Question: How long can eggs resist during shipment?

[lmsalgado]

Hi,
It is very hard to find axolotls in Portugal, so I’m hoping to be able to buy eggs by mail.
The problem is that overnight international shipment in UE is very expansive (50-70€) and normal mail across UE countries usually take 3-5 days.
Would the eggs be able to survive that time in transit?

 

[Canecorsonewt]

Re: How long can eggs resist during shippment?

Should be fine i had some c oriental's get stuck in the mail, it was longer than 14 days some of them ended up hatching they seemed fine. I still have them, it was last year when it happened to my little guys. None died in shipping

 

[lmsalgado]

That is a great relief, because I just had a seller saying he couldn’t post abroad as the eggs would perish…

Thank you so much for the information. I must now search for eggs (I know… this would be more appropriate in Easter not in Christmas time… )

 

[Blackbun]

This to me, is not a straight forward question. I think Cliff was fortunate. For me, the moment eggs are sealed in a container the clock starts ticking. Your supplier unwilling to send abroad due to concerns about the eggs dying is being responsible and unwilling to take the risk after all these are living things. There are people who will take the risk and maybe it pays off. As a buyer, I'd probably take the risk but I'm not sure I would as a supplier.
You have to consider the oxygen content of the water, its temperature, which could fluctuate wildly, bacterial and/or fungal contamination not to mention rough handling.

 

[lmsalgado]

Yes, I understand there are a lot of factors to consider. I don’t blame that seller, I don’t even know how old the eggs were, they could have just a few days remaining before hatching. I just got scared for my plans :happy:.
I used to trade killifish eggs and it was so easy to ship, somehow I got the impression the Axelotl eggs just required the same cares, like good conditioning and maybe breathing bags.

 

[michael]

Since you posted under the axolotl section I'm guessing you are talking about axolotl eggs. In breather bag at appropriate temperature they should be o.k. up to 2 weeks.

Since axolotls are listed as CITES II. Shipping their eggs across national borders without CITES permits would be a violation of CITES.

 

[lmsalgado]

Since you posted under the axolotl section I'm guessing you are talking about axolotl eggs. In breather bag at appropriate temperature they should be o.k. up to 2 weeks.

You are right, I'm referring to Axolotl's eggs. So in normal conditions (if “normal” ever applies to mail services) I can expect a 3-5days shipment to be bearable for the eggs. Thanks for your contribution.

Since axolotls are listed as CITES II. Shipping their eggs across national borders without CITES permits would be a violation of CITES.

You got me thinking on that one, so I went and investigate in EU rules and found out this reference guide: Reference Guide - EC Wildlife Trade Regulations - Environment - European Commission that I resume here for future reference.
On page 62 they state :

3.6.1 What procedures apply to import and (re-)export of captive-bred animals/artificially propagated plants?
Because trade in animals that were born and bred in captivity and plants that were artificially propagated does not have the same potential impact on wild populations of fauna and flora, CITES and the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations include provisions that are less strict for trade in these specimens. Specimens of Annex A-listed animal or plant species are treated as specimens of Annex B-listed species if they were bred in captivity or artificially propagated, in accordance with Chapter XIII of Regulation (EC) No 865/2006178. In such cases, there are no restrictions on the purpose of the import or (re-)export of captive bred or artificially propagated specimens. This means that a specimen produced by a non-commercial captive breeding/artificial propagation operation can be imported or (re-)exported for commercial purposes, and vice-versa, i.e. produced by a commercial operation and imported/(re-)exported for non-commercial purposes. Furthermore, whereas import permits for specimens of Annex A-listed animal or plant species generally only authorise the specimen to be held at a specified address, this restriction does not apply to captive-bred/artificially propagated specimens.

So it means that there is no problem on sending Axolotls or its eggs across UE countries (even from UK for now…). But I sure can't buy from outside UE without the proper paperwork.


Thank you all for raising these important [FONT=&quot]arguments[/FONT].