Moving with dragons. Tips, tricks, and what to expect

[Pixall]

Hey guys. I am going to be moving with my dragons in the next coming weeks and was just wondering if there was something I could do to lessen the stress and make everything go smoother.

On a related note, I will be bringing my feeder colonies. Will they even notice the move?

 

[beardieluv73]

Try out this topic. It has some good tips! Good luck! viewtopic.php?f=1&t=182146

 

[Duriel]

I take mine with me whenever I go visit family (6 hour drive). The first time, he/she pooped out whole Phoenix worms (about the softest and presumably easiest to digest feeder). I figure it was due to the lack of basking heat during the long drive. More recently, I just don't feed on travel days until I get to my destination. Puff doesn't seem to mind the journey and spends most of his/her time staring eerily at my dog from the backseat of my truck lol.

 

[BigD16]

In the past 9-10 months, My dragons went from Florida to Nebraska and from Nebraska to South Carolina. Had I still have them, They'd be getting ready to make another journey to Nebraska. I usually stop feeding about 48 hours prior to departure date and then I would put them in their little transport/pet carriers with a soft towel. They would usually sleep most of the trip and when we stopped at a hotel for the night, I would set them up in seperate rubbermaid bins and let them each get a few hours or a whole nights worth of heat and uvb since they'd be travelling again the entire next day. Then once we finally got to our destination, I got their tanks set up, gave them fresh water, and offered them veggies and a few crix every few days and just kind of let them be. It might take a bit, but the relocation stress they go through will slowly subside.

 

[skateanddonate]

Why the long cold car rides? Can't you just use a ac inverter (connected to lighter plug) for a laptop to run a light to a 10 gallon glass tank?

 

[LLLReptile]

Why the long cold car rides? Can't you just use a ac inverter (connected to lighter plug) for a laptop to run a light to a 10 gallon glass tank?

It's less stressful (and much easier) to simply pack them like they're being shipped to transport them during the day. Since they're not being fed during the time they're traveling, the lack of heat is not really an issue - wild beardies do experience temperature drops from time to time. I personally would not worry about the UVB for one or two days of travel, but the person talking about their car rides has an excellent set up for regular transportation of their animals.

Many beardies are so resilient that even after a day of traveling (either by car or plane) they are still comfortable enough to eat and behave normally once they're set up.

No, the conditions while traveling are not the most ideal, but it's possible to minimize the negative effects and transport them with the bare minimum of stress.

-Jen

 

[skateanddonate]

How do you get them on the plane? You don't put them in the cargo do you? I mean even the 'pet cargo' area some airlines like to throw around are in the belly of the plane.

 

[LLLReptile]

How do you get them on the plane? You don't put them in the cargo do you? I mean even the 'pet cargo' area some airlines like to throw around are in the belly of the plane.

I was referring more to being shipped, like we do for customers that are not local. You would pack them to insulate them against rough treatment, but usually having "live animal" and/or "perishable" on the box helps immensely.

-Jen