Making a Temporary and/or Travel Cage

[pucki513]

I looked around for information on this but could not find anything so I apologize if this is a repeat. I want to know how to make a temporary or travel cage for my future leo. This would be used for boarding, cleaning the real tank, and possibly staying at a beach house or something. I won't be able to take his tank to the boarder, for example, so I was thinking I could make something like what would go in a rack, only portable.

Here is what I was thinking:
- a plastic storage bin like this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0019TWJTG/ref=s9_simh_gw_p201_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0DQYJ197Q93XTAPNWYXV&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846
- paper towels on the bottom
- heating cable/tape (I'm not sure how to use this, tips would be appreciated)
- plastic container for humid hide
- other hides
-food/water bowls

I guess the biggest thing is just whether it is possible/practical and if anyone has done a "travel cage" and also what to use as a top. Thanks!

 

[Fatal_S]

Note: my experience is with other lizards, not leos specifically.

Suggestion: why not make the main tank portable? There's tons of stress on a reptile just moving to a new home, keeping the same tank at least gives them a bit of familiarity. We want our reptiles as stress-free as possible. At the very least, consider using his normal hide and decorations.

I would use a large plastic tote w/ lid, with a heat mat stuck to the bottom. In this case I would use the commercial heat mats, since they're sticky, but you could tape heat tape/cable to the bin as well. Heat mat needs to be plugged into a temp controller to keep the tank safe, just like in a rack.

If the tote is clear, paint/tape 3 sides to be dark. If the tote is dark, consider turning it onto it's side and DIYing the lid into a front-opening door? Use any substrate and hides/decoration you want. This is a nice setup for the gecko, but may not be as visually pretty as your main tank would have been.

If you want to have a pretty, non-portable main tank consider having everything on timers/temp controllers and having a friend stop in to feed/clean/change water. Instead of dragging the gecko all over the place. Stress can be dangerous.

Keep in mind during moving the tank, the gecko needs to be in a secure container, not free-roaming the tank (if something moves during transport the animal can get hurt).

 

[pucki513]

I would just use his normal cage but it has 35lbs of rocks in it. Sometimes I go with my family to the beach for a while over the summer and would rather take him than have someone checking up on him for that long. I guess I'd like to see if anyone has done this?

 

[DrCarrotTail]

When in transit I would recommend putting him in a small container such as a tupperware sandwich container or deli container. There should be enough room for him to turn around and a slightly damp paper towel or two. The more room in the container the farther the animal has to fly if dropped or if a car stops short. If you insist on using a carrier keep it bare while in transit. Any "furniture" can move and hurt or even kill your leo.

Once I get where I'm going, I have a spare 10 gallon with a heat mat, a couple hides and a moist hide I've dragged with me when needed.