[NHCOLL-L:3409] Re: shipping frozen

[Rebecca Newberry]

We had decent success shipping frozen penguins wrapped in adult 
diapers (Depends-the kind without elasticized legs) and ice 
packs.  The diapers are cushioning and insulating, and they have the 
added benefit of moisture absorption just in case there might be some 
delay and the specimens thaw slightly.  There is an acrylic gel 
contained in the cotton padding that absorbs moisture and keeps it 
away from the non woven covering of the diaper.  It keeps your bottom 
dry, so it will keep your frozen animals dry, too!  I made a double 
walled cardboard box with plank polystyrene insulation to ship them in.

I can't recall which shipper we used, but it may have been USPS 
Express Mail.  We shipped in the winter to another northern state so 
we skipped the hassle of dry ice in favor of blue ice packs.  I'd 
recommend dry ice for warmer circumstances, of course.

Good luck!

Rebecca

At 07:31 AM 4/24/2007, Gregory Watkins-Colwell wrote:
>Okay.  I need to ship frozen lizards domestically within the 
>U.S.  They need to be shipped from somewhere else TO the museum. 
>These are not tissues, but are whole frozen lizards.  They are not preserved.
>
>FedEx rules are clear and yes, I'd call these "dead animals" and so 
>will avoid FedEx.  What are the other options for shipping largish 
>frozen things?  Does USPS Express Mail take dead stuff?  What about 
>UPS?  I regularly use DHL for preserved material, but sometimes have 
>trouble finding them and don't know if there is a DHL location near 
>where these things will originate.
>
>Any suggestions?
>
>Greg
>******************************************************
>*       Gregory J. Watkins-Colwell
>*       Vertebrate Zoology
>*       Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History
>*       170 Whitney Avenue, P. O. Box 208118
>*       New Haven, CT  06520-8118
>*       Phone: 203/432-3791
>*       FAX: 203/432-2874
>*       http://www.peabody.yale.edu
>******************************************************
>

Rebecca Newberry
Conservation Assistant
Science Museum of Minnesota
120 West Kellogg Boulevard
St. Paul, MN 55102
(651) 265-9841
www.smm.org