Long distance moving w/Bearded Dragon

[Lstan29]

Hello all, I have a two year old bearded dragon and we will be moving long distance in the near future. Our traveling distance is around 1800 miles, does anyone have any recommendations on packing him up for travel? Thanks!!

 

[Sadie]

Hello all, I have a two year old bearded dragon and we will be moving long distance in the near future. Our traveling distance is around 1800 miles, does anyone have any recommendations on packing him up for travel? Thanks!!

That's a long ways - let me have someone respond w/ more experience than I

 

[Sadie]

That's a long ways - let me have someone respond w/ more experience than I

Heres the reply I got back
That shouldn't be too bad. I've done many trips of that distance with Darwin. A travel carrier is really nice to have. The oxgord one from Amazon is cheap and clips into a seatbelt to hold it in place in the car. Aside from that I'd pack some food that is pretty portable like black soldier fly larvae. A bag with cleaning supplies is good to store within easy reach. Paper towels, carpet cleaner (folex is great), and sanitizer like F10 along with some extra bags (the dog poop bags work well and are space saving). This is a huge help in case of a poop in the car. I also like to line the bag with some small towels or rags that can be swapped out easily if they get dirty.

In the summer months I like to stop at a rest area every now and then to provide some basking time. This doesn't work in the winter or if the weather is bad, but it's a nice option if available. Otherwise it's not really necessary.

For hotels you could pack an adjustable lamp stand with a mercury vapor bulb (100w frosted lucky herp is a good option) and a dome fixture that can go on a timer. This works to offer some basking time if you're going to be in a hotel for a while. If you are stopping after dark and getting an early start the next day, it's not really useful or practical due to time. I've never had a problem with them traveling and not having access to lighting for a couple of days - even if the sun basking isn't an option. At 2 years old he will probably not need a ton of food either, so don't worry about that aspect too much beyond basics.

As far as heat goes, they do just fine at normal car temps. No need to crank the heat or forgo the air conditioner at a level that makes you comfortable. One thing that can be useful though is if you plan to stop for a long meal break in the winter, you might want to put a reptile shipping heat pack (usually 72hr run time) in the carrier under the towel. This will keep it toasty even if you stop for an hour or two somewhere you can't bring him along. This has worked well for me even in winter in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota.

 

[rubybird]

Hello all, I have a two year old bearded dragon and we will be moving long distance in the near future. Our traveling distance is around 1800 miles, does anyone have any recommendations on packing him up for travel? Thanks!!

When we go for rides she just sits on my shoulder and if she's not enjoying that then I'll put a towel over and it should go right back to sleep or let her curl up with a blanket in the seat right next to me. My girl goes everywhere with me.