31/08/2020
𝗟𝗘𝗧’𝗦 𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗞 𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗚
One of 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗘 most stressful aspects of breeding which, oddly enough isn’t really a part of the actual breeding process at all, is shipping... at least in our opinion. Even when everything’s done exactly as it should be, there’s always the chance something beyond your control could occur once the babies leave our care and enter the system of whatever shipping company you’re using be it USPS, UPS or FedEx. There are careless delivery people who don’t heed the warnings that they’re handling a LIVE animal, temperatures that rise or drop to unbearable levels and, being that your passenger is a living being, the possibility that a bathroom accident may occur (despite proper fasting - we’ll touch on that later!) or the stress may be too much to handle.
These are all very real and very possible realities we face when choosing to ship or be shipped an animal, but precautions CAN and SHOULD be taken to insure that their trips are as quick, painless and stress free as possible and below, we’ll touch on what we’ve found to be the most efficient packaging process to get your baby to you as safely and healthily as both you and it deserve it to be. I know, you’re already thinking ANOTHER LONG POST? But we feel it’s important to explain this process to you all to ease your minds, to provide the information we feel is helpful to other breeders who may not be informed yet and to put out feelers on if there’s anything we can improve upon. 𝗪𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗔𝗟𝗪𝗔𝗬𝗦 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗢 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥, 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗘𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗪𝗔𝗬𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗗, 𝗞𝗘𝗘𝗣 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗦𝗢 𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘, 𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗔 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥, 𝗗𝗢𝗡’𝗧 𝗕𝗘 𝗔𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗣 𝗨𝗣 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗡𝗬 𝗔𝗗𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗘! With that said, let’s delve into the steps we take when shipping:
1. 𝗙𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: Once your approval has gone through and the adoption papers are signed (😉) we look at the following Monday, figure out how long between the current date and said ship date, and decide when to begin fasting. Fasting is the practice of withholding food for anywhere from a day to a few days prior (or longer as the length varies from size to size) to shipping to prevent the sullying of water during the shipping process. Waste = ammonia. Ammonia turns to nitrites. Nitrites = extremely harmful to axolotls and, ammonia itself is harmful as well. By fasting, you’re attempting to eliminate waste before it can happen. Is this sure fire? Absolutely not - these are living beings with minds and digestive tracts of their own! Have we had a delivery or two show up with messy water? Everyone has! But it certainly ups the chances of NOT ending up with a baby floating around in ammonia overnight or a day or two depending on your shipping choice. Again; 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗔 𝗚𝗨𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗘, however it’s essential in our opinions and a method we have had much success with over many deliveries!
2. 𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗔𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗚: On shipping day, when packing up, we make sure to use the proper materials and drop off to our local FedEx as close to closing time as possible to lessen the actual time “in transit.” This list is what WE have found to be crucial when shipping, though there are other effective ways and as mentioned, we are always open to learning and bettering ourselves for the sake of our lotls!
- 11x8x6 inch boxes for smaller babies and 12x10x8 inch boxes for anything bigger/2 babies going to the same home. This gives ample space for “swimming”, “rolling” and stretching out. If an axolotl is larger (an older sub adult or adult), we up the box size, but these are the two standards we use for juveniles to smaller sub adults!
- 1/2 inch (if using additional insulation such as double layers of insulated, silver bubble wrap) or 3/4th inch insulation to keep the cold in and the hot OUT. We prefer foam sheets from Lowe’s where you’ll also find rolls of the silver bubble wrap mentioned - This is nonnegotiable when shipping. You can’t ship something meant to stay cold in a box without insulation and expect it’ll stay cold, that’s just silly! Some form of insulation MUST be used and one that’ll kill two birds with one stone and help sturdy the box at the same time is a smart choice, such as thick foam or styrofoam
- ICE PACKS! Multiples if you can fit them, with none directly touching a whole surface of the bag ie if you lay your bag down, don’t do so ON TOP of the ice pack without wrapping it in paper towels, additional bags or providing some type of thin divider to prevent it from freezing the water entirely. We tend to use a few to be safe and they’re always wrapped in, as mentioned, paper towels or another fish bag (sometimes both!) to avoid wetting the rest of the packaging.
- Oxygen in the bag: we use our air pumps to... well... pump air into our bags when packaging! A common misconception when bagging fish (or axolotls, don’t forget them!) is to use tons of water and leave very little room for oxygen. This is WRONG - you want to have a ratio of 1/3 water to 2/3 oxygen in a proper sized bag to make sure the water stays oxygenated and breathable by your axies.
- Proper bag sizes and DOUBLE BAGGING are two more super important factors to consider. If your lotl can’t stretch out in their bag, there’s not enough room. You never want them folding over on themselves or not having room to “roll” with the bag should they need to. We also make sure to tuck the corners of our bags in to prevent toe or gill catching! Once they’re initially bagged, stuff THAT bag into ANOTHER bag to lessen the chances of leaking and to keep the oxygen we just mentioned IN!
And lastly, 𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗠𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗗𝗦:
As of late, we’ve invested our faith in FEDEX ONLY thus they’re the only company we care to ship through with the aid of shipyouraquatics.com. Right now and through the remainder of the warmer Summer/early fall, overnight is all we offer UNLESS you live in a considerably cooler area and would like to wait to ship when a few consecutive cooler days are coming up in which case, we offer 2 day which is about half the cost. 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗜𝗦 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗩𝗘 (anywhere from 25-60 dollars typically depending on your location), we fully acknowledge this, but for the safety of our animals (and our sanity 😂), this is our preferred method. We are always happy to work with you and ship at a time most convenient for you even if it means holding a week or two for you to get everything prepared for their arrival, however we only ship on Mondays or Tuesdays to avoid any delays that’ll leave your baby stuck traveling longer than need be. As the cooler weather rolls in, we’ll offer FedEx express saver options, which can take 2-3 day and are again, a fraction of the cost, but FOR NOW, these are the only options we’re comfortable with.
There is also the opportunity for pick ups or “deliveries” if you’re within 2 hours of us (Southern Alabama) but this can be discussed and planned out on a case by case basis!
Now that we’ve yacked your ear off (or typed your eyes out?), we’ll get back to water changes, but please know we are always happy to answer any additional questions you may have about shipping or anything else pertaining to our lotls, axolotls in general or proper keeping practices!
