Just thoughts that may help ALL your future deliveries arrive as healthy as This is how I recieved my 2 Burmese black mountain tort babies from suncoast reptiles. They were 3 3/4'' at the time. My first torts so I didn't know if this shipping proceedure was correct or not. I wish I had pictures. It seemed wrong but I wasn't sure.
They were wrapped in paper towels and placed side by side in a box they barely fit in(4"x8"x1.5"). Thats an extremely small box for TWO tortoises! Their bodies actually distorted the shape of the box because the 1.5" didn't take into account their thickness plus the paper towels! The box had a few holes in it but was inside another BARELY bigger box with a small heat pack. by barely I mean I had to CUT THEM OUT. That outside box was taped up tight. AIRTIGHT! I had to use a razor knife to get through the tape! I HONESTLY don't know how they arrived from Florida to me in ohio ALIVE with so little air? Without being able to expand their carapaces to pull air in? They were so tightly packed they couldn't push their heads or feet out of their shells. One of them was very lethargic(I actually thought it was dead at first but then it moved slightly)and I was concerned for the first few days that the stress was too much for it but both are doing fine now, thank god.
When I actually recieved the little guys I was on my porch and watched as the fed ex guy walked up to the house (with the box held in his hand sideways) swinging his arms the way guys do(I was cringing)...I don't know if he realized that the package held live animals or just didn't care but I didn't have time to ask about this before he was on his way back to the truck.
i'm giving him the benifit of the doubt because when I went to look at the package to see if it was marked the small writing on the side of the top was half covered with a label. I wasn't able to read it but I saw the word "live" so...But, really, that was it for marking. Sharpie marking in bad penmanship.
My other concerns are...how was the package loaded on the truck? Upside down? At the bottom of a stack? both would hurt them I think.
People who ship may want to write something on the back as well(if you can read this-flip me over!) to make it clear that the box should be placed up^. Perhaps a stamp that says 'this side up^'? There wasnt a label or stamp marking it as "fragile" or anything.
Sorry if I rambled on...still aggravates me