Going on vacation?

[Ibdmc6]

Hey all,

So my girlfriend and I are planning a trip to Hawaii and to be honest, I'm kind of nervous about leaving my little buddy behind. My family is all so busy everyday (and no one is much of a lizard person) that I worry he wouldn't get the kind of love and attention I give him everyday.

What do you guys do with your beardies when you go on vacation?
Leave them with family? Take them with you? Take them to a pet boarding house (if those exist)?

 

[Kaiser]

Hey all,

So my girlfriend and I are planning a trip to Hawaii and to be honest, I'm kind of nervous about leaving my little buddy behind. My family is all so busy everyday (and no one is much of a lizard person) that I worry he wouldn't get the kind of love and attention I give him everyday.

What do you guys do with your beardies when you go on vacation?
Leave them with family? Take them with you? Take them to a pet boarding house (if those exist)?

How long are you going to be gone for? I don't have much personal experience with extended trips, but you should make sure you have someone available everyday to turn on and off your lights (or if you have a timer, that would save you a lot of trouble), as well as feed, hydrate, and clean up after your bearded dragon. Although I'm sure he will miss all of the love and attention, he should be fine without any contact or attention for a little bit.

If you're worried that his basic needs won't be met, and you can't find a close relative or friend with an interest for reptiles that you could trust to do the daily tasks, you could try to board your pet at a local pet store or veterinarian's office, if available. Of course, you'd have to make a thorough check of the facilities and the staff, particularly of their knowledge and expertise with handling and caring for bearded dragons.

I wouldn't suggest taking a bearded dragon too far away on a trip, for too long of a time. Not only does that create a lot of stress for your bearded dragon, but different environments will have different temperatures, humidities, etc. to deal with, along with the hassle of trying to find places that will provide live feeders for your bearded dragon.

But once again, I've never had much experience with extended trips. This is just what I have heard being suggested, as well as my own personal ideas should I ever go off on vacation far, far away. Anyway, enjoy the trip, and hopefully you could find something that'll work with your bearded dragon. :]

 

[maggiemay1969]

I was going to suggest the same thing....I know that the small independent pet store near my home will 'pet sit' bearded dragons and other reptiles if their owners are out of town, and the rates are very good. I guess if you trust that your pet store employees have sufficient knowledge and care about your animals, it would be worth looking into.

 

[spikerocks]

This past summer, we went away for a week. I interviewed several pet sitters (thru the pet sitters professional site). I found a wonderful lady who is an experienced vet tech. She came in 2x/day and made salads, gave baths, made sure they got window time, and roam time. She came back in the evenings and removed/washed food n water dishes, feed worms, ect. She was a bargain at $250 for the week to take care of all 4 beardies. We texted daily and she kept a log of who ate what and who pooed. She even sent me a few pics!

It was really nice to have that peace of mind while I was away that my babies were well cared for. Interviewing at my house allowed me to see the sitters interact with my beardies so I could see who interacted the best with them.

Good luck in your search!

 

[dleffler78]

Spikerocks, where was the sitter located? I'm in Reading, probably a little to far I still have 4 months to figure something out but have been starting to worry about this as well.

 

[zeppy123]

Zeppy had his own mini complete setup at the family holiday trailer. He loved exploring the woods on his leash. Prob wouldn't work for your Hawaii trip though.

 

[valcash]

I have went on vacation before and we find someone who will take care of our reptiles needs, lettuce, cleaning, feeders, etc. and pay them.