Here's a step by step pictorial of how we at Reptile Express ship reptiles.

All of our custom shipping boxes come with 1" insulation, nothing less. We do not put any holes in the boxes as this allows for too many errors. The whole point of styrofoam insulation is to be temperature controlled. There is plenty of air flow through the box to allow for the heat pack to activate and function properly. To think that there is absolutely 0% airflow is nonsense.

We place animals in an appropriately sized deli cup. Big enough to keep them comfortable but not so big that they flop all over the place while in transit. We want to keep them secure and snugly fit.

We then place crumpled up newspaper all around them to prevent from being bumped around.

We choose an appropriate sized box to have as little void space as possible. Lots of void space is not only more expensive for shipping, as you can choose a smaller sized box and pay less, but it also wastes the heat coming from the heat pack. The heat from the heat pack can be much better utilized if using as little space as possible.

We tape a 40hr heat pack to the interior lid of the styrofoam insulation.
We also add one 72hr heat pack to the bottom interior of the box with the red line facing upwards or if there's no room we tape it to the inside wall of the box.

 We then place the styrofoam lid on top.

 The box is sealed up, and all the appropriate information is put on the top as well as the sides of the box.

 

We hope this pictorial has been helpful.
You may also visit our Video Tutorial section.