Shipping Beardie For First Time

[Lizard of Light]

I'll be moving down to Florida in mid-June to start medical residency and of course I'll be taking Ardbert with me. Just a real shame we can't bring reptiles into the cabin (the misconceptions about reptiles need to die already) with us so now I'm trying to figure out what the best reptile shipping service is and what size box is appropriate for an adult beardie. I'm currently leaning Reptiles2You since I've seen it on some reptile channels on YouTube and it seems to be the cheapest with free membership, but I'm open to any other suggestions if there's a real difference.

Ardie is 17 inches head to tail and about 11 inches not including the tail. Is this kit here appropriate or should I go bigger/smaller? Insulated Reptile Shipping Boxes for sale at Reptiles2You.com to ship your reptiles

I also presume I will need the cold pack in the month of June when going down to Florida. I'm planning on having him shipped the day before my move-in date (which is a Thursday) so I can hopefully pick him up in the morning. Still, is it safer to have him sent to the new address or held for pickup? Please let me know. Thanks in advance!

 

[CooperDragon]

It's too bad you can't drive and bring him in the car. I'd definitely go with a skipping kit or a service like ShipYourReptiles. They generally handle shipping pretty well, but I'd imagine it is stressful so having proper insulation/ventilation and shipping using a quick/overnight mode is helpful. The size you picked out will be snug, but I think it would be enough space for an overnight trip. I'd definitely have him held for pickup to make sure he isn't in a hot delivery truck but rather in a climate controlled storage facility, especially in case there are delays.

 

[Lizard of Light]

It's too bad you can't drive and bring him in the car. I'd definitely go with a skipping kit or a service like ShipYourReptiles. They generally handle shipping pretty well, but I'd imagine it is stressful so having proper insulation/ventilation and shipping using a quick/overnight mode is helpful. The size you picked out will be snug, but I think it would be enough space for an overnight trip. I'd definitely have him held for pickup to make sure he isn't in a hot delivery truck but rather in a climate controlled storage facility, especially in case there are delays.

Technically, I CAN drive down, but that's well over 16+ hours so NO WAY, JOSE.

And yeah, I tried to pick something that will be big enough without being too big because apparently too much space stresses out reptiles?

I think I will go with "hold for pickup" like you suggested for the reasons you gave.