# Packing Frogs to Ship



## markpulawski (Nov 19, 2004)

Recently I suffered a couple of losses shipping frogs packed in damp sphagnum, a while back I also had a Colon frog damaged when packed the same way. Back in the day I used to use wet paper towels and occaisionally the same thing would happen when a cup would get turned over in transport. Patrick at Saurian suggested I use moist leaves as they carry no weight and little or no potential to damage frogs. I have used this methed successfully several times but used some sphagnum packed cups recently as they were handy only to find the worst case scenario occurred..suffocated frogs. From here on out it is leaves only in my packing of frogs for shipment. I use 2 or 3 philodendrum or pathos leaves (big enough to span the width of the cup so they can't shake around), freshly cut then sprayed to be damp. I think Pat likes to use Sea Grape leaves as they are big and have structural integrity which is a good idea.
Hopefully this hint will save a few frogs moving forward.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

yeah, i hear that a lot, i have only lost 1 frog due to sphagnum, but now i only use plant cuttings to ship frogs.


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## billschwinn (Dec 17, 2008)

Hey Mark, I use sphagnum but only a few strands moistened, not covering the bottom of cup, this method works well for me, Bill


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## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

Is there really any need to have anything in the cup? I just spray inside the deli cup to make sure it's damp/moist and then seal it tight. I don't have any air holes in the cups for the water to leak out.


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

What exactly is the Spaghnum doing?

Is the frog cup getting turned upside down and the frog being suffocated or crushed by the spagh?


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## evolvstll (Feb 17, 2007)

thanks for posting,

Same thing happened to me also. I was using leaves for quite a while and on a few shipments for some reason decided to use the sphagum. Out of quite a few frogs a couple DOAs was enough to convince me what you mentioned above.


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## chadfarmer (Nov 2, 2008)

great thread


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## pl259 (Feb 27, 2006)

I do both, which was recommended to me by sports_doc a couple years ago. A little spaghnum in the bottom and then some leaves or plant cuttings on top to keep the moss from moving and pinning the frogs against the wall of the container.


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## SmackoftheGods (Jan 28, 2009)

I know when I ordered from Sean Stew he only used plant clippings. Quite a few too. It was nice because he loaded up the cup, but because of the way the stems of the leaves were packed in there you could turn the cup over and over and the leaves would barely move while still allowing the frogs quite a bit of space to move around, over and under the leaves.

On the other hand, Understory can only ship to the US using the wet paper towel method because using leaves might be construed as a soil sample and delay the passage through customs. As you know they ship en masse, but I can't imagine them having many casualties and still using the same method.... Maybe there's a specific way to pack the paper towel in the cup to prevent the towel from moving?


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## markpulawski (Nov 19, 2004)

gary1218 said:


> Is there really any need to have anything in the cup? I just spray inside the deli cup to make sure it's damp/moist and then seal it tight. I don't have any air holes in the cups for the water to leak out.


Gary I think the leaves would offer some protection to the frogs in the event the box goes through excessive shaking, rather than getting knocked around an empty cup the leaves could offer some shock absorption.


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## sports_doc (Nov 15, 2004)

pl259 said:


> I do both, which was recommended to me by sports_doc a couple years ago. A little spaghnum in the bottom and then some leaves or plant cuttings on top to keep the moss from moving and pinning the frogs against the wall of the container.


I still do it this way. Sphagnum on the bottom and stuff the rest with leaves. With thumbs I basically fill the cup with cuttings. With larger frogs I use much less sphagnum b/c the larger cups would hold too much moss weight and I worry about it being tossed upside down. Thick leaved plants for the larger frogs...pathos and the like.


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## jcarbone61 (Apr 27, 2008)

I agree with the spagnum moss and I suffered a few loses before realizing it was suffacating the frogs , to spite being told by the shipper I was wrong. He replaced the frogs and I had him pack it with plant cutting and they all arrived in great shape. Moss and wet paper towel are to heavy on the frogs during shipping.


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## sports_doc (Nov 15, 2004)

^

I think a better way to put that would be to say that they 'can be' or 'might be' too heavy, not that they are too heavy...

IME I've shipped over 100 boxes with sphagnum and never suffered a loss based on using sphagnum....and I've had many boxes sent to me with paper towels....so,

based on Mark's and other experiences I think it is fair to summarize that _ am recommending.

1. Keeping moist sphagnum to a minimum when used.
2. Use larger stiff leaved plants, in sufficient quantity, and they can be used alone successfully.
3. Paper towels can be used alone or in combination [preferred] with plant clippings. 

I would also say the smaller the container the better. Less volume of air to 'toss around' the frog in.... I like to see enough room for them to move/crawl around but when I turn a container over there is enough plant cuttings acting as scaffolding that nothing visibly shifts around._


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## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

I use 8 oz cups and plant cuttings---in the bottom I put a soaked, unbleached napkin to hold moisture, and make a nest out of Bolivian wandering jew since its tiny leaves and flexible structure make it preferable to line the container with. I leave a small space in the middle for the frog to protect him from getting jammed up against the sides during shipment. To my knowledge, all of my frogs have arrived showing no signs of stress.
Part of the risk of suffocation may lie in rising temps. I always use a Phase 22 pack to ship frogs, even if they're arriving at a place that's less than 80 degrees during the summer.


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