Moving with reptiles

[hrford]

Ok so I'm a planner and I needlessly worry a lot but if I could get help on this now when it isn't an emergency it will make me feel better. My husband is in the Army and for the last 5 years we've moved every 15-20 months. We know we'll be here through Sep or Oct 2013, only because my husband is deploying to Afghanistan for a year. We fully expect to be going somewhere more than 2,000 miles away (but still continental) when we leave here (which is DC). So how do you travel with your reptiles?

It will be too long to go without food, probably 3-4 days in transit. So what I want to do what is the best way to do it. In theory we could keep them in their cages but I was thinking the glass sides would make it really stressful. Also how to heat during the trip? Feeding supers will be the easiest I think.

We're also thinking of adding a beardie to our mix and with the significantly bigger size comes the problem of not being able to keep it in it's cage. We do NOT expect to come up on orders out of country anytime between now and the end of my husband's career.

Is all of this just too stressful and we just should have them?

 

[GeckoCrossing]

I've traveled with my beardie before. The trick is to not feed any protein matter. Any sort of feeders, unless you can allow them to digest over night at a stop or somewhere at their appropriate basking temperature with lights and all will just sit in their stomach, not digesting properly and, if left too long, can rot. Here's how I did it.
No feeders two days before travel. Only veggies the day before, in the morning. With a bath later in the evening, around 6:30pm. Lights out at 9pm.
Day of travel: Large grey rubbermaid tub with a few blankets in it for her to dig in to for comfort. A 40hr heat pack in a deli cup in between the blankets. In the complete darkness of the tub she'll just sleep the whole time. At pit stops for food or gas etc I would take her out and let her get some natural sunlight for about 30mins, depending on how long stopped for, and if it was warm enough. Also a good time to check the heat pack to make sure it's not getting too hot or getting cold. If your trip is gonna be 3-4 days then get a few of the 40 hour heat packs to make sure you have enough to last all the way to your destination.
Just continue that until you get to your destination, set up the tank and lights. Give beardie a bath for hydration, then let him/her bask for 2 hours before feeding any feeders, and give a fresh dish of veggies afterward.
Nothing bad happened. No high coccidia count or anything

Hope all that makes sense. I kind of ramble a wee bit lol.

 

[hrford]

Thanks for that. Do you do something similar for the geckos as well?

 

[GeckoCrossing]

I've never transported Leos before, except for a short 6 hour drive. Since they're nocturnal and gonna move around a lot in the dark I'd say put them all in their own separate deli cups with paper towels on the bottom, and put them in a big rubbermaid container with the heat pack too. Just monitor the temperature in the tub regularly to make sure the geckos won't overheat.
Also, use deli cups just slightly bigger than the geckos. You don't want them sliding around everywhere

 

[RampantReptiles]

how many geckos are you transporting?

Adding on to what has already been posted...
I would recommend getting an insulated box (maybe get a shipping kit) or sticking them in a cooler, in deli cups like GeckoCrossing said, with a 40 hour heat pack. May want to get two but a gecko will be just fine without heat for 1-2 days, assuming the temp is 40-90F. Also make sure the deli cups are secure, either with crumpled up newspaper or something like that, so they dont move around too much. And monitor temps in the box like has already been said.

 

[hrford]

It's be 2 geckos (as of now who knows in 2013). We'd always be stopped at a hotel at night (for a while as my daughter has sensory issues and can't handle very long in a car) so that would give them time for food and warmth if it was necessary.

 

[RampantReptiles]

I would not feed the geckos during the trip. What you want to do is to keep them relatively cooler (below 90) while transporting to keep them calmer. They wont have enough high, constant heat to digest a meal and will end up with problems in the long run. Geckos can go a long time without food. Its not great for them but if they are healthy otherwise they will survive it without a lot of issues.
Water should be provided though through a moist paper towel in the deli cup.