Shipping Hermies During Winter

MornaStar · Post by **MornaStar** » Fri Dec 06, 2013 2:56 pm

Hey Everyone,I'm going to be moving in January and I wanted to know what you guys do when you ship your hermit crabs during the winter. It gets really cold here, like below freezing and I'm afraid that even if I do ship them over night that they will still die from the stress. I have five crabs up right now and I could ship them now, but I don't have a tank set up where they will be going. (Or even have a tank for that matter)I was going to ship them out the day I leave on my plane, then when I got to my destination I would be able to really quick go out buy a tank, sand, set up their water bowls and any of their things that I brought with me, and put them in the tank as soon as they got there, but by January 8th I'm afraid it will be too cold. What do you guys suggest? -Star

Herman Coen · Post by **Herman Coen** » Fri Dec 06, 2013 3:59 pm

Wow, by default I defer to those with more experience than me, but I would NOT ship Hermmies unless the shipper understands the cargo is live and can accept full responsibility for them, but then it would be sooo expensive as to be prohibitive. It has been minus 15* F here and a cargo hold would be much colder. You could check with the airline to see what their policy on carry on is. If acceptable, a little of their familiar substrate and a damp cloth and warmth would probably see them through OK for the couple of hours it would take. You have time to plan, I wish you great success.

jgfceit · Post by **jgfceit** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 12:29 am

Most companies (like the one I was LITERALLY looking at three seconds ago) say that they can't guarantee the crabs will survive if temperatures are below 40 degrees. So unless you're moving to Florida, I would try and make other arrangements.Hope this helps!

MornaStar · Post by **MornaStar** » Sun Dec 08, 2013 12:33 pm

Well, it just snowed here. So it's below 40. I'm going to try and time it right...or sell them...I don't want to sell them because I put a lot of time into them, but if worse comes to worse I would rather see them in capable hands than dead because I tried to ship them out there.

Laurie LeAnn · Post by **Laurie LeAnn** » Sun Dec 08, 2013 2:18 pm

You can't take taken them on the plane with you in a small Styrofoam container? Call your airline service. Tell them they can't take cold temps and need to be on board. They can be contained, you can have hand warmers wrapped up so they don't get burned.

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Mon Dec 09, 2013 7:21 am

@Morna Star, unfortunately shipping hermitcrabs this time of year would be a death sentence because most carriers will just drop the package off at the mailing address which means you'd need to be there right when the package is delivered and the air temps would need to be summer time warm otherwise the crabs will just die in transit.This is why The Hermitcrab Patch and LiveHermitcrabs.com wont ship from Sept to May because the crabs would just die...I would definitely look into taking them as carry on and if you can't you'd be better off selling them unfortunately.

MornaStar · Post by **MornaStar** » Wed Dec 11, 2013 6:56 am

I've asked several airlines, they absolutely wont let me take them on as a carry on because they are exotic animals. They will only allow cats and dogs and even then you aren't allowed to bring certain cats and dogs because of their breathing problems. It's a mess. I think I'm just going to give them to someone I can trust.

Tetra4CClyPtus · Post by **Tetra4CClyPtus** » Wed Dec 11, 2013 9:46 am

Like the hermit crab patch; they have very strict shipping guidelines and dates. They only ship during the summer months because of the weather. And livehermitcrabs they are strict too but still ship. But weather delays them. They got backorders now

Keg · Post by **Keg** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 1:51 pm

https://www.preciouspetstransport.coma leading pet relocation servicehttp://www.ups.com/content/us/...delines/animals.htmlUPS provides service on a limited basis for packages containing some types of live animals. Accepted Live Animals:Crustaceans (All): Examples: crabs, crawfish, lobsters, shrimphttp://www.uship.com/LandingPa...k4Aew&alwaysShowCCTAPet transport.

Kryorke · Post by **Kryorke** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 10:51 pm

I ordered from a sight (in summer), but the package did not ship until December. The person put 3 small/medium size Eccies in a burlap sack, tied, loosely packed with wet moss. They then had a wad of paper towel (or newspaper, I don't recall exactly) on either side, one of those disposable hand warmer packs you get in the hunting section, and styrofoam. She sent them overnight and where they were held at the post office until I signed for them. The postwoman knew what they were and didn't comment in the negative at all. All 3 hermies are healthy and happy a month later. Good luck!!