Good Afternoon!
I am having trouble researching exact answers for my questions. I have not kept any boxes or delis sent to me from previous shipments of smaller species/babies. I want to ask here and leave this post up for other’s reference. For some context, I’m a small hobby breeder, so I want to do what’s best for the animal and I don’t want to buy something I don’t need. I have been successfully shipping snakes over the past 2 years, just nothing this small.
—Now let’s get to the questions!—
What delicup sizes are best for hatchling and juvenile corn snakes?
I am guessing 4.25" diameter and any of the oz available for babies. I have 6.75" and they seem too big/are bigger than what I’ve brought babies home in in the past. Seeing pictures of the deli and knowing the oz or diameter doesn’t help me much with visualizing how much room they’ll have in it and how well I can cushion them for their trip, so I can’t just go off that.
What box sizes are best?
I plan to stick with 12 x 9 x 6 since I can use them regardless of the weather and include heat/cold/phase packs if needed, which you can’t do with smaller boxes. However, that also means I’ll need to use more packing supplies to fill the empty space and cushion the deli.
- The shipping cost between a 12 x 9 x 6 is the same as an 8 x 8 x 7, so it’s not like I, or the customer, would be saving $ on the shipping labels if I use smaller boxes.
- I’d only be able to use the smaller size during spring/fall when I don’t need to use temp adjusting packs.
What’s the best thing to do here? Get larger boxes only, OR smaller AND larger boxes to save on space and packing material when the smaller boxes are usable?
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As long as the individual container holding your snakes is appropriate, the size of the box won’t matter if you don’t need to manage temps.
Obviously yes, 12x9x6 or larger is REQUIRED for heat and cold packs.
A mix of both can be handy imo
The most important part is really just proper packing of the animal. I prefer to not let the container or bag contact any side of the box. If you are using a snake bag for a larger snake then make sure it is properly tied off so the snake cannot escape. And also make sure the snake is safe in the bag! I have never had it happen myself but I did hear of someone who received a snake that was stuck inside the tied part.
Also make sure the deli cups are packed where the snakes can’t squeeze themselves out. Use rubber bands to add pressure on the lid for example. I’ve seen tape used for shipping leopard geckos…but tape isn’t as dangerous to them. Be very, very cautious if using with snakes.
As far as the deli size… If they seem too big you can always crumple a little paper in there to cushion the snake better as well. It would probably double as feeling a little safer to them as well. I personally don’t see an issue using a larger deli cup size.
We have quite a few cornsnake breeders on the forum so hopefully they can chime in with more advice or correct anything they see that may be wrong. I’ve really only worked with shipping geckos and ball pythons.
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My only concern with using the larger boxes is that you’ll need to really make sure to put quite a bit of paper or other cushioning material in the box so the little cup doesn’t slide around or get jostled. For my babies, I try to avoid shipping when a heat or cold pack will be required, particularly avoiding heat packs. Corns are very tolerant of cold temps, so I’ll check the overnight lows at my location, the destination, and the main hubs to make sure it’s not below freezing. Anyway, without needing heat or cold packs, I use either 6x6x6 or 7x7x7 boxes. The smallest delis fit snugly in the 6 inch boxes and do not move at all, so I quite like that combo. I also like to have the ‘short’ deli cups (sorry, I can never remember the actual ounce sizing of the cups) on hand for small babies - again just trying to reduce the amount of movement. And I always put some paper towels inside the cups to reduce movement and also potentially soak up any poop or urates that might happen during shipping.
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The ‘short’ deli cups are probably 8 oz (though 6 oz are available, the 8oz are the common small size).
For smaller snakes, consider the 7 oz square cups that superior sells.
In any case, lots of fill material in the cup (and in the box, of course) helps to prevent impact damage to the snake when the box is handled less than delicately. Think about how an air bag in a car works to protect occupants in a crash – same idea.
For temp control, consider Phase packs. The advantage there is that they simply cannot overheat or overcool a box – important since a box will possibly see temps ranging from room temp to overnight low to daily high at three locations (dropoff, pickup, and hub). In some situations a DIY thermal pack (made of a ziploc of rehydrated polyacrylamide crystals – the only good use for these miserable things) can be helpful.
A combination of Phase packs, shipping to a Ship Center for hold, and possibly molded styro boxes (instead of the marginally adequate panel boxes) is safe and effective. Using the smallest box size that is practical minimizes heat loss/gain. I ship using 6 x 6 x 6 whenever possible, and I spring for molded boxes whenever they might be of any value. I ship a range of different species (no cornsnakes, admittedly, though a couple relevantly similar colubrids) so maybe I’m an outlier, but I keep 3 sizes of molded boxes on hand that I use all the time, and I currently have five sizes of panel boxes (of which I only use three regularly, really).
Personally, when I get a little snake in a big cup and/or a big box I tend to question whether the shipper knows what they’re doing. In most cases there’s no safety issue, but preparing for worst case scenario is worth it, IMO, and I like the feeling that the shipper has done that.
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