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Shipping critters that need to stay moist is not all that difficult. It take a little pre-planning and a little thinking ahead, but the process itself can be pretty easy.

Most of the critters we are referring to are not fully aquatic. With the exception of crawdads (and although we have not tried it, perhaps shrimp), if the critter is fully aquatic, generally speaking you can use the same methods that one might use for shipping fish.  

The most important point to think about besides heat, oxygen and time in transit is to keep the critter moist. That's easy for most of the critters you would think about...a sponge or a wet paper towel in the container with the critter and you are good to go. Using a plastic bag with most of amphibians is possible but not really a good idea. The likelihood that the air in the bag would leak or seep through the bag is not all that great, but even a small leak can collapse the bag to point of catastrophic results. Unlike shipping a truly aquatic creature, one which draws it's oxygen from water and not from the atmosphere, amphibians need contact to air to survive...a collapsed bag could suffocate the critter.

Crawdads however (and as we mentioned, perhaps shrimp), can be shipped in poly bags. Using poly bags is perhaps a good thing with the hard shelled crawdad as it allows the shell to be undamaged by the tossing an turning of the animal during the shipping process.

Ok...if the critter is going to be tossed and turned in the shipping process, it's fragile legs (and the claws that we like to watch) may also be broken. So it becomes an additional concern with these types of animals to provide some sort of cushioning within the bag.

Also to consider is a method or product to keep the gills of the crawdad (and shrimp) moist during the process. While we think that the crawdad is doing fine when it's out of the water, if it's gills become dry it will die. Keeping the gills moist is very important. It's easy to provide some moistened shredded paper in the bag to keep the gills moist. The paper can also provide a small amount of cushioning during the process.

However, we have found that a small amount of wood excelsior (shredded wood) along with the moistened paper in the bag can provide both the moisture and a superlative cushioning for the crustacean during transit.

Soak the excelsior ahead of time so that the wood is wet and will not dry out during the transit (drawing moisture away from the critter in the process). When we say to use a small amount...we do mean small. You want the crawdad to be able to be cushioned and stable, moist and oxygenated...not cramped or crammed into the bag.

We use 2 mil bags when shipping crawdads. Except for the very largest of specimens (which generally speaking don't ship as well as smaller, younger ones) we use 3 inch or 4 inch wide bags.

We don't find it necessary to "double bag" crawdads. There is such a small amount of moisture in the bag, a leak of any significance is highly unlikely.

In the case of hard containers for shipping amphibians, we tape the like down so that it will not come off during shipping. You might think this is unlikely...and we did too...but experiences such as having the foam corks come out of six bottle of fruitflies during shipping have taught us the value of not thinking it won't...and assuming the worse...planning for it and not taking shortcuts.

As with all animals, we recommend that you use a reliable overnight service.

During months when the temperature either on the shipping end or the receiving end is cold, using heat paks is highly recommended.

An insulated box is always recommended at any time of the year. Insulation does more than simply keep things warm or cold, it mitigated the temperature flucuations. Many animals can easily become suseptible to stress related diseases and "colds" because of radical fluctuations in temperature...an insulatied shipping container can easily solve this issue.