Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey guys. as some of you know (thanks for the suggestions already reiko!) im moving from miami to tallahassee (an estimated 8 hour drive...good thing im a terrible speeder!) next week. i plan to leave miami thursday morning, spend the night in a hotel in tallahassee, go to work friday, and then i can get into my apartment hopefully friday night, but possibly not until saturday. that means my critters (the list is in my signature) will be stuck in the car all day, a hotel overnight and during the day, and possibly a second night. im concerned about their ability to last that long without real homes (although im dragging all my rubbermaids along, so that should help a bit overnight). as reiko suggested, the snakes will travel in pillowcases. im thinking about getting plastic shoeboxes and drilling holes for the lizards, and i guess putting paper towels between everyone or something so they dont go crazy trying to intimidate one another (everyone is a different size). any moer suggestions? one of my big problems is that i cant exactly drive 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 hours straight without stopping for food, bathroom, or just to stretch my legs. keeping in mind this is florida, how long can i realistically leave them in the car without the a/c on (im travelling alone, so i cant idle the car while i do what i need). im so worried my children wont make it alive but my situation doesnt allow me to ship them overnight to myself or anything that *might* be less dangerous.

thanks to anyone that managed to make it through that run-on paragraph
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.1.0 leopard gecko (sebastian and vilma),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.1 bearded dragon (kaipo, dulce, and kellen), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)

my dragons travel in travel bags, they are made for cats and are soft, but hard enough on top and bottom so they dont cave in, they have a strap so you can carry around your shoulder and are ventilated. i take these bags and put in partitions, you can use a sheet of anything hard, even hard cardboard, stand it up and secure it to the bottom, i used string to tie the partitions tot he bottoms and the sides creating 2 sections a bag, you can even pull off 3 sections a bag. i hope this makes sense. this way you can carry your animals in with you, 3 bags will get you 9 small carrying compartments for lizards.

for your snakes etc, as you cant leave them in a hot car, how about one of those suitcases that have the handle extend out the top with the rollers on the bottom. they are tall and you could put partitions in them, punch holes in the suitcase above the sections and just wheel that about with you when you leave the car, actually you could do this instead of the carrying bags also, a large suitcase you could make quite a few sections out of it for quite a few animals, it would work real well for the snakes as they would already be in pillowcases so you wouldnt have to worry about them moving up and over the partitions. hope these ideas give you some ideas, im sure they would work.

>>hey guys. as some of you know (thanks for the suggestions already reiko!) im moving from miami to tallahassee (an estimated 8 hour drive...good thing im a terrible speeder!) next week. i plan to leave miami thursday morning, spend the night in a hotel in tallahassee, go to work friday, and then i can get into my apartment hopefully friday night, but possibly not until saturday. that means my critters (the list is in my signature) will be stuck in the car all day, a hotel overnight and during the day, and possibly a second night. im concerned about their ability to last that long without real homes (although im dragging all my rubbermaids along, so that should help a bit overnight). as reiko suggested, the snakes will travel in pillowcases. im thinking about getting plastic shoeboxes and drilling holes for the lizards, and i guess putting paper towels between everyone or something so they dont go crazy trying to intimidate one another (everyone is a different size). any moer suggestions? one of my big problems is that i cant exactly drive 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 hours straight without stopping for food, bathroom, or just to stretch my legs. keeping in mind this is florida, how long can i realistically leave them in the car without the a/c on (im travelling alone, so i cant idle the car while i do what i need). im so worried my children wont make it alive but my situation doesnt allow me to ship them overnight to myself or anything that *might* be less dangerous.
>>
>>thanks to anyone that managed to make it through that run-on paragraph
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>>proud mama to:
>>1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.1.0 leopard gecko (sebastian and vilma),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.1 bearded dragon (kaipo, dulce, and kellen), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)
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reiko
photos

Reiko answered the care of your animals very well.
As far as you being in Florida (I'm in Jacksonville), I would suggest that you pack some food, snacks and drinks for yourself or use fast food drive-ins. That will keep them in the A/C while you are eating.

You'll need to stop and get gas, they'll be fine for those few minutes while you run in and pay, try to quickly use the "litter box" yourself at the gas stops, everyone should be fine for those few minutes.

You really won't be able to stray far from the car until you get where you are going, unfortunately.....hopefully you have a good cushion to sit on

As far as stretching, I would chose a Rest Area type place, leave the car running and just stretch your legs right by the car without leaving it. There really isn't many other choices.

In your hotel room, I would definately suggest putting the Do Not Disturb sign on the outside of the door as well as tell Housekeeping that you do not want to be bothered, at all. That way the maids won't come in while you are out and throw away anything that looks like trash or trash bags. Also that should keep them from sending all those extra pillow cases in your room to the Laundry!!!
I shudder at the thought!

Good Luck with the drive & your new endeavors

Sharla

Reiko's suggestion sounds pretty good with the larger suitcases with the fold in handles..however one thing about that suggestion that worries me is weight. With lizards and snakes piled on top of eachother, even with partitions, suffication would be a high risk.

Another suggestion would be use the large rubbermaid containters and fill them with insulated lunch bag style packs which hopefully keep them cool. Again, just make sure there is plenty of ventilation to prevent suffication. Coolers could be used instead of the rubbermaid containers, sterofoam would be best cause you could punch holes through it for ventilation. Dali cups could be used for your smaller lizards and snakes.

never tried any of these things so can't say if they are good or ad. When I had to travel with my reptiles (only to go pick them up at the breeder or take to the vet) it was for about 3-4 hours tops. I kept them in cardboard boxes with old clean cloths for cushioning. As this box used to be used to ship crickets, it had sections cut out along the side and covered with screen so already had ventilation. I inserted a temperature probe in the box to make it easier to monitor interior temperatures.

I would be tempted to suggest you leave the reptiles at your current home then go to your new city and find an appartment. Then drive straight with only short stops with your reptiles so you can set them up in their new home without the overnight layover.

hrm crix boxes.......good thing im too lazy to throw em out
i guses for the lizards at least, styrofoam coolers would be pretty affordable. ah, so much to think about!
i do have an apartment, i just cant get into it the first night. not taking them would mean leaving them in an empty apartment for three days until i could get back, not being fed or cared for. plus that would mean driving up thursday, working friday, driving back saturday, and back to tallahassee sunday. and then i go back to work still not having unpacked
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.1.0 leopard gecko (sebastian and vilma),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.1 bearded dragon (kaipo, dulce, and kellen), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)

a lame illustration to show ya what i meant....

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reiko
photos

.
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.1.0 leopard gecko (sebastian and vilma),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.1 bearded dragon (kaipo, dulce, and kellen), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)