Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have two beardies that live in the same cage. I am thinking about taking one of them with me when I go on a little trip for 4 nights. If I take her away, will they still be pals when I bring her back? In other words, will they still remember eachother, or would it be best to take them both with me?

Thanks for any advise!

It'll be fine to remove one for a few days.

I don't understand why you want to take her for a trip anyway? Dragons are not like dogs who enjoy traveling about with their owners. IT is stressful for bearded dragons to be boxed up and driven around, then probably handled by strangers, etc. Not to mention warm days can cause them to over heat in a car, if you stop for lunch somewhere. Not to mention where you are going may not accept reptiles or any pets...etc.

It is my opinion that for the dragon itself, better to leave them in their own homes and have a trusted friend or family member come in to ensure they are fed, watered and cleaned up after.
-----
PHLdyPayne

It probably depends on the beardie, but in my experience, my beardie LOVES to go on car rides with my husband and I. We bring her down to my mom's house almost every weekend which is about 20 minutes away. She loves to run around outside around the pool when we get there, and she loves to be held by my mom. So, you're very right in your point in saying that being boxed up and driven around will stress them out, but if you make it an enjoyable atmosphere for them, why would they not enjoy it? My husband even took a small door mat, cut it in half, and duct taped it to the dashboard so they could watch everything while we're driving around. If she ever gets to hot, she jumps down into my lap. The only thing that ever freaks her out a little are the overpasses, and even that is only momentary. At first she got weirded out by other cars, but now, she's so used to it she doesn't even look at them when they're driving by half the time. It takes time for any type of animal to adjust to a new environment, and if you take it slow and steady, they get used to it, and in some instances, like ours, they enjoy it quite a bit. Now, if she wouldn't have started to calm down or get less weirded out, then we wouldn't have continued with it. Our vet is an hour away, and I know that boxing her up would just freak her out even more than going to the vet, so she rides on the dashboard like normal, but since it's such a long car ride, and it's usually dark by the time we're heading home, she even takes naps! Now if that isn't a relaxed beardie, I don't know what is.

Oh yes..and if for whatever reason you have to slam on the breaks, you have a dragon torpedo to slam against the windscreen.

I never feel pets should be loose in a car and I don't mean just bearded dragons and other lizards... cats or dogs or any other pet... they can be a hazard to driving, can be severely injured when some idiot cuts you off and you have to slam on the breaks or swerve to avoid an accident.. even saw somebody the other day with a cat walking in front of the driver...blocking their view while they drove...not the first time I have seen people with cats walking all over the place while the owners are driving.

If its a long trip, what do you do with the animal when you stop to have lunch>? Leave them to cook in the car while it sits in the sun? Interior car temps can reach 90F fast under even partial sunlight...even with windows open. Cats and dogs die from heat stroke in cars all the time...drives me bonkers...

Just things to consider...even if the animal enjoys a ride in the car. Bearded dragons enjoy iceberg lettuce, but its far from good for them.
-----
PHLdyPayne

Oh yes..and if for whatever reason you have to slam on the breaks, you have a dragon torpedo to slam against the windscreen.

I never feel pets should be loose in a car and I don't mean just bearded dragons and other lizards... cats or dogs or any other pet... they can be a hazard to driving, can be severely injured when some idiot cuts you off and you have to slam on the breaks or swerve to avoid an accident.. even saw somebody the other day with a cat walking in front of the driver...blocking their view while they drove...not the first time I have seen people with cats walking all over the place while the owners are driving.

If its a long trip, what do you do with the animal when you stop to have lunch>? Leave them to cook in the car while it sits in the sun? Interior car temps can reach 90F fast under even partial sunlight...even with windows open. Cats and dogs die from heat stroke in cars all the time...drives me bonkers...

Just things to consider...even if the animal enjoys a ride in the car. Bearded dragons enjoy iceberg lettuce, but its far from good for them.

For you to imply that I am so irresponsible as to leave my animals in the car just to go somewhere and eat is completely rude and inconsiderate, I hate the fact that people would ever do it, but I know there are idiots that do. I can understand not wanting a dog or a cat running around in the car, they can easily block your view or cause an accident, especially if there is only the driver in the car. My husband and I never take them with us unless it's both of us in the car, and they never just "walk all over". They stay on the dashboard and hardly ever move unless they get too warm, and then the only place they go is in the passengers lap. If you were moving across the country would you just keep your animal boxed up the entire time? I for one would feel terrible about that, and I would rather them be used to car rides now so that if for some reason there was ever the need to be on an extended car ride with them they would be more comfortable with it (which, living in Florida is very possible because of hurricane season). And since they're on the dashboard, with a door mat to grip on, their is no reason for there to be a "dragon torpedo to slam against the windshield". Granted if there ever was an accident they would probably get hurt yes, but so would any other animal in the car, possibly even if they WERE in a box. I'm not going to live in fear of a car accident, if I did, I wouldn't have ridden in the car at all for the past several months, I am 40 weeks pregnant. You should be able to enjoy life and let your pets enjoy theirs.