Taking A Bearded Dragon on a 13 Hour Drive?? HELP ME!

[shannonpit]

Hello guys! My family and I are planning a move in the next year during the summer from Connecticut to South Carolina, a 13 hour drive (not including stops) and I was wondering what kids of advice you have for doing that! Spud is almost 2 years old and is 21 inches head to tail, totally healthy and spunky. :lol: My problem is figuring how to take him on this journey safely and effectively and with the least stress possible! Thanks!

 

[RockSteady]

your reptile will be fine, just aslong as your not driving through the Arctic.

I like to use a cooler to transport my larger reptiles long distances. get some of the heat packs they use for shipping reptiles and your golden. a heat pack may not even be needed.

http://www.lllreptile.com/products/435-disposable-40-hour-heat-pack


Dont forget to drill air holes on the cooler top!

 

[CooperDragon]

In the summer he should be fine, I agree. The hand warmers are great in case some heat is needed. I have used a shoebox with a towel in the bottom and a soccer bag with a blanket in it as carriers. They like to roam around on drives from what I've seen so you may want some kind of leash as well. Other than that he should be OK on a drive of that length. Stops at rest areas for natural sunlight once or twice wouldn't hurt either.

 

[Dragonmommie]

I've used a cat carrier before as well. With one of her blankies of course!

 

[Coolnon21]

I have heard this very many time in the car don't let them look at the window it freaks them out really bad I am getting ready to go on a 6 hour car ride with mine beamed ness and I will use a cat carrier a hand warmer with towel for his temporary substrate and then but a towel over the cat crate

 

[CooperDragon]

Some of them love the adventure and enjoy looking out the window. They're all a bit different so you need to read the situation and have a comfortable hide available if needed.

 

[KristenT]

I recently moved from Georgia to Texas - we drove a U-Haul over. I put Taz in a soft sided cat carrier with a blanket for him to curl up on, and a low wattage heating pad (human heat pad) under the folded up blanket, at the back of the carrier. Once the sun was up, I took him out and put him on the dash to bask in the window - he loved it! Taz has always loved the car. Once he started moving around too much to safely keep him out, I put him back up. Inside the dark carrier, he pretty much slept the rest of the time.
If it's hot where you are, I wouldn't worry about a heat source. If you're driving by yourself, I wouldn't allow him out - you need someone not driving to keep an eye on him! Last thing you want is for him to suddenly decide to explore the driver side floor board..... :shock:
We also made sure to load Taz's cage last on the U-Haul, and it was the very first thing set up in the house. He didn't seem stressed at all...
Good luck!

 

[Momswims1]

If you go to the Beardie Tales thread, I just posted about taking two of ours on a 12 hour trip. I put up pictures, too. They loved it and had a great time. You just have to be careful about taking turns watching them when you stop for breaks because you never want to leave them in a hot car and take a risk of them getting over heated. We took turns holding them in the sunshine when we stopped. They sat up on pillows almost the whole way, unless we passed through rain, during which they snuggled up with us to stay warm. Take a small UVB bulb and basking lamp with you. Ours did great.
The thread is called Rosie and Frankie's first road trip.

 

[incorrigible]

We travel long distances with Buddy all the time. Most of the time he likes to sunbathe in the back window or up on the dash. If it's really hot, he'll go under the seats. If it's cool, he'll climb into someone's lap. He wears a harness on trips so he can get out and run around a bit. If we have a picnic or something, we just tether the leash and let him run around. Buddy is used to a large and varied environment, though, as he is cage free. I could totally see a beardie that isn't used to much time out of his tank totally freaking out if he was treated like Buddy, and feeling more secure in a small, dark, enclosed space.