This is the hardest decision I've had to make...

[milo0]

Hey everyone. I'm hoping I can just rant a little/seek advice from some of you guys. I've been stressing out over this for the past year now and it's really just messing with me now.
So, this August, I will be moving from Texas to California to attend Art School. I thought I had the whole traveling process down when it came to transporting my beardie, Milo. I have to make the long, 20 hour+ drive anyways, so I was going to bring him along. I planned on getting a car adapter to hook up his lights, put him in a container with some blankets, and he'd be good to go! Then I'd get him a new enclosure once I get to California, and he'd be right at home. Then when I came home back to Texas to visit, he'd come along right with me.

That's before I realized he wouldn't be allowed on any airplane, since all airlines ban reptiles to ride in cabin. Only a few allow them in cargo. I researched for hours, sent tickets to these companies asking for an exception (considering he's harmless, odorless, and no one would even know he's there) but so far, no luck. I've been told he can only be flown in cargo, and I refuse to do that to him. I know I'd be an anxious wreck that would be so overly paranoid of him getting hurt or potentially killed in cargo. Then I looked into things like overnight shipping, but even then, there's still risks that I just don't know if I can take with him.

I seriously love this guy with all my heart. He's gone with me to many different places, and the amount of people who have fallen in love with him proves he's a special little guy. In a way, he's sort of like my therapy pet haha. Through all the crap I've been through, he's been my little buddy through it all. So now, I'm stuck with the hardest decision ever.

The 1st option; I can bring him along to California with me, and when the time comes to fly back to Texas, I could overnight express ship him home. Though I have absolutely no idea how safe it would be for him or if I'm willing to put him through that stress.
The 2nd option is cargo. I have no clue how they would handle him, so really I have to put my trust into someone else's hand and pray they don't harm him in anyway. I'd most likely be a nervous crying wreck the entire flight, worrying about him though. I have trust issues when it comes to my pets...
The 3rd option is finding someone to care for him during the time I'm away. I'd be gone for 4-5 weeks during Christmas break, and maybe 4 weeks max during the Summer before returning back to California. I wouldn't mind this option, but I tend to stress when I'm not there personally caring for him. What if he was getting sick and the person who was caring for him didn't know? What if they weren't feeding him enough, or the right things... etc. Again, I'm extremely paranoid.
And the 4th, and most heartbreaking option. I leave him in Texas with my parents. My mom absolutely loves him (she talks baby talk to him all the time and has given him tons of nicknames. "Muffincup", being one of them haha). I know he would be in good hands with her, but sometimes... she tends to underestimate the health needed for these guys. Like, if I allowed her to, she would give him all 20 hornworms that I just recently bought lol. She spoils him. But the hardest thing for me would be being away from him for basically the entire year. I mean, the longest I've been away from my boy was 1 week, and that alone was so incredibly hard. But 5 months at a time? I wouldn't be able to do it I don't think.

I don't know what to do. I want to choose what is obviously best for him, but I feel he'd be best taken care of with me. :/ Just because I know what he likes, dislikes, and the overall care needed for him. So... I guess aside from my ranting, would anyone like to give their opinions as far as, what I should do? Or what you would do if you were in this similar situation? I know most of you can imagine where I'm coming from when it comes to loving these little guys. They're like pocket sized dogs, full of love. And in the end, I only want what is best for him.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there.....this is very stressful for you, but a couple of options would probably work out. If you looked around + interviewed people ahead of time you could find someone that is qualified to watch him for the 4-5 weeks. The other is to ship him overnight , it's very safe and you could use a special service called www.shipyoureptiles.com or www.reptilesexpress.com. Both companies ship through Fedex and have instructions on their website. I've shipped many dragons, it's very safe and they are in transit for about 16 hours, arriving at a guaranteed time in the morning. Many 100's of thousands are shipped that way in the U.S. every year.

Try not to over think + worry about every possible thing that could happen or you will be paralyzed when it comes to making the decision. You can still keep your Milo with a little bit of planning.

 

[CooperDragon]

I agree. He should be fine in the initial car ride. You won't need to hook up his lights during the drive. Just put him in a duffel bag or carrier and stop every once in a while (you'll need to anyway) and bring him outside for some sunshine. In my experience they handle car rides very well.

As far as your breaks go, the options AHBD suggested for shipping are good ones. I'd also check around to find a friend or maybe check with a vets office about a vet tech checking in or even boarding him in CA. I've had my friends watch my boys while I've been gone up to 3 weeks and it wasn't a problem. I had a webcam set up so I could check in on him whenever I wanted and I put together a care sheet with specifics about their routines. After not too long one of my friends got very familiar with the routine and could easily be relied on to care for them. There are plenty of options so just plan ahead and pick one that works for you and everything should work out just fine.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I agree, beardies are really quite adaptable to new situations. He would love the car ride out to California, also.
You could hook up a light for him if you wanted to for part of the time. Or you could just let him relax on the ride. I have actually used a converter for the car & done that before.
The overnight shipping is done frequently so though I know you would worry, I am pretty sure Milo would be just fine.

Tracie

 

[milo0]

Hey all, thanks so much for your input! I guess my biggest worry is him being able to actually breathe while in his box. I know I've read that they have plenty of air to breathe, but it still just freaks me out. I was going to purchase one of those "Live Reptile Shipping Kits" that has the official shipping box, insulated foam, and a little clothe bag to place him in. I was actually look at the same site, shipyourreptiles, and it would cost me over $150 to overnight ship him. O_O I knew overnighting something was expensive but wow, didn't expect that haha.

