Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My boyfriend and I are getting ready to move from DC to Salt Lake City at the end of May. We are driving two cars and will be taking our large adult male iguana with us. He isn't at all agressive (in fact an old injury prevents him from tail whipping) but we are worried about the stress of the trip on him. The plan right now is to put him in a large dog crate in the back (with lots of soft towels and blankets, etc.) Travel tips would be really helpful.

Also any advice on setting up a basking area in a hotel would be helpful. He is very attached to his large enclosure and gets really freaked out when he doesnt have his 'safe' area.

Another issue is that we might have to be in a temporary living situation with relatives for two weeks while we are waiting for construction on our new home to be finished. Since our stuff (including his enclosure) will be in storage we might have to set up a temporary free roaming situation, or perhaps a quick makeshift enclosure. Any ideas or advice?

Car trip should not be too stressful if you keep its field of vision to a minimum, but making sure there is still ventilation. Avoid if possible heavy traffic, and if big trucks approach, in case u have your windows down raise them up 'til the truck is out of the way (I do it with my dogs, they're terrified of 18 wheelers).

Hopefully you'll be lucky to have the hotel window facing anything but north, that way natural sunlight and warmth can be achieved, as well as visual stimulus. Keep it simple and clean, don't give iguana owners a bad rep to hotels!

As for the temporary living arrangement, try to get some items/objects from its enclosure, that way there is a bit of familiarity. It will be a very stressful period, iguanas HATE change, so monitor it closely and try to keep things as close to the usual routines as possible.

Hope this helps,

-IJ

When in the hotel sleeping, should I keep him in the dog crate or let him free roam? I was also thinking maybe he would like one of those carpeted cat climbing things that they sell in pet stores? I think I'm going to get a human heating pad for warmth rather than deal with clamping lights and risk fire hazard etc.

My Felix enjoyed sleeping on the window ledge.

A friend drove from VA to CA and back. The igs survived but they do not enjoy riding in the car anymore.

Good idea at preventing fire-hazards with the pad. Free-roaming in a hotel room can be risky for a reptile, make sure the room is unescapable, not even for Houdini. When sleeping, keep him in the crate, you never know, unless you feel safe enough it may not cause any serious damage to the room, and to itself.

Good luck!

-IJ

Personally I would not let him free roam unattended. Even if you are watching him like a hawk, make sure there are no dangerous areas, escape "holes" or places he could get under to prevent you from getting him. Also you have no idea what cleaners have been used to clean the room.

L8r,
Don