Vacation?

[rowan]

So I'm going on vacation ether june or july and I don't know what to do with ridgy. The local pet shop boards pets but I don't feel comfortable leaving him with strangers. We could maaabye leave him with my friend she has geckos but idk. I'm pretty sure we can't take him with us, for 2 reasons, can you imagine taking a big heavy cage in and out of a car? and the person we are staying with most of the time probably wouldn't be happy about us bring a reptile that eats live bugs (can he live off of veggies and pellets for a week?)

btw he's a vittikins (beardie and rankins cross) but I don't think that will make a difference

 

[jloucks]

What I would do (and do do) is get a small travel container and bring the lizard. Create an even smaller travel food setup, a few crickets, mealworms, and greens. You are good to go.

If you are going someplace cold, bring something to warm the container.

Don't brag you have a lunchbox full of bugs and nobody should need to know. If they ask what the lizard eats, say "he eats lettuce!" ...which is true... you just didn't continue on with the list of diet options.

 

[garrett15]

When I took Bingo to Florida with me on vacation I took him in his ten gallon tank I sneeked him in on a luggage cart I surrounded him with suitcases and pillows which was easy with my family because I am the oldest of six kids. lol
ps.The motel had a big sighn that said no pets lol

 

[daner923]

Hey Jlouks - just fyi in case you haven't found it yet, but lettuce and mealworms are both bad options for feeding a bearded dragon. The lettuce is nutritionally worthless, and the mealworms are close to as bad, plus they present an impaction risk.

 

[jloucks]

Hey Jlouks - just fyi in case you haven't found it yet, but lettuce and mealworms are both bad options for feeding a bearded dragon. The lettuce is nutritionally worthless, and the mealworms are close to as bad, plus they present an impaction risk.

Iceberg lettuce, yes. Collard greens and spinach, no. I don't waste my time with iceberg lettuce. If I was not clear, my apologies. ...although as a hydration tool, it would be ok.

Mealworms are an excellent source of fat, carbs, hydration and protein. While I have heard of impaction risks associated with mealworms, I have never witnessed it. Mealworms risks are blown WAY out of proportion in my opinion. Even with baby dragons, I fed mealworms without issue. Now, to be fair, I only fed very tiny mealworms, but still. (I tend to follow the 'between the eyes rule' as far as what is supposed to go down the throat)

My diet looks like this..

Baby - 60% crickets, 20% mealworms (tiny), 20% greens (not iceberg)
Juvenile - 35% crickets, 35% mealworms (small), 20% greens, 5% waxworms, 5% pellets
Adult A - 25% crickets, 20% mealworms (small), 40% greens, 10% waxworms, 5% pellets
Adult B - 20% crickets, 15% mealworms (small), 30% greens, 10% waxworms, 25% pellets

Some of my lizards just don't seem to like the pellets. I wish they did, but nope. So I compensate with greens for the most part.

Crickets are hard to travel with compared to mealworms and greens. My diet advice was for a short trip, not a long term diet plan.

---waiver--- I have only raised/owned 20 or so lizards. I am more likely wrong than those that have raised more.

 

[daner923]

I don't disagree that mealworms are a good source for many species. HOWEVER, with beardies there are just innumerable cases even just on this site of terrible and deadly impactions from mealworms. In case you didn't know, beardies have a kink in their digestive tract until they are approximately 16 inches long that makes impaction a major risk for them. It is obviously your choice. I agree that the percentage risk may be a bit overblown, but at least for most new owners here it is better to treat in absolutes because it is easier for them to get an answer. For someone with little to no reptile experience and no clue how to treat an impaction, it's better to just say no to mealworms.

I would also add - you want to be feeding your adults more like 75% greens, and spinach is not a good choice as it is high in oxalates and binds calcium.

I'm not here to knock your experience, but you are going to find resistance to your methods on this site.

 

[jloucks]

I don't disagree that mealworms are a good source for many species. HOWEVER, with beardies there are just innumerable cases even just on this site of terrible and deadly impactions from mealworms. In case you didn't know, beardies have a kink in their digestive tract until they are approximately 16 inches long that makes impaction a major risk for them. It is obviously your choice. I agree that the percentage risk may be a bit overblown, but at least for most new owners here it is better to treat in absolutes because it is easier for them to get an answer. For someone with little to no reptile experience and no clue how to treat an impaction, it's better to just say no to mealworms.

