shipping nightmare!

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Jessicap

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Had my baby Greek Ibra shipped out yesterday from Arizona (I have been waiting for this day since mid December). She was shipped overnight and I was going to pick her up at the UPS station in Oshkosh right away this am so that she did not have to spend all day in the box. Got up and checked status this morning and found that she is stuck in Phoenix, AR due to mechanical issues and will not be arriving here until tomorrow morning. I then found out that she was shipped with a 40h heat pack and that it is suppose to be 90 degrees in Phoenix today... I am so upset. I called UPS and let them know she needs to be kept in a cool spot and they will send a message to the center but I will not know if they get it. If ANYONE knows of anything else I can do besides sit here and wait, PLEASE let me know. I am just sick with worry.
 

ALDABRAMAN

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O' Gosh! I feel bad for you. I have no solutions, we do not ship. Maybe someone that does ship can provide you more direction. I wish the best for the little tortoise!
 

jeffbens0n

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Sorry to hear that Jessica, I wonder if you could track down the name and number of the phoenix location and get a hold of a manager there that might be able to help you out...Hope all turns out OK!!
 

coreyc

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I know how you are feeling I had my last tort lost in AZ was suppose to get her Tuesday by 10:30 did not receive her until 8:00 on Wensday she was fine and yours will be to:tort: just try to keep busy I was pacing the house all day :)
 

Mao Senpai

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I wouldn't... stress it. They are hardy creatures. My leopard that was shipped.... didn't arrive till around 6pm and it was a 10:30am delivery, and it was left on my porch outside.... in 10F weather. I panicked and opened it and found it staring at me and all my worries was gone hehe. I wonder why user a heat pack during the summer though?
 

african cake queen

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hi there, i feel for you ! hope all turns out ok, please keep us posted. good luck. lindy
 

Jessicap

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jeffbens0n said:
Sorry to hear that Jessica, I wonder if you could track down the name and number of the phoenix location and get a hold of a manager there that might be able to help you out...Hope all turns out OK!!


All the numbers for the customer service centers are 1-800 numbers that give you an automated message tree. (so if anyone works for UPS in the Phoenix area with direct numbers I could call I would greatly appreciate it!) I called the 1-800 number I and did get to a customer service person but they only put a message out - I can't find out for sure if they get it.

Thanks for just listening. I just needed to vent with others that would understand my worry. I cleared my day to be here for her so I am sitting home alone with worry that something will happen to her.( we are all down here to begin with. I live in a very small town and one of the kids in my daughters class - they are seniors and will be graduating in a few weeks- was killed in a motorcycle accident last night very close to our home, plus my dad is going to the doctor to have a spot of skin cancer removed. I had been holding it all together pretty well but this has just thrown me over the edge. Just not a good day)
 

dmarcus

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Im am so sorry to hear about the shipping dilema and then the other things going on. What a stressful time for you. Hope they get the word out and I am sure everything will be fine with the little tort..
 

Jacqui

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*hugs* I am sorry your having a horrible week. :( Things will get better, they will.

Remember that your tortoise is packaged within a box that is insulated. Normally we look at it as insulated to keep out the cold, but it also keeps out too much heat and maintains the temp inside the box better and longer also. I really think your little guy will be okay.

I once had a little tortoise who got stopped along the way. I can't recall if it was with UPS or not. The folks there, even before I got a hold of them, had moved my special box into the office area. If the box is properly marked, they should be taking extra care of it all along it's journey.
 

HarleyK

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Sorry about this, but you may want to call the 800 number and have them transfer you to the terminal. The terminal is where the shipment is placed and I know with fedex you can ask them to speak to people moving the actual shipments.
 

Jessicap

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Thank you so much everyone for the encouragement. I had forgot about the insulated box (never had a tort shipped to me before) so that is somewhat comforting. A heat pack was placed inside because I live in Wisconsin and the temps are only suppose to be a high of mid to upper 40s, and we figured it would be shipped out of Arizona right away that evening when it was cooler there. He waited until the last minute to drop her off before the center closed 4pm and I was going to pick her up in Oshkosh as soon as she arrived there 8:30-10:30am. She would have been in the box less than 24 hours. We were more worried about the storms that were going to hit Kentucky - which she will now run right in the middle of and hopefully will not delay her even longer... another worry. If she would have been on track, she would have been in and out of kentucky and in Oshkosh before the rain even started. I will keep you posted. Thank you again for your thoughts and encouragement.
 

Laura

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Sounds like they should have waited to ship anyway..
hope it all goes well. .. soak well when she arrives.
hope your dads removal goes well..
 

