moving with reptiles (advice needed)
when we move back to oklahoma we're each driving separate cars. brittney is going to have the reptiles (boa constrictor and bearded dragon) and kitties since they can all be in a warmer environment (she's rolling her windows down instead of using her ac). i'm going to have the bunnies with my ac on super cold since they have to be cold and i don't want them to be too stressed.
any tips on traveling with the reptiles? is it okay for them to go three or four days without heat other than the heat of the car or are we going to need to come up with a plan to provide them with heat? i cannot find anything online, really, about it. anyone on here with experience?
we're thinking about putting them in the kittie pet carriers. we're going to test it out, but the holes look too small for them to sneak out. if they are able to squeeze through it, we'll just use one of our reusable mesh produce bags as a barrier around the door of the carrier (make sense? like, we'll close it in the door so that it is pulled tight against the door and they won't be able to get out but it will still breathe).
rainbow (beardie) is full grown and although harvey is a baby (boa) he is a big baby and is already larger than a lot of pet snakes get when full grown. i would say he's about one year old (he was a rescue and we don't know his exact age, but judging from his size, i'd say about a year) and he's between three and four feet long. not super thick yet, but he's big enough to eat rats, so i don't think he can slip through the holes in the pet carriers.
we were researching it... some people recommend using those one time use heat packs (like "toasty toes" and the hand warmers). we'll certainly do this if we have to (but funds ARE quite limited). before reading that suggestion, we were just going to make sure to take them out on our gas/potty/food breaks and hold them so they can get sunlight and our body heat.
please, any help from people with experience in traveling with their reptiles in the car would be greatly appreciated. we won't be able to use an adaptor to set up heat lamps in the car because our cars will be PACKED! their habitats will be in the uhaul trailer being pulled behind brittney's car. we figured the pet carriers are roomier and more comfy than cramming them in small critter keepers.
The snake, I'd say put in a pillowcase/dark box...this will help calm it and put it in a sorta hibernation. Though I've never had a reptile, I have several friends who've had snakes, and they've always traveled with them in bags/boxes.....
but won't that be cramped and uncomfortable for him?
my question is more for the heat aspect...
thank you!!! i'm concerned for both of my reptiles!
when do you start your journey?
we are planning to officially leave on friday, august 14th... with hopes to make it by tuesday (or else we'll be at my mom's house with no key! eeps!)
that gives us four days. i drove here in three, but we're figuring it will take longer with all of the babies since we'll need to stop more often to take care of them.
http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1c=Renton&1s=WA&2c=Pauls+Valley&2s=OK#a/maps/l:::Renton:WA::US:47.483101:-122.215797:city:King+County:1/l::I-90+E:::::46.966072:-120.338104:::2/l:::Pauls+Valley:OK::US:34.740002:-97.221901:city:Garvin+County:1/m:::::0:::::::::/io:1:::::f:EN:M:/e
i think this is the route we're taking. we're still tweaking it a bit, trying to avoid going the way i came because it was absolutely nothing but mountains! we'll be going through the smaller mountains with this, but i don't think it will be as bad.
(sorry if the link doesn't work!)
wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww mountains. florida's flatter than a pre-pubescent 12 year old girl's chest. jealous.
you shouldn't be jealous. those mountains are terrifying me!
I have heard of people moving snakes by putting them in a sack like a pillow case and then putting the pillow case in a box of some kind. Granted Ive heard of sellers transp[orting snakes this way, so I wont say weather its kinder or not. I don't think their motivation is comfort. That doesn't necessarily mean its not best though, either...
I would recommend calling a vet or a local-or not local- reptile rescue and asking them. I bet they answer that question a lot.
Also, Have you thought about using rescue remedy for the cats and bunny before hand? Double check that it is safe for those species but it works great to calm the nerves of dogs so they wont be so stressed from the changes and confinement.
Good luck. Hope you and all the critters make it safely.
yeah, ive driven on a mountain before in the winter, now THAT was scary! (my grandma was doing the rosary beads the whole time, haha).
and i asked my dad and he said they should be fine in a pillow case, and to make sure if you put the air conditioning on, make sure it doesnt hit them directly. and sometimes the floor of the car gets warm cuz of the engine, if you think it's too cold in the car you can put them on the ground. he's shipped snakes before and they just put them in a pillow case and a box with packing peanuts and they're always fine, so you don't really have to worry. :>
http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1c=Renton&1s=WA&2c=Pauls+Valley&2s=OK#a/maps/l:::Renton:WA::US:47.483101:-122.215797:city:King+County:1/l::I-90+E:::::46.966072:-120.338104:::2/l:::Pauls+Valley:OK::US:34.740002:-97.221901:city:Garvin+County:1/m:::::0:::::::::/io:1:::::f:EN:M:/e
i think this is the route we're taking. we're still tweaking it a bit, trying to avoid going the way i came because it was absolutely nothing but mountains! we'll be going through the smaller mountains with this, but i don't think it will be as bad.
(sorry if the link doesn't work!)
Ok. I always forget how damned BIG America is. Like, this route, between two places not at opposite ends of the country, is over 1000km longer than the entire length of our country. whaoa.
Also, and probably more helpfully, I used to work with bearded dragons, but before I give my semi-experienced advice, I'm going to check with someone I worked with who is a bit of a reptile expert and get back to you : )
I wanna go visit America *pouts*
I have heard of people moving snakes by putting them in a sack like a pillow case and then putting the pillow case in a box of some kind. Granted Ive heard of sellers transp[orting snakes this way, so I wont say weather its kinder or not. I don't think their motivation is comfort. That doesn't necessarily mean its not best though, either...
