Travel advice

[Namio]

I'll be going to visit my family in VA next week and little Stanley will be coming with me. I don't have anyone who I feel comfortable leaving him with for that week. I have a full set-up with all his normal amenities once I'm there but I'm wondering what steps I can take to keep him comfy for the 8 hour drive. I'm especially concerned with keeping him warm as it's already snowing here in NY.

I have a power inverter (150 watts) for the car. Should I use a heat lamp? I also have disposable hand warmers here. I've considered using an UTH but I've never had good luck with them. I'm also considering using my heated car blanket to bunch up around the terrarium. I will be monitoring temps and humidity during the drive. What do you all think? I'm open to any and all suggestions.

I'm traveling alone but will only be out of the vehicle when getting gas. So he won't be in the vehicle alone for more than a few minutes and the vehicle will be running all the time.

I have traveled with my frogs so I know exactly how you'd feel. Have you ever had a frog shipped to you (in an insulated box and plastic cup)? Personally that's the approach I'd take for a couple of reasons. One is to keep temperature a constant during the trip, and two is so that the frog is in a safe and stable environment during sudden movements.
Basically the frog can be placed in a plastic deli cup with a lid where many holes are poked to allow air flow. Inside the plastic up there you'll need to provide paper towel wetted with dechlorinated water. The size of the cup will depend on the size of your frog. The idea is that the cup isn't too small (to suffocate your frog). If the cup is significantly larger than the frog, you'll want to place additional moist paper towel for support (you don't want your frog to bounce up and down during the car ride). After applied the lid with small holes punched, put the plastic cup inside an insulation/styrofoam box so that the temperature will be relatively constant. Use common sense, remember not to suffocate the frog, and as long as you keep the temperature in your car around 70's F, I am sure your frog will be just fine for 8+ hours. Do not use disposable hand warmers. Those can get really hot and can burn the frog if kept in close proximity. Good luck on your trip and drive safe!

[DVirginiana]

I never had to travel for quite that long, but I always took the water dish and decor out and just seat-belted the tank into my car. Of course, I didn't have to worry about temps quite that much either... I'd say the main thing is to make sure no air is blowing on him in the car. Maybe cover him up so he can't really see out but still has a little ventilation.

If you have a hand-held digital thermometer, it might be good to bring that so you can check his temps and add another hand warmer if they're getting too low.

[Bink]

I never had to travel for quite that long, but I always took the water dish and decor out and just seat-belted the tank into my car. Of course, I didn't have to worry about temps quite that much either... I'd say the main thing is to make sure no air is blowing on him in the car. Maybe cover him up so he can't really see out but still has a little ventilation.

If you have a hand-held digital thermometer, it might be good to bring that so you can check his temps and add another hand warmer if they're getting too low.

Yeah, our weather is all over the place right now. That's what I was originally thinking of doing. Strap the terrarium in, set up some heat, drape a blanket over the terrarium and go. But thought I better ask here first. You guys know much more about this than I do.

I will be using my regular therm./hygrometer for the trip so I can monitor things. I'm completely anal retentive about my animals traveling. I bet you can't tell.

[Bink]

I have traveled with my frogs so I know exactly how you'd feel. Have you ever had a frog shipped to you (in an insulated box and plastic cup)? Personally that's the approach I'd take for a couple of reasons. One is to keep temperature a constant during the trip, and two is so that the frog is in a safe and stable environment during sudden movements.
Basically the frog can be placed in a plastic deli cup with a lid where many holes are poked to allow air flow. Inside the plastic up there you'll need to provide paper towel wetted with dechlorinated water. The size of the cup will depend on the size of your frog. The idea is that the cup isn't too small (to suffocate your frog). If the cup is significantly larger than the frog, you'll want to place additional moist paper towel for support (you don't want your frog to bounce up and down during the car ride). After applied the lid with small holes punched, put the plastic cup inside an insulation/styrofoam box so that the temperature will be relatively constant. Use common sense, remember not to suffocate the frog, and as long as you keep the temperature in your car around 70's F, I am sure your frog will be just fine for 8+ hours. Do not use disposable hand warmers. Those can get really hot and can burn the frog if kept in close proximity. Good luck on your trip and drive safe!

Thank you so much for replying! I haven't had a frog shipped to me but I've seen those set-ups. I was going to use a regular terrarium on the drive but if a cup is better/safer, I'll certainly go with that. The stable temps are definitely my biggest concern. I hadn't even thought about the bumps bothering him, I'm so glad you mentioned that! Yikes, I didn't realize that the hand warmers were so dangerous. I use them for my guinea pigs when they have GI issues. My very temperature sensitive dog will be with me, so the car will definitely be in the 70's. Can you tell that my life is run by animals?

[Namio]

Can you tell that my life is run by animals?

Tell me about it. My wife is still mad at me for not able to travel long distance because of my frog, toad, snake, gecko, bearded dragon, skinks.... Yes, I still owe her our honeymoon, LOL!

[Mmfh]

Lol. I would never do this now but back when I knew nothing, I would put my toad " toad boy " on the passengers side head rest and his cage in the rear seat and drive 4 hours home every other weekend. I got lucky in that he would spend the entire 4 hours looking out the window and never hopped anywhere. I like the little Tupperware idea like you get at a reptile show or shipping.

[Bink]

Lol. I would never do this now but back when I knew nothing, I would put my toad " toad boy " on the passengers side head rest and his cage in the rear seat and drive 4 hours home every other weekend. I got lucky in that he would spend the entire 4 hours looking out the window and never hopped anywhere. I like the little Tupperware idea like you get at a reptile show or shipping.

Wow, I can't believe he didn't hop off! He must've enjoyed the view. LOL I've already started working on the tupperware and foam box idea. Hopefully he'll feel secure in there. I'm so worried about him being stressed. He'll have some fat nightcrawlers waiting for him when we get there.

[Bink]

Tell me about it. My wife is still mad at me for not able to travel long distance because of my frog, toad, snake, gecko, bearded dragon, skinks.... Yes, I still owe her our honeymoon, LOL!

Ha, you have a wonderful wife! I'm the animal freak in our marriage. LOL Between our special needs guinea pigs, the ADF's, fish, hamsters and now Stanley, we hardly ever manage to get away. Luckily my fabulous parents took in our animals for our honeymoon, otherwise I think we wouldn't have had one!