Angi

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I am so sorry to hear about your stuck baby and the other things you are going through. Please let us know as soon as she arrives. You might want to have a jar of baby food carrots on hand in case she needs an extra pick me up soak after her travels.
 

Jessicap

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Angi said:
I am so sorry to hear about your stuck baby and the other things you are going through. Please let us know as soon as she arrives. You might want to have a jar of baby food carrots on hand in case she needs an extra pick me up soak after her travels.

Would squash work? I have a jar of baby food squash on hand otherwise I will make sure to pick up some carrots tonight. Thanks!
 

Angi

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Yes I am just thinking og Maggie's baby food soak. I am figure they are the same. It couldn't hurt to give her a little extra boost of nutririon. Good luck:)
 

EricIvins

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Heat Packs are a definate no no right now........From hot to cool, the interior of the box will stay comfortable while it's being delivered, even in cooler temperatures......Another 3 weeks or so, it'll be time to break out the cool packs......I've already had to use a few going from hot to hot destinations.......
 

Jessicap

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EricIvins said:
Heat Packs are a definate no no right now........From hot to cool, the interior of the box will stay comfortable while it's being delivered, even in cooler temperatures......Another 3 weeks or so, it'll be time to break out the cool packs......I've already had to use a few going from hot to hot destinations.......

I have to give you a positive note on the breeder (and fellow TFO friend). He just wanted to make sure she did not get too cold since the low temps here were to be in the high 30s to low 40s. Maybe not needed but feel he wanted to make sure she did not get chilled since she is still quite young. I can not say anything bad about this breeder, he has been AWESOME. I know that he did what he thought was best.. I also know he is quite worried right now too. We have been planning for just the right time - not too cold here and not too hot there- we have been watching the weather in between to make sure there were no severe storms . We tried to think of everything that might go wrong, even canceled once because the weather inbetween was bad. We just never thought she wouldn't make it out of Arizona. He has been keeping her for me since December and has done a beautiful job - she is smooth and beautiful, so I know he was thinking the best for her by using the heat pack.

I am not blaming anyone. I just had alot on my plate today and this was just the thing that put me over the edge, so needed to vent and had no one else to do it to(thank you all for listening). But please know that I in no way put blame on anyone other than myself for wanting her. I will keep you informed as to what comes of this. In the mean time, thank you for your thoughts and words of encouragement.
 

TortieLuver

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Hi Jessica, it's Christy P and I'm from Arizona. I know exactly how you are feeling, as I have shipped many tortoises across the country from here and have received tortoises as well. I have run into some delays on both ends. I ship using all mail carriers and have found that if you ship long enough, it is inevitable to have some stressful times with dealing with circumstances like these. I have never lost a tortoise (thank you Jesus) and intend to keep it that way. Honestly, I believe the way they are packaged makes a great deal. I know who you are talking about with the breeder and since he kept your tort through the winter to give him/her the best possible start of life, along with an ease in shipping for this time of year, you have comfort in knowing that your tort was packed well. Although sometimes things are out of our hands with shipping and things do happen, the majority of the time they are just fine. I send out hatchlings, which are more fragile to shipping and they did very well with the couple delays I have experienced. Yes, CoreyC is correct as I sent him a Leopard tortoise hatchling sent next day air and the package was lost. It ended up being in the box for a couple days and arrived alive and fine. To this day, I still don't know what exactly happened, as it showed it still being here in Tucson, Az when it was already supposed to have arrived at the destination. It was the belief of the mailing company that it had departed and really wasn't in Tucson, AZ but wasn't being scanned in at the next location. I know it's stressful, but just wanted to let you know that I have had this happen with hatchlings and they arrived fine. Also, the shipper can contact UPS and start a claim, which will begin to track the package and have people search for it. That way, you can be sure with the delay that it is in a main hub at room temp. Can the shipper go to the main hub and pick the package up? Also, with regards to shipping using heat packs, it really just depends on daytime temps and lows. I have talked with a couple reptile companies this past week along with myself, it really just depends. Some places now you don't need a heat or cold pack. Some destinations still have some cooler weather along with cold lows. So it really just depends on the location.
 

Cameron

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Like others have said, I wouldn't worry too much about it. They are A LOT hardier than we give them credit for. I have shipped many snakes before and have had a few get stuck due to mechanical issues also. All of them ended up being fine. The insulated boxes help out a lot and if it were packed right it can last several days in there. Granted it's not prime conditions, but very manageable.
 

TortieLuver

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Now is the best time of year though to have this happen so at least you have that on your side. Also, the majority of breeders/shippers go with UPS because problems like this are so minimal and when they do happen, UPS takes good care of them while in their care.
 
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