Any road trip with beardie tips?

[Enzynom]

I'm looking for any tips that someone may have about taking their beardies on road trips. These past few days I've been out of town and I've had a friend take care of my beardie for me but unfortunately a family emergency has popped up and I must leave for a few more days and my friend won't be able to take care of him for me. It is about a 7 hour drive to Indianna, any tips to keep my beardie safe and comfortable in the car for that long?

 

[MsCarter]

The longest ive had my Beardie in the car was a little over two hours. I use a small pet carrier with a blanket inside to keep her comfy. With a 7 hours trip if you can find some sort of a heat source (like a heating pad that does not get too hot to prevent over heating) to go under the blanket with him on top of the blanket this could work.

 

[CooperDragon]

Heat source isn't really needed in this weather. I use a heat pack if i leave the car for a bit in winter to get a meal etc but otherwise normal car temps are fine. I use a soccer bag but any duffel bag or even a large shoebox will work. I put some scrap towels and a fleece blanket on the bottom. I also have a hip leash to ensure he doesn't go under foot during a drive. If I go overnight I bring a heat lamp (mercury vapor bulb) in a clamp fixture and a basic hide/bask piece and put that in a fold up play pen which works well for temporary housing. A large plastic bin would work too. I'm writing this with my dragon next to me 9hrs from home and we just completed a 2600 mile week long trip last month. They're pretty good travelers from my experience.

 

[MsCarter]

Good to hear this from someone with more experience traveling. I have to travel a lot (about two hours every week) and since I'm away for a day or two I usually bring my Beardie with me. She travels great but I always worry about heat and all of that good stuff while on the road. Hearing someone else who travels even further than me say that makes me feel a lot better.

 

[CooperDragon]

We just got back home after another 9 hrs return in the car. He got wiggly after a couple of hours so we stopped so he could roam around a rest area for a bit but some storms came in and we continued on. He then climbed into the back seat and slept for the rest of the ride.

 

[Enzynom]

I took Betelgeuse on that 7 hour ride to Indiana. I brought an appropriate sized critter carrier plus all his lights. He didn't mind the new environment. He was pretty unhappy in the car but he lightened up when I held him. I'd call it a successful road trip.

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm glad to hear it worked out =). They tend to mellow out a bit as they get older and get a few more trips under their belts.

 

[Enzynom]

He handled it much better than expected. As long as I was holding him during the drive, he was pretty chill. At the hotel, I set up his temporary home and rigged his lights up and he was okay with it. It's nice to know that he is alright with these trips

 

[MsCarter]

Glad to hear it went well. He will get more use to the vehicle the more you take him places,they make great little travel buddies

 

[Xstokerx]

I drove halfway across canada with my first dragon she would sleep in a blanket wile we drove then at night in the hotel rooms i would hang her lights off the tv stands and make a make shift pen out of suitcases it was kinda hard on her as it was fall but she survived fine and lived to be 11 years old