Heat Pack
2–14 °C
Activate 30 minutes before packing. Tape it to the inside of the lid with newspaper between it and everything else. Pick a pack rated longer than the trip (40 h for overnight, 72 h when a weekend or remote lane is possible).
Packing guideMonarch Animal Shipping · Shipper copy
Pack for the weather your box will actually meet.
Every live-animal box ships in an insulated styrofoam liner. What goes in with the animals (a heat pack, a cold pack, a cryopack or nothing) depends on the coldest and warmest moments of the trip. Map yours below.
Sec. 1
Plan the trip
Click the map twice (from, then to) or type postal codes. Scrub the timeline to watch the day warm and the night cool across the country while your box is on the move.
Typical temperatures
Fri, Oct 30 · 3:00 PM ET
1991–2020 climate normals
Click the map to set where it ships from
Your packing call
Set both ends of the trip.
Click the map or type postal codes, choose a ship date, and the diagram lights up the pack that fits the coldest and warmest moments your box will meet.
Animal types
Every option each group can take across 2–30 °C.
Snakes
- Heat Pack
- Nothing
Tolerate cool well; never ship hot.
Amphibians
- Nothing
- Cryopack
- Cold Pack
Overheat fast; keep cool, never heated.
Tarantulas
- Heat Pack
- Nothing
Pad the cup; packs well away.
Lizards
- Heat Pack
- Nothing
- Cold Pack
Gentle cold pack on warm days only.
Fish
- Heat Pack
- Nothing
- Cryopack
- Cold Pack
Water buffers swings; pack for either.
Isopods
- Heat Pack
- Nothing
- Cold Pack
Keep substrate damp, not wet.
Crabs
- Heat Pack
- Nothing
- Cryopack
- Cold Pack
Damp moss; flexible either way.
Axolotl
- Nothing
- Cryopack
- Cold Pack
Cold-water animal; never above ~21 °C.
Always adjust for species-specific needs, transit time and local weather conditions.
Sec. 2
The four options
One insulated box, four ways to fill the space above the animals. The ranges overlap on purpose: at the edges, the animal decides.
Sec. 3
How to pack the box
Same order every time, inside out. Pack at room temperature, close to drop-off, and photograph each layer.
Step 1: Contain each animal
Deli cup, ventilated container or knot-free bag, one animal per container unless the species guide says otherwise. Aquatic animals: double-bagged, one-third water, two-thirds air.
Step 2: Line the box
Styrofoam liner (at least 1 in. / 25 mm walls) inside a sturdy corrugated box. A layer of crumpled newspaper on the floor.
Step 3: Fill every gap
Containers upright and snug, voids packed with newspaper so nothing shifts when the box is turned or dropped.
Step 4: Add the pack (if any)
On top, on a sheet of newspaper, wrapped, never touching a container. Heat packs are taped to the lid and need air to work, so don't seal them in plastic.
Step 5: Seal, label, drop off
Tape the liner lid, close and tape the box, apply the label and orientation arrows. Drop off late in the day, Monday to Wednesday, so no box sits over a weekend.
Sec. 4
Questions
Q.01Which temperature should I pack for?
A.
The extreme farthest from comfortable (14–22 °C). The planner follows the box from late-afternoon drop-off, through the night, to mid-morning delivery. Outside air counts in full for the first hours after drop-off and on the delivery run; overnight in carrier hubs and trailers it is softened toward 15 °C. Whichever extreme is the bigger risk decides the pack.
Q.02Is the map a forecast?
A.
Not by default. The map paints typical temperatures for that date and hour from 1991–2020 climate normals, so you can plan weeks ahead. When the ship date is close enough for a forecast, the live forecast at both ends is blended in automatically and the map says so.
Q.03What if the trip is below 2 °C or above 30 °C?
A.
Hold the shipment. No pack makes a styrofoam box safe outside that window for an overnight trip. Pick a different day, or a shorter lane.
Q.04My species isn't listed. What now?
A.
Use the closest group as a starting point, then follow the species' own temperature range on the Animals page. Species policies and the eligibility check at booking always take precedence over this general guide.
Ready to ship?
A quote runs the real checks: species policy, carrier lane, ship day and the live forecast at both ends.