Yeah, I'm not worried at all about him for the car ride. I was actually going to get him a little leash so he could hang out on my shoulder if he wanted to and look out the window. 20 hours of adventure for him!
And also, good idea about interviewing people. I was thinking maybe posting on a few of these kind of forums and ask actual reptile/beardie owners who may be in the area. I would feel more comfy with him being with an experienced owner versus a random friend. >.< Maybe there are breeders out there that offer a type of boarding for them? The breeder of my first beardie had that and she'd charge a decent rate per week, but that included food and everything as well.

I'm going to look into the shipping process more and see I guess, what the ratio of good and bad experiences I find. I'd be shipping him first in December twice, and twice again in May... so the temperatures are something I'll have to worry about. I mean, he's a 3 year old adult so he's not nearly as fragile as a baby would be, so even if the weather is in the 40's or 50's, would he still need a heat pack? And what about when the weather is hotter, like 80's, possibly 90's? I know I'll have to write "Keep at room temperature" or something along those lines on his shipping box, but those who have shipped reptiles, when did you use a heat/cool pack really?

 

[Esther19]

Four to five week breaks are pretty long. Could you drive back and forth?

 

[milo0]

Four to five week breaks are pretty long. Could you drive back and forth?

Unfortunately, the drive is a good 20 hours+ each way. @_@ That would be very difficult to do. :/ I looked into maybe taking a train, but the ones I checked don't allow animals... Otherwise, that would've worked perfectly, since most trains nowadays have outlets that I could hook up his light to. I could have done the same thing I would have with the car. Or I could have just gotten him a heat pack, and him in a carrier the whole time The train would be a much longer trip (around 30-36 hours) but at least he would be safe for sure. And he'd be fine without food for that long. He already doesn't eat nearly as much as he used to, so I'd just feed him well a few days before, soak him in long baths, and he'd be ready to go. But unfortunately the train policies seem similar to airlines when it comes to reptiles. :/

 

[AHBD]

The shipping should be much less than $150, including the supplies. Your best price on a shipping kit would be from Pangea Reptile. Click on " to shipping supplies" and they have insulated boxes....the 12" X "9 X "6 or 11 X 11 X 6" would work and only cost $6-$7. They also sell individual heat packs + shipping bags, so your total would be around $ 15 to have the supplies shipped to you. Then you could use Reptiles Express or Ship your reptiles for the actual shipping. Animals breathe just fine in the boxes....cardboard and styrofoam are not airtight. You can ship in temps. much lower that 40 degrees, and yes, you would need a 40 hour heat pack wrapped in a bit of newspaper. You can choose either 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch styrofoam with the kit. If it were shipped in 90 degree weather you could use a cool pack also wrapped in newspaper or have the package held at the Fedex center if it's very hot at the destination [ or very cold ] The cost of the shipping should be no more than %50 -$60 , even if you use a larger box than the ones I mentioned.

 

[milo0]

The shipping should be much less than $150, including the supplies. Your best price on a shipping kit would be from Pangea Reptile. Click on " to shipping supplies" and they have insulated boxes....the 12" X "9 X "6 or 11 X 11 X 6" would work and only cost $6-$7. They also sell individual heat packs + shipping bags, so your total would be around $ 15 to have the supplies shipped to you. Then you could use Reptiles Express or Ship your reptiles for the actual shipping. Animals breathe just fine in the boxes....cardboard and styrofoam are not airtight. You can ship in temps. much lower that 40 degrees, and yes, you would need a 40 hour heat pack wrapped in a bit of newspaper. You can choose either 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch styrofoam with the kit. If it were shipped in 90 degree weather you could use a cool pack also wrapped in newspaper or have the package held at the Fedex center if it's very hot at the destination [ or very cold ] The cost of the shipping should be no more than %50 -$60 , even if you use a larger box than the ones I mentioned.

Hey, sorry for the late reply! Thank you so much for the helpful info! I've been doing hours of research online and am very pleased with the overall feedback stating how reptiles do very well when shipped. He's a very special little guy to me, which is why I was so nervous of the idea completely. But I'd rather have him go through a few hours of stress if it means he'll be with someone who knows how to care for him properly. I think temperature will also play a huge factor in my final decision. Unfortunately, Texas is unpredictable when it comes to weather. Shipping him over the summer would scare me because usually by May, we're already nearing triple digits (this year being an odd exception). And December, we're generally getting close to 30's or so. I would actually be more comfortable shipping him in colder weather than I would the heat, because with the heat pack and proper insulation, it'd be very hard for him to get too cold I assume. But with heat, I'd be so fearful of his box being left in direct sunlight or something.

Lucky for me, I've been talking with a future possible roommate of mine, and he seems super excited with the idea of bringing him with me! I'm hoping my household grows to love him, and may be willing to watch after him if the shipping idea doesn't work out. He literally is just a giant lovebug- it's hard not to love him.

Thanks again everyone for the advice and words. I'm feeling a lot better about this entire process. I'm actually even more excited now to move with him! The area that I'm moving to is only like, an hour or so away from the beach, so if the weather is warm enough, I plan on bringing Milo to the beach as soon as we get there! I think he's going to love it.

Also.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MILO! My little boy has been with me for 3 years now! I think we'll be celebrating with some Hornworms, mealworms, and maybe some Blackberries... hehe.