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Q:
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Moving long distance with reptiles?
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So, it's finally official! My family is moving to Utah. Great! A state with sunlight! Woohoo! .. But it's an 18 hour drive (give or take a few hours) straight through, a day and a half if we stop for the night, and I've never moved with reptiles farther than across town. In other words, I need advice!
So, O Wise iHerpers who have moved with reptiles in the past... What should we be doing here? Not counting the dogs and ourselves, we're moving with one corn snake, one bearded dragon, and a colony of Blaptica Dubia cockroaches.
Concerning the roaches, I'm thinking we can get away with sticking an ice pack under their tub (in the bed of the truck, and probably tucked between other stuff and the cab to shield from the sun) and refreshing it if/when it melts completely.
Concerning the reptiles, my major concern is temperatures. My little '80s truck doesn't have AC, and it will be incredibly cramped and warm with the combined body heat of 3 humans and 2 dogs crammed in what could hardly be called a "cab and a half." Once we cross the Cascade range and officially trade the PNW's chronic cloud cover for sunlight and warmth, that truck will BAKE.
So, how do I cool them/their tubs if/when it gets too hot? The bearded dragon would likely be content to sit on someone's shoulder for the trip, which would beat sitting in an overheated tub... But what about the corn snake? Would ice packs/frozen water bottles work, or does anyone have a better, not so quick to melt idea?
Thanks in advance for any advice you have for me!
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Assisted Answer
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9/18/2010 1:23:07 AM
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BirchbarkBoas
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Ice packs should work fine, or even frozen water bottles if wrapped in a towel. Test the set-up out overnight in a warm garage or similar area with a temperature probe in the kind of container you'll have the snake traveling in. Then you'll have an idea as to how much ice you might need. Otherwise another option is to have a friend hold the reptiles and ship them to you once you've settled in your destination. That's how I got my boa from California to Minnesota - shipped him out the day before I flew home and he got there two hours before I did. :)
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Assisted Answer
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9/18/2010 11:13:36 AM
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Accepted Answer
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9/18/2010 2:28:22 PM
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Miss Andrea
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I agree with shipping the reptiles if you're worried about heat. I've moved 8+ hours with over 15 reptiles two separate times but I didn't have to worry about them getting too hot (I moved in fall and spring. The main concern of mine is that the animals will get stressed out with the long travel. And when you think about it from that angle, keeping them in a dark bag or container is a much better idea to keep them from stressing out. Cool packs will work if you're worried about heat, but make sure you cover them with something so your animals won't get too cold.
And I don't know anything about roaches. Sorry!
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Author Comment
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9/18/2010 10:05:43 PM
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Floof
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Winters, if I can get away with not using ice packs or anything on the roaches, I will be a very happy beardie mom. I'm probably just being paranoid, but what I'm afraid of is their tub becoming an oven in the sunlight and getting hot enough to kill even the toughest little suckers... If 100+ is ok, though, I'll just compromise by temp gunning the inside of the tub when we stop for the dogs' potty breaks and saving the water bottles/ice packs until they're necessary. Then comes the question, when is necessary? If it managed to hit 200 in the tub, could they handle it, or should I be sticking an ice pack under it before even then? I just don't want to arrive only to find out the beardie's going to have to live on pet store crickets while we get new roaches sorted out. (That and I imagine the smell would be enough to kill by itself if the sun baked a roach souffle in the back of my truck!)
We aren't moving until mid/late October at the earliest. For all I know, it'll be cold enough that we won't even have to worry by then... The main purpose of this question is to be prepared in case it IS still too warm when we move.
Right now I'm leaning toward freezing up a bunch of water bottles and what few ice packs we own and using them as needed... Maybe keep an eye on weather reports, too? Gotta love iHerp; didn't even think of waiting for crappy weather to move until just now. LOL. So, probably will wait for a day or two that''ll be overcast and cold at least through the southernmost leg of the trip to move... Keep an eye on temps, apply ice packs/frozen water bottles as needed, that kind of thing?
On another note, if it does end up being too warm on the trip down, is it a good idea to bring the reptiles out to cool down outside of the tubs when we stop for the dogs' potty breaks, or would it be better to just leave them in their tubs and not bother them at all when we stop?
Just trying to cover all the bases... Thanks for your input so far, everyone. =)
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Author Comment
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9/20/2010 5:31:27 PM
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Floof
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Okay, so now it's looking like the fam is going ahead without me so I can finish up school here... Which means I'm not even going until January! So forget heat concerns; now I get a crash-course on driving in snow. Oh boy, this should be fun... lol! Thanks again for your guys' input. =)
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