage box to qantas freight (you need to drop it off AT LEAST 90 minutes before the flight departs) and they will do the rest.

When you pick your reptile up from the airport wait about an hour after the flight arrives, and make sure you open your box and check your reptile while still in the qantas freight depot, if anything is awry it's on camera.

 

[pirate_reps]

thankyou so much everyone for your help.. needed it bad! I know what I have to do now. Just one more question about the permit.. do I need to get an import or export if I am receiving a reptile, AND sending a reptile?

 

[HiramAbiff]

Depends on what state you're in.
In NSW we need to get an export when sending and an import when receiving.

 

[swampie]

Ok, so I've posted this info before but it was probably lost when the site was having problems a month or so ago.

When packaging reptiles to be freighted by air/road you should always think of the worst case scenario as to what could happen to the package while in transit eg it could have something heavy sat or dropped on it, it could be dropped thrown by a careless baggage handler, left in the sun etc etc. For these reasons I think plastic storage containers are not suitable for packaging, they don't have very good crush resistance, they don't have very good shatter resistance if dropped on a hard surface and if left in the sun for more than a few minutes the contents will get cooked.

In my opinion the best thing to use for smaller animals up to the size of say and adult antaresia is a hard plastic 6 pack esky, they are very crush resistant, shatter resistant and have built in insulation, add some shredded paper or packing peanuts/beads for extra shock absorbtion and you're good to go.

For larger animals you could use a larger esky from the cheap shop, or a small plastic dog/cat crate with the animal double bagged inside.

To make a booking the easiest method is to do it online through the Qantas website, half the time you won't get through on the phone and they don't do email bookings anymore. The website is qantas.com.au and you go to the pet travel section.

Before making the booking make sure you have your buyer/receivers full name, email and phone number. When booking has been finalised you'll receive a number called and AWB number (air way bill), you'll need this number to lodge as well as pick up animal from the airport so be sure to forward this number onto your receiver.
The number is located at the top of your booking itinerary page that you will receive by email.

When lodging the package at the airport you will need to enter your details into the touch screens (iPads) provided before lining up at the counter. If your Qantas depot doesn't have the touch screens then line up at the counter and they will enter your details for you. Be sure to have your drivers licence or some other form of photo ID with you for both lodging and pick up.

 

[HiramAbiff]

The insulation is one of the reasons I won't use eskies.
Next time you make a booking or drop an animal off ask how long the animals are kept on the tarmac when being boarded and unboarded, you might be surprised.

Even so, a reptile without heat for even a full day will have zero effect on it.

 

[swampie]

The insulation is more to protect against heat not cold, I'm well aware of how long a reptile can go with out heat. Plastic containers aren't strong enough either as far as I'm concerned, if I can't stand on it and bounce a little without it breaking then I won't use it, if I can't throw it up in the air and have it land on concrete without it cracking I also won't use it, I've done the tests as I want the animals I ship to be as safe as possible, anyone who has received animals from me knows how well they are packed. The guys at Qantas regularly comment about how well they are packed.

I ship on average 80-100 reptiles per year and have been doing it for well over 10 years so yeah kind I know what's going on...

 

[HiramAbiff]

That's great that it works for you but it's actually doing the opposite of what you think it's doing due to thermal conduction.
Go stick an esky in the sun for 20 minutes and measure it with a thermometer probe, do the same with a storage container as explained above.

 

[swampie]

Lol.....I have don't it, it only takes a few minutes for a clear container to heat up well above 40 deg C which means the occupant inside will become cactus very quickly, takes much longer for the esky to get up to those temps.

 

[pirate_reps]

man, thanks heaps guys! so helpful! cheers!