Courier

Didnt know where to put this so thought would put here!! .Anyway ive spoke to the courier and they told me that they dontknow how long it will take to get Willow to mine from Lous house until all the bookings are closed then they let me know so that means i would have to book her in not knowing how long it will take to get her here!!!.
I asked if they did same day delivery he said they do but it will cost loads more as it would only be her on the van. what does everyone think? iam just unsure.x

well i was going to do it for haimish...and i had the same problem...and as you know...didnt go for the idea...

it was £80 for the courier and like what you said, dont know how long he was in transit till he was all booked it and paid for...by then you have no choice.

Yeah that is what i dont like they couldnt even give me an average.all i know is that its definatley not same day!!

he told me it could be upto 7 days....depending on the amount of bookings.

and that is way too long for a hedgehog in transit.

oh my that is crazy! and thats it they close booking when full and then drop off all over the place and iam quite far from lou aswell!

Gem - go on Reptile Forums UK - in classifieds there is a section for couriers - few different ones on there - try them all as I am sure you will get a quicker service from others x

ok will do thanks.

Welcome x

i cant remeber the one i rang, he was also on rfuk.

Don't forget .. that Julie can meet you in Brum i no its a long drive but less money or she can meet you at the train station im sure she will help me out .... as she is coming down to me that weekend .x

probably be train station as drive is just too long for me.x

Ibcant get onto to reptile forums uk for some reason lap top says page not available can anyone else get on it?

Not loading for me either - must be down for maintenance x

It has announced on Facebook that they are down and been a victim of a virus of some sort.

Gemma, t sounds like the same courier that I used when one of our rescues - 'Hope' left me to travel all the way down to Devon. She left me on the Saturday and arrived on the Tuesday morning. I couldn't fault the driver, he was fab. Myself and Roma (Hope's new mum) were also able to follow his route on GPRS too. Insurance was included too. It was just over a year ago and cost £55.

If you opt for meeting Lou's friend in Birmingham and know roughly when it's going to be, you should be able to get a cheap deal for early bookings on the train. Virgin always have cheap deals in advance. Might be worth a look....

xoxox

I would like to hand her over myself sadly my car is playing up and i dont no if i can risk it or if i will have the money to have it fixed before .... :O( Julie will probably meet Jo off the M5 if my car dont work ..x

Thanks melody the train is now £46 last week it was £37 and takes 3 half hours. and the courier is £45 and not sure how long it will be. yeah i noticed on there site you can track them on there journey.

Ok just wondering.do the couriers feed the hoggies and keep the temps correct when hoggies are on there journey? i dontknow alot about it so would like to know. how big are the boxes they are kept in? thankyou.

The one that Melody used kept her updated all the way and he checks on them regularly ...and there was no complaints Gem but Melody is probably the best person to reply as she dealt with the courier

ahh right thanks

Hi Gemma, I really couldn't fault the driver at all.

This is how it worked for me;

1. Buy a cardboard pet carrier from P@H

2. Line the bottom with newspaper and then fill it with shredded paper - again from you can buy from P@H

3. Secure a small pets water bottle to the outside of the box with the end poking through a hole. The bottle can be taped securely on the outside using gaffer tape. This is the only time that a water bottle is recommended - mainly so that the water doesn't spill and gets any bedding wet.

4. Pop a small dish (or plastic plant-pot flat bowl) and (gaffer tape) it to the bottom of the cardboard box - this (may) allow it to catch any dropped water from the water bottle. However, please realise that by the time little hoggie has mooched about, the shredded paper will have sat in this little 'drip catching tray' anyway, so may be a waste of time., although it is still something I done.

5. Scatter loose food around including some dried mealies - Baby hoggie may be wondering what's going on but at least he / she can find food easily if they do venture out from their sleeping quarters.

6. If hoggie is using a fleece pouch, let her keep this with her on her journey.

Another idea I had (afterwards) was to find a piece of cardboard that could be used as a divider within the pet carrier, cut a big enough doorway / hole in it and separate the sleeping area.

Things to give to the driver;

1 x bag of food - this could be just spare food put into sandwich bags. Just so that there was extra should it be needed.
1 x Care sheet - Just in case!
1 X extra shredded paper just in case the other gets wet

The driver will have contact details of both ends - Obviously this will be you and Louvain

Mr Courier has couriered reptiles all over Europe and so has experiences in dealing with pets that need constant temperatures. I think it was during the month of February when or 'Hope' went on her journey and she was fine. Helen had a story of a tenrec who went with this same courier and the weather got so bad he couldn't travel, he then contacted Helen to double check what he should do to keep Mr / Mrs Tenrec happy until he could crack on with his journey

The train prices you have been quoted, is that return?

xoxox

Thanks Melody for this , this is the first time I will have used the courier too and you have told me the best way to send her ...x

Of course! Silly me! It'll be you who will be sending Willow on her journey, not Gemma! Doh... I am such an empty head

xoxox

Have used this courier before and they are good - the vans are heated but you can use a heat pack - can post a couple to you Lou - just take them out of the plastic, shake them to activate them and then stick them to the bottom of the box with tape - they stay warm for upto 48 hours - you can always give the driver a spare as well x