I would also add - you want to be feeding your adults more like 75% greens, and spinach is not a good choice as it is high in oxalates and binds calcium.

I'm not here to knock your experience, but you are going to find resistance to your methods on this site.

You are right, it is better to be clear and absolute in most cases.

...and I will more often just regurgitate popular opinion to be safe in most cases. ... I just strayed a little because we are taking about special short term travel diets.

I did known about the kink, probably from this site!

 

[daner923]

Those are good points! And thanks for engaging in a pleasant conversation about this. It's definitely better to debate than attack

 

[bumblebee]

How old is your beardie? If he's young, it really wouldn't be good for him to go without protein for a week. If he's an adult, you could probably get away with it. Also keep in mind that the change in his environment will cause some relocation stress and he may not eat as well while you're gone and then for about a week or two after you get back.

I personally would not board my beardies - I've heard too many horror stories about beardies not being taken care of properly or coming back with mites or yellow fungus. If you trust your friend and your friend is okay with keeping your beardie while you're gone, that might be easier on your beardie. The best scenario would be if your friend could come over to your house and feed your beardie every day, because even just moving your beardie to your friend's house will cause relocation stress twice (when you take him to your friend's and then when you get home again).

Last summer, my family went on a long road trip (more than 3,200 miles round trip), and we took my beardie. We were gone about 3 weeks, and we did not take his glass tank. Instead I got a 105 qt Sterilite bin (it measured about 32x19x14), and used that as it was much easier to take into hotels at night. He was about 5 months old at the time, and I did not want to deal with crickets, so we fed him phoenix worms (along with greens) and it worked out really well. So if you decide to take him with you, you might want to look into other feeder options, like phoenix worms. They're a bit less gross and creepy than crickets (and even if you drop one, they're really slow, so it's easy to catch them).

Hope that helps!

 

[TJinPgh]

I'm curious how you're keeping the totes warm (or, if you are)?

I have two beardies, Alex is about 1-1/2 years old. Eliza is about 11 months, I'd guess. Give or take.

I went to FL for a week last month and left them with a sitter. But, I'll be going away for a few days in late June (leaving on a Thursday evening and coming back Sunday afternoon) and am contemplating whether or not I can leave them home (just feed them really well on Thurs and when I get back on Sunday) or if I should take them.

I'll be staying in a pop-up camper which, while there would no doubt be room for their complete setups, I really dread hauling all that stuff around. The totes would be a decent option but I'm wondering if they need a heat source, which I fear would melt the plastic?

I would imagine daytime temps would probably be in the 80s. Nighttime temps probably in the 60s or 70s by that point.
Not sure how they'd deal with daytime temps in the 80s for 2-3 days.

 

[bumblebee]

The bin I used was pretty large, and I was able to use the regular clamp lamp. They'd definitely need basking temps of 100-105F or so to be able to digest. I have a clamp lamp with a dimmer, so it was really easy to get the temps right, otherwise you'd probably need to bring several different bulbs to try until you get the temps right. They can go without UVB for a few days, so really the only things you'd need for a few days would be the bins, their basking lamps, some kind of basking furniture, thermometers, and food dishes for greens. I used paper towels as substrate while we were traveling, so it was really easy to keep clean (at home I use non-adhesive shelf liner).

I know that some members on this site have successfully left their beardies at home for a few days, and have just left them lots of salad, and dubias or maybe worms like phoenix worms in a dish (see: viewtopic.php?f=44&t=178711&start=45). As it sounds like your beardies are old enough to go without protein for the 2-3 days you'd be gone, you could just leave them lots of salad, and feed them their protein before you leave and after you get back.

Hope that helps

 

[TJinPgh]

Yup. It does. I still haven't decided which way I want to go with it, though.

Your comment on feeding was more or less the advice given when I asked in the feeding thread if 2-1/2 days was too long to leave them.

I already put their salad on the cooler side of the tank. It tends to dry out by the next day, though. Although, Eliza is kind of odd in that she only wants to eat her salad when it dries out a bit. I think she likes the crunch, lol. By the end of June, it will likely be warm enough that I won't need any night time heat so it should be able to go longer without drying out.