Moving Bearded Dragon from Texas to Colorado

[willyFF7]

Hey guys, I'm going to go on a trip from Texas to Colorado, and I have a bearded dragon I need to take with me, she's about 5 months old now and she's really cute, but I am concerned and wonder what kind of things I should bring on my trip to keep her safe and healthy?
I have a little tiny 10 gallon tank I may bring with me and put her in a motel since I'm not sure if I'll make it just in time, she can get some warmth and UVB light during the night that way, but it's like a 9 hour drive to get there, so I need to know what kind of risks and what are the chances she's gonna get like a disease or something. I have to keep her as close as possible to low humidity and high temperature, so if I turn on the heater blowing in the car, is that gonna be good enough heat? should the beardie have tiny uncomfortable space or just let her loose around the car? and what's the heater gonna do as far as the blowing, like... more humidity or less humidity?
Last but not least, going to colorado giving elevation makes our ears pop a lot the whole time, anyone know how this could affect the beardie? afraid she could get real sick and whatnot but I could just be paranoid lol. If anyone wants to give me tips, heads up, etc, I'd love to know since this will just be in a few days.

 

[CooperDragon]

In my experience, dragons handle car travel pretty well. I'd bring a duffel bag or similar carrying case for her and put some blankets or towels at the bottom. I'd bring some hand warmers to put underneath the towels to keep the bag warm if you leave the car for a meal or something like that. Otherwise the regular warm car temperature should be plenty. I'd also bring some extra towels and cleaner/wipes etc to clean up messes as needed.

For overnight, I usually carry a lamp stand with dome fixture or clamp lamp and a basking spot & hide. A 10g tank is pretty small but I know bigger tanks can be cumbersome. You may want to pick up a large tote bin which would work nicely. I just picked up a playpen for my dragon to stay in while traveling. I like it because it folds up really well and is lightweight. A tote bin will allow you to carry needed supplies as well. If you're gone for more than a day or two you'll want to carry a package of worms along with you for her to eat.

Here's the setup I used last week:

 

[willyFF7]

Holy crap, I'm kinda high right now after eating some edibles, but that would be a GREAT idea! xD I have an even better idea, I'm not sure if this is actually a good idea for the winter but.. maybe I can buy like a huge camp house, and go camping in the woods with my bearded dragon OwO <3 oh man, I can get a warm lamp like that for us to heat up iand get thick blankets to sleep in together ^w^ <3

 

[willyFF7]

but in all seriousness xD that is a terrific amazing idea lol I will bring worms, cleaning stuff, umm yeah... another thing is, I have a huge 40+ gallon tank that's like over 100lbs lol and I don't think I should bring it with me... I heard there's other type of terrariums out there I could have, I might have to build it myself thouigh and I'm not a builder :/ but... yeah... wondering what other new living home it can have besides pure glass that I can buy online or in a store

 

[CooperDragon]

Lightweight and just enough space is key for travel accommodations, but for a new permanent home, something like this would work nicely https://beardies.dreamwidth.org/2145.html

 

[Rampagingraptor]

Where did you get the Playpen from? I wouldn't mind something like that for a more mobile setup for Diablo when we go places.

 

[CooperDragon]

It's available online from a bunch of places like Target and Kohls. There was 1 available in store at a nearby Walmart and I picked that up. They cost about $60.

 

[willyFF7]

So I'm finally settled here with her. It was a long crazy trip xD I ended up putting her in a cat cage we had

Although she was only in it half the time because I didn't want her to get cold so I let her out on the windshield so she can get some hot fresh sun vitamin D while traveling through the desert at high speed xD

Then she was getting in the way being a silly brat lol :c at least everything turned out okay regardless of how dangerous it was xD

Then I stopped at a hotel almost halr way and put her in her first tiny tank, couldn't bring the big one because I had no space, she spent about 20 hours in the tiny tank and 15 hours outside during the whole time, it was a big stress because I get worried about her health.

Then I got her a new big tank asap cx she's really happy and active and cute as of lately, I'm finally close to a pet smart so I don't have to keep shopping online for live things arriving late.

And a lot of other random things happened, I was gomna come here to ask how to take care of a cut wound for a beardie because idk how and I thought she cut her finger, so I took this pic..

I tried treating it by putting water and it turned out to be pebble food wet that got stuck on her foot -.- I was freaking out over that and something else lmao, it was fun but hard xD

 

[CooperDragon]

Im glad to hear the move is behind you and ended well =) in the future, it's a good idea to have a little bit of manuka or raw/unpasteurized honey on hand. It's great for protecting wounds and helping them heal. I keep a small jar of manuka honey in my emergency kit along with 70hr hand warmers and activated charcoal.

 

[willyFF7]

Oh I see, thanks xD I'll consider getting that soon just in case for the future. Hey, in colorado it's extremely dry. It's usually 10-25% humidity and I know they should be at 30-40 to shed properly. I wonder how I can increase it.. I heard humidifiers consume a lot of power and I don't want my electric bill to get high. I misted the terrarium a bunch until it's soaked everywhere and 25% is as high as it goes. Any advice? Could be okay I imagine if she gets a lot of warm baths? I bathed her once recently soaking her body in the tub with warm water, not sure how often I should do that