Moving across the country. Tips please?

[MissDoom1985]

We are moving from Southern California to Illinois this coming week and will be taking our 6-7 month old Leopard gecko. There will be a lot of long drives ahead of us and I would like to know any suggestions that will make his trip as smooth and with as little stress as possible. I already planned to secure him near the front passenger floor heater of my vehicle so that could keep him as warm as possible. Please help me out if you can I love our little guy and don't want anything to happen to him.

 

[AllGeckos]

I did a 1500 hundred mile trip a little shorter than yours with my two leos at the time (and some hermit crabs) I was really nervous moving then in a U haul, but managed
I moved mine in one large 'qwitter keeper' I lined the bottom of the and the bottom potion of the walls wth paper towels that I scotch taped up so the leos would not crawl under neath and whatnot. I put two small hides in it for each gecko I made the hides out of those thick paper bowls, cutting a hole out for a door, and also taping those down. I did my move during winter so I had the little tanks wrapped in towels they rode in the middle of the cab next to me and shot gun.. HTH
maybe someone else has some better ideas for it
The move went well and the geckos after getting to their final destination managed to feel back at home in a week or so.
It was kinda like buying new geckos again....

 

[Mel&Keith]

You could take some heat packs or hand warmers with you in case there's some sort of emergency. I'm sure the car will be warm enough for him. If you're comfortable without a parka on, the gecko should be warm enough too. LOL Make sure he doesn't get too hot near the car's heater though.

 

[StinaKSU]

I've moved mine on several occasions on 2 day trips (moving back and forth from college) and never had any problems putting them in deli cups, small tupperware containers, or the smallest critter keepers (all with holes of course!)...I usually didn't bother with a heater of any kind...just kept them from getting too too cold. I just put some paper towels in the containers. I've had geckos get lost for days in the middle of January in the mail and arrive just fine.....a couple days in a vehicle above 60 degrees won't do them ny harm.

 

[Alusdra]

I prefer not to have anything in the cage but the gecko- that way nothing can fall on them. Plastic critter keepers work pretty well. If you put them in the foot well of the passenger seat and then blow the heat down that way, you can keep them pretty warm that way. But if you can't do that, keep the car at like 70, 75ish and they should be ok until you stop for the night at a hotel or some such and can put a heat pad under them. Or the pocket warmers can be good, too- just be sure the geckos aren't in direct contact with them as those things can get really hot!

When you stop for the night, give him some water, too- but I wouldn't keep it in the cage when driving, it will just spill and end up with a cold gecko.

 

[Haligren]

My in-laws just brought my Mandarin up from Vancouver it's a 10-12 hour drive. I put him in a critter keeper with paper towels, tea towel and rolled up newspaper. I then put the carrier in a cloth bag and lined the bottom of the bag with an electric blanket which we kept plugged in via a converter (plugs into the cigarette lighter). I also had a digital thermometer in the carrier to make sure his temps didn't get too high or too low.

It seems to have worked very well. Either that or Mandarin is just really laid back, but he's already eating and he just arrived yesterday.

 

[MissDoom1985]

Thank you all for the helpful tips. I'll be getting one of the little carriers and keep him safe and sound We will be stopping in hotels every night so I plan to set up his tank and light since they're fairly small. He'll be getting a nice big pretty home after our move