Transporting my ball python (road trip back home)

Hi,

I might return home (3hours away from my campus residence) and I was wondering if it would be safe to transport Monty back on a bus. I thought about heating needs for the ride and was wondering if I could get those heat packs and make a tube with heat packs surrounding it externally. I live in Champaign, IL and I'm going back up to Chicago. I would leave Monty in his place, but I don't like the idea of leaving him alone and leaving the under-the-tank heating pad plugged in while away from the residence hall. Any advice?

Thanks

Thomas

That short of a trip I would think you'd be fine with the heating pads and whatnot, so long as you insulate the box in some way (Styrofoam or something similar). Any way you could do a "test" run of shorter duration? Pack a box with the heat pads and insulation, etc., minus your snake, lol!, and take it for short trip then check your heat when you got back?

I would think you'd be fine with the heat packs, so long as you didn't get too many. I've received all three (yep, a whopping THREE!) of my snakes via FedEx from out-of-state shippers and they've all done fine with being shipped overnight with heat packs and insulation in the boxes.

I wouldn't leave your stuff on with the heating elements and whatnot at the residence hall, as that could be BAAAAAAAAAAAD news if something caught fire. Possible criminal charges and civil liability too if they found out it was your snake setup. Just my nickel's worth...good luck whatever you decide!

I live in so fl, and used to work all over the southern states, I often transported snakes with no probs.

I drove three bp's from el paso to ma with no problems.3 hours on a bus shouldn't be bad

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Originally Posted by IlliniHerpEnthusiast

Hi,

I might return home (3hours away from my campus residence) and I was wondering if it would be safe to transport Monty back on a bus. I thought about heating needs for the ride and was wondering if I could get those heat packs and make a tube with heat packs surrounding it externally. I live in Champaign, IL and I'm going back up to Chicago. I would leave Monty in his place, but I don't like the idea of leaving him alone and leaving the under-the-tank heating pad plugged in while away from the residence hall. Any advice?

Thanks

Thomas

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Transporting BP’s is relatively easy.

Sadly I have heard of a few BP's dying from overheating during car trip, but I've never heard of one dying from being too cold.

BP's can tolerate cooler than normal temps for 3 hours with no problem, my advice is to not go overboard with trying to keep your BP warm during the trip.

My recommendation is to transport your BP in a cloth snake bag (or pillowcase) inside a small cardboard box. Get a thermometer with a probe and place the probe in the box and keep an eye on the temp, if you can keep the ambient temperature of the car in the 70’s your BP will be fine during the trip. Just make sure you DO NOT point any of the car’s heating vent towards you snake, just keep track of the ambient temperature in the box.

Best thing to do is pack your reptile like if you were shipping it.

For that you will need a pillow case, insulated box or Styrofoam cooler, newspaper.

Heat pack may or may not required it will depends on the temps.

All that will help keep your BP warm, give him some protection during transport and allow him to feel secure.

Thanks for all of the great advice. I'm going to go with a styrofoam container, pillowcase and a heat pack. However, what type or brand of heat pack is safe to use? I have used hand and foot warmers ice fishing before but I didn't know if they emitted some type of chemical into the air that might harm Monty. Any suggestions?

Thanks

Thomas

hey! im moving my snakes from bloomington, IL to St Louis in a few weeks. my vet told me to heat up some rice in a bag to act as a safe heating pad. It is getting nice out so it may be a pretty safe trip for monty. my girls usually sit in a cloth purse I hug close to my body under a blankie, If I am too hot then I know they are, if they move too much or want let out i let them come out. They usually let you know if they are comfortable.

the rice works great as a heat source it its cold. Add a tad bit of water and mic it for a bit. make sure to wrap it up so the snake cant get directly on the heat so it doesnt burn!