What to do with my snake while on vacation?

[VooDooDoc]

Going out of town for 2 weeks and am worried about leaving my guy alone. Mainly concerned about power going out or heat lamp burning out, something else unforeseen. If it was summer it wouldn't be much of an issue. Is something likely to happen, no, we haven't lost power in years, but you never know.

I don't have anyone that can come in and check on him, but the pet store I bought him from said they can board him for like 10 bucks a day. They will keep an eye on his temps, change his water and feed him if I want them to. Seems like a good idea to me.

However would this cause a lot of stress on him and I should just take my chances?

He's also in a 20 gal tank which will be a giant pain to drag in. What about switching him to a tub will that cause a bunch of stress? I'm thinking about doing that anyway.

Basically I just want to make this as easy on him as possible. He's the perfect snake, never nips, eats like a machine, doesn't mind being handled. Don't want any of that to change.

[heathers*bps]

Leaving your snake while on vacation isn't a big deal at all. Do you have someone that can swing by your house every couple days or whatever, just to make sure the power is one, his heat is ok, etc. etc.?

[Kinra]

It could be stressful on him to be moved, but if it will give you piece of mind then it might be worth it.

I'm going on vacation at the end of the month for almost 2 weeks and what I am going to do is feed everyone for the last time on the 8th. That way they will be empty while I'm gone and make sure they all have full water bowls before I leave. I am going to try to have someone check on them once while I'm gone, but honestly they should be fine for 2 weeks by themselves.

[Rick247]

I don't get vacations. lol

[WingedWolfPsion]

Check to see if any local breeders are willing to put him up in their quarantine room. Pet stores are disease factories.

Also, check with pet sitting services. You may be able to have one come out a few times a week to check his water, and heat and lights.

For the sake of your peace of mind, you may want to get a 'cottage sitter' system that calls your cell phone if the temperature goes outside of the parameters you set.

[mommanessy247]

i'd definitely check with local breeders first...

[Evenstar]

Is there absolutely no friend around who might stop once every 2-3 days to check on things for you??? This is by far the best option and I'd try absolutely every last person I could think of before giving up on this idea.

I'd be very hesitant to take him to a petstore. As someone else mentioned, I'd be very worried about him contracting something.

Moving him might cause some stress, but I wouldn't worry about that part of it. Snakes really do fair just fine over vacation periods, but if yours is anything like mine, you might have a problem. I can NOT leave mine for more than 3-4 days because she likes to uproot her cage each night. If she spills her water bowl, she'd be without water until I got home. A few days is one thing, but 2 weeks is quite another for no water.

What about boarding at a vet's office? Would your herp vet board him? $10 bucks a day is about average for a board fee and many vet's will board animals. You'd probably have less cause to worry about him picking up an illness there than at a petstore. While its more possible for a sick snake to come in, they'll keep the place cleaner too and he'd probably be in a quarantine-type area and the tech's are going to be more knowledgable about disease transmission.

If having someone come to your house every 2-3 days isn't possible, than I'd look into boarding at your vet's office. Hope this is helpful!

[VooDooDoc]

Thanks for all the replies. I think the pet store is gonna be out of the question then. Don't want a sick snake. Never thought about the vet. I'll have to check into that.