I would recommend calling a vet or a local-or not local- reptile rescue and asking them. I bet they answer that question a lot.
Also, Have you thought about using rescue remedy for the cats and bunny before hand? Double check that it is safe for those species but it works great to calm the nerves of dogs so they wont be so stressed from the changes and confinement.
Good luck. Hope you and all the critters make it safely.
i think that we're going to stick with the pet carrier so i'm not that concerned about transportation in that sense. but i am concerned about the temperature. i'll call a reptile vet somewhere close by or a rescue... i actually didn't even think about that!
we use bach rescue remedy for the kitties and bunnies and it works pretty well! we're going to be doing a couple of things to calm their nerves. one, we're getting another bottle of rescue remedy since we're out. we're going to put some in their water (so they get a steady dose) and then if they seem to be especially nervous we'll give them individual doses on our stops (and especially at the beginning of the trip when they'll be the most upset. two, the day before (so it will be cold) i'm going to be brewing two batches of tea in case they get nervous and have tummy aches. for the kitties i'm going to make them some catnip tea. for the bunnies i'm making chamomile tea. i know from experience that the kitties and bunnies both love these teas, so getting them to drink it won't be hard. it will encourage them to drink more water and it will also help calm their tummies. kitties can throw up but bunnies cannot... but bunnies are more harmed by stress since they sorta have a tendency to get scared and drop dead. i definitely don't want any of that so we're going to make it as comfortable as possible for everyone!
also, we use this plug in diffuser for ivan since he has anxiety problems. it works MIRACLES! we use it along with a pheromone collar that he wears. so he'll have that collar but he won't have the diffuser. the same company ("comfort zone with feliway") makes a spray, if we have the funding we're going to buy the spray so that we can spray the car. it won't help the bunnies, i don't think, but it will help the kitties. it mimics the chin smells that cats let off when they are safe, happy, and content so it makes them feel like everything is going to be alright.
thank you for the advice!
and i asked my dad and he said they should be fine in a pillow case, and to make sure if you put the air conditioning on, make sure it doesnt hit them directly. and sometimes the floor of the car gets warm cuz of the engine, if you think it's too cold in the car you can put them on the ground. he's shipped snakes before and they just put them in a pillow case and a box with packing peanuts and they're always fine, so you don't really have to worry. :>
so i think that if we leave them in the floor and make sure that the ac isn't on and go with the windows rolled down plan (OR if she must use her ac, make sure it's not directed at the feet) then they will probably be okay? i just thought of something. i have thermometers throughout my apartment since i have so many animals with different temperature preferences. i'll put one of the monitors right next to them so that we can keep up with how hot or cold it is near them. and we'll be sure to feed them enough ahead of time so that we don't have to worry about them not being able to digest their food (harvey eats once a week but rainbow eats every day... he's a little piggy and eats TONS of salad! :)) and we'll go with the plan of taking them out during our breaks and holding them out in the sun so they can get some heat and uv rays. brittney is concerned rainbow will bolt, so she might just have to hold him in the car. but harvey, being a snake, isn't very fast and doesn't so much bolt ever.
Ok. I always forget how damned BIG America is. Like, this route, between two places not at opposite ends of the country, is over 1000km longer than the entire length of our country. whaoa.
Also, and probably more helpfully, I used to work with bearded dragons, but before I give my semi-experienced advice, I'm going to check with someone I worked with who is a bit of a reptile expert and get back to you : )
yeah, america is pretty big. texas is larger than the entire country of france, i think. or at least comparable in size.
that would be most hopeful if you could talk to your friend! i just want to make sure they aren't going to become ill if they don't have a true heat source for the three or four days. but maybe we'll go with those heat packs. if i get the ones that stay warm for eight to twelve hours then that would be equivalent to one day of their heat source. i hope they aren't expensive because we are so short on money. :(
from what i've read online (limited, though), harvey should do better without heat since he'll sorta just sleep it out. but rainbow (the beardie) might not do so well... so i'm anxious to hear what your friend says!
I wanna go visit America *pouts*
if you come over, i'm sure you'll find some vegewbber somewhere who will appreciate a visit from you!!!
thank you to everyone who is checking with people for advice.
your help on this topic is going to help with my anxiety about this trip!
at least i can just focus on the driving aspect and not worry that all of my babies will suddenly drop dead.
my vets even know how overly concerned i am with my babies being away from home. they always comment on how i bring the most stuff for each baby's comfort that they've ever seen! (i bring as much stuff from home as i can fit so that they feel a little more at ease. especially for the bunnies since the cages aren't really set up for them.)
that would be most hopeful if you could talk to your friend! i just want to make sure they aren't going to become ill if they don't have a true heat source for the three or four days. but maybe we'll go with those heat packs. if i get the ones that stay warm for eight to twelve hours then that would be equivalent to one day of their heat source. i hope they aren't expensive because we are so short on money. :(
ok: here's what I have:
My friend reckons rainbow should be okay in the car as long as its not too cold and he has access to food and, more importantly, water.
She said if you are able to access a microwave every 8 hours or so, or even just for the overnight patch, then you can get a "snugglesafe" and that would work really well as a heat source. You would neet to be careful that it doesn't get too hot, so cover with some material or something. They're made in the states, probably available at pet shops, or the link is: http://www.snugglesafe.ca/orderUS.htm
Other than that, she just mentioned about making sure theres enough space for the reptiles to get out of the heat source so they can heat regulate in case the temp gets too high. A good idea is to take a little water spray bottle to cool them down when/if needed and help re-hydrate them.
Hope that helps/makes sense! : )
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