Vacation - when and how?

[Axil]

So my wife broached the subject of taking a family vacation. And wondered how it would work getting care for Beebz. She is 3-4 months old now, and we wouldn't be leaving until may putting her at 5-6 months.

We have no family close by, and we have a sitter who does great with I our dog and chickens but I'm not sure she will be too keen handling roaches or picking up dragon poo every day.

I've also been manually turning lights on and off because the zilla reptile habitat powerstrip which I have come to absolutely hate. Loses all its programming if there is any sort of power surge and doesn't ever turn on again until its reprogrammed *and* the clock has cycled all the way around to when it's time to turn on. IE if it's 10am when you program it, and you tell it to turn on ar 9am and off at 9pm it will not turn on until the next day at 9am. Anyway, I hate that thing, moving on.

We would also like to leave for a week in the fall when she's 9-10 months old.

So how should I prepare to go about this? She is a very good eater, and I suspect she would eat dried bugs or pellets if needed. Should I introduce her to some and make sure? I'll probably just get an analog Christmas tree timer for the lights. At least if the power goes out for a minute it'll only change her schedule by the amount of time it was off.

I'm hoping within a month to get her into a 120g as she already looks a little big for our 18x18x12. How long does she need to be in the new setup to make sure she's doing well in it?

Any help or advice greatly appreciated. If you've read my post history you know I'm obesessive about her and want to do everything to make sure she's safe and I won't be too stressed to actually enjoy vacation.

 

[xp29]

It's best to train someone you trust how to take care of her. I'm lucky enough to have a couple of people i can call on.
These timers are cheap and work well for me, be careful though, it comes in a 2 pole or a 3 pole, and most power strips are 3 pole.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-1-Outlet-Indoor-Digital-Timer/1002782790

If you need you can use this adapter to convert the 2 pole into a 3 pole

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Project-Source-15-Amp-2-Wire-Single-to-Single-Gray-Adapter/3772899

I use two , one turns on and off my daytime stuff and one does the same for my night time stuff.
I just plug the power strip right into them and then put all my lights on the power strip, it works well, and the timers have a battery back up so if the power goes out for a little bit they don't loose their programming.
P.S. i gave up on the reptile branded one a long time ago lol

 

[Axil]

It's best to train someone you trust how to take care of her. I'm lucky enough to have a couple of people i can call on.
These timers are cheap and work well for me, be careful though, it comes in a 2 pole or a 3 pole, and most power strips are 3 pole.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-1-Outlet-Indoor-Digital-Timer/1002782790

If you need you can use this adapter to convert the 2 pole into a 3 pole

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Project-Source-15-Amp-2-Wire-Single-to-Single-Gray-Adapter/3772899

I use two , one turns on and off my daytime stuff and one does the same for my night time stuff.
I just plug the power strip right into them and then put all my lights on the power strip, it works well, and the timers have a battery back up so if the power goes out for a little bit they don't loose their programming.
P.S. i gave up on the reptile branded one a long time ago lol

Thanks for the timer advice. I was so annoyed when the fancy one I purchased was so useless.

As for finding someone I trust to take care of her that's kinda the issue. I live very far away from any family or close friends. We have always had to hire pet sitters from apps or websites for this reason. That's worked out great for dogs and chickens are fool proof so that's easy. I guess I'll have to look and see if anyone on these services has experience with dragons but I'm not super optimistic

One alternative is boarding her at the pet store we purchased her from. But that's an hour away which is probably going to stress her plus I know they use coil lights which doesn't inspire confidence. I'm not even sure how that works, I just noticed an ad in the store that they boarded when we bought her

 

[FiretheBeardie]

Is the current tank 12x18x18 inches? If so, I would recommend upgrading ASAP, because that is too small of a space. I'm not sure how old your beardie is, but that is way to tiny for an adult. Just some suggestions.
Good luck!

 

[xp29]

Yeah I'm not a big fan of boarding at pet stores, they are busy and may not take time to take care of boarded pets, and it only takes one animal to come in that has something contagious like adv and every animal there is likely to catch it, let be honest with ourselves, they are not washing their hands and sanitizing after they handle each animal.

 

[Axil]

Is the current tank 12x18x18 inches? If so, I would recommend upgrading ASAP, because that is too small of a space. I'm not sure how old your beardie is, but that is way to tiny for an adult. Just some suggestions.
Good luck!

Yeah she is currently in an 18x18 floor, 12 high. She's 3-4 months and already outgrowing it. I'm upgrading to a 120g as soon as possible, probably the dubai.com version.

i have someone buying the 125g aquarium that is sitting in the space for her new enclosure tomorrow. Then I have to build a new top for the stand and get it all setup. Hopefully within a couple weeks.

Yeah I'm not a big fan of boarding at pet stores, they are busy and may not take time to take care of boarded pets, and it only takes one animal to come in that has something contagious like adv and every animal there is likely to catch it, let be honest with ourselves, they are not washing their hands and sanitizing after they handle each animal.

Yeah that was my thought as well. Especially considering it was 5$ a day.... how much care can be provided for 5$

 

[xp29]

Yup, i usually pay the two that look after mine a hundred bucks or so, I precut all the greens and leave enough insects for the entire time. It's a blessing to be able to do that. I hope you find a suitable solution