A couple of weeks ago I took my beardie Clifford camping for two nights at a campsite in a provincial park where we parked our car in the campsite. Here I'm going to outline all the precautions I took, and go into some ways it could have gone wrong.
I've had Clifford for 8 years and I know him very well. We go to the park often and we carry him on hikes (1-3 hours long). We also take him to the family cottage, where he's exposed to a lot of woodsy scents and sounds. He walks in the grass on his harness and leash near me, or hangs out in his puppy playpen which has a top that zips shut. He always enjoys it. If he does get freaked out, he quickly calms down when I pick him up and hold him. Based on his comfort level in the cottage environment and my ability to calm him down quickly, I figured he would be a good candidate for a camping trip.
Supplies I brought with us: His small animal carrier (which he loves to sleep in); a small hot water bottle that fits inside the carrier; a very well tested harness and leash; pellets; a plastic food/water bowl; a spray bottle; puppy playpen with pegs (it has a top so no wild creatures could get it); a cooling blanket (a square of cooling fabric from an old sports shirt - beardies know to burrow under something to get out of the sun when they are hot - I find they're rarely satisfied with simply being in the shade); a blow up raft from the dollar store probably made to help hold up a baby in the water (obviously optional - my guy loves it). Finally three mandatory extras: a purse-like bag made for puppies with a mesh top, a key chain digital thermometer, and a beardie first aid kit I designed myself.
Overnight he slept in his carrier in the car with the hot water bottle, since the temperature doesn't cool down too much in there. We have a camping stove so we can heat up some water for his hot water bottle very quickly if need be. Besides that time, he was less than a foot away from one of us at all times. Never, ever, EVER leave a beardie alone, even for a minute. He was in our hands, in his playpen, or in the purse carrier, which he likes a lot. We did let him munch on some tufts of grass. He chilled on his little raft in the water while I walked along the bottom (with one hand on him all the time). Since he's used to the purse carrier; being carried on our shoulders; and hiking in the woods, he had a ton of fun. He didn't get a dark beard, a big poof, or a scared pancake even once the entire time.
What could have gone wrong: He could have been terrified of every sound and shape he saw which is a real possibility even though he was okay at the cottage. Our campsite was in the shade, but if it had been in the sun it would have been harder for him to cool down. He could have eaten a dangerous bug or plant. The playpen has a solid bottom so it was a plant free zone. We could also shake the thing upside down to get any bugs out. We carefully controlled where he ate grass. But eating a bad bug is a risk that can't totally be eliminated. We live in Ontario Canada so there isn't really anything crazy out here.
Overall, he had an absolute blast and I'm glad we did it! I honestly don't know if we'd do it again, because it was a tad stressful (as it should be - if you aren't a bit worried you're doing it wrong). But I was glad to see him dashing around, climbing a tree stump, attacking big tufts of grass, sitting in a tide pool, snuggling down in the mud when he was hot, and generally behaving like the animal he is!
First aid kit contents: alcohol wipes; manicure scissors; nail clippers (there's always one rogue nail), tiny baggie of corn starch; non-anesthetic polysporin; small bandaids; self-cling wrap; tube of sterile saline; and a couple of gauze pads.
I would fold the sticky wings of the bandaid in on themselves so there's no sticky exposed, leaving the gauze part exposed, and use the self-cling wrap (aka vet wrap) to secure it to the animal's body.
I've had Clifford for 8 years and I know him very well. We go to the park often and we carry him on hikes (1-3 hours long). We also take him to the family cottage, where he's exposed to a lot of woodsy scents and sounds. He walks in the grass on his harness and leash near me, or hangs out in his puppy playpen which has a top that zips shut. He always enjoys it. If he does get freaked out, he quickly calms down when I pick him up and hold him. Based on his comfort level in the cottage environment and my ability to calm him down quickly, I figured he would be a good candidate for a camping trip.
Supplies I brought with us: His small animal carrier (which he loves to sleep in); a small hot water bottle that fits inside the carrier; a very well tested harness and leash; pellets; a plastic food/water bowl; a spray bottle; puppy playpen with pegs (it has a top so no wild creatures could get it); a cooling blanket (a square of cooling fabric from an old sports shirt - beardies know to burrow under something to get out of the sun when they are hot - I find they're rarely satisfied with simply being in the shade); a blow up raft from the dollar store probably made to help hold up a baby in the water (obviously optional - my guy loves it). Finally three mandatory extras: a purse-like bag made for puppies with a mesh top, a key chain digital thermometer, and a beardie first aid kit I designed myself.
Overnight he slept in his carrier in the car with the hot water bottle, since the temperature doesn't cool down too much in there. We have a camping stove so we can heat up some water for his hot water bottle very quickly if need be. Besides that time, he was less than a foot away from one of us at all times. Never, ever, EVER leave a beardie alone, even for a minute. He was in our hands, in his playpen, or in the purse carrier, which he likes a lot. We did let him munch on some tufts of grass. He chilled on his little raft in the water while I walked along the bottom (with one hand on him all the time). Since he's used to the purse carrier; being carried on our shoulders; and hiking in the woods, he had a ton of fun. He didn't get a dark beard, a big poof, or a scared pancake even once the entire time.
What could have gone wrong: He could have been terrified of every sound and shape he saw which is a real possibility even though he was okay at the cottage. Our campsite was in the shade, but if it had been in the sun it would have been harder for him to cool down. He could have eaten a dangerous bug or plant. The playpen has a solid bottom so it was a plant free zone. We could also shake the thing upside down to get any bugs out. We carefully controlled where he ate grass. But eating a bad bug is a risk that can't totally be eliminated. We live in Ontario Canada so there isn't really anything crazy out here.
Overall, he had an absolute blast and I'm glad we did it! I honestly don't know if we'd do it again, because it was a tad stressful (as it should be - if you aren't a bit worried you're doing it wrong). But I was glad to see him dashing around, climbing a tree stump, attacking big tufts of grass, sitting in a tide pool, snuggling down in the mud when he was hot, and generally behaving like the animal he is!
First aid kit contents: alcohol wipes; manicure scissors; nail clippers (there's always one rogue nail), tiny baggie of corn starch; non-anesthetic polysporin; small bandaids; self-cling wrap; tube of sterile saline; and a couple of gauze pads.
I would fold the sticky wings of the bandaid in on themselves so there's no sticky exposed, leaving the gauze part exposed, and use the self-cling wrap (aka vet wrap) to secure it to the animal's body.
