Shipping my BP

So I currently live in Stuart, FL and my job is relocating me to Cali in about 2 weeks. I will be driving and was wondering about transportation. I'm already assuming driving 4 days with my snake in the car with me and at hotels would be extremely stressful. How should I get her out there to arrive when I do?

Thanks!


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If it was me is drive her myself instead of trusting anything/anyone else. Get the warmers and use the little bags in a small box with alot of cushion under him/her..

I would also take the snake with me. You can crank the heat up in the car so the inside temp is in the low 80's and she'll be fine. Just keep a thermometer in the passenger compartment so you can monitor the temperature and don't put the tub directly in the airflow from the heater.

I would have her in a snake bag, which would be in a tub w/ a VERY secure lid such as a Sterilite latchbox while in the car. At night you can set up a heat pad, t-stat, and the tub while in the hotel. I'm leery enough of escapes that I'd pick up a pair of non-stretchy nylon luggage straps to make sure that lid stays on the tub in the hotel, those are $7 at WalMart.

You should be ok, traveling with you bp. Along with what everyone else has said. Get you a duffel bag, to put the snake in. So that when you go into the hotel you want draw unnecessary attention to yourself and your little friend.

I'm going to disagree a bit here...

Travel by car- not a bad idea, if it is a one or two day trip. I strongly suggest packing just as you were doing an overnight shipment. Insulated box, snake bag, zip tie (multiples for opening and closing the bag). Keep it in the bag, and in the box, for as much of the trip as possible.

What I DON'T suggest is "cranking the heat up" (with all due respect to the Super Moderator : ). Heat is your enemy. Heat kills reptiles. Cool temps make them sluggish, but heat kills. If you try to keep it warm, or god forbid "hot", you may very well err on the side of cooking/dehydrating your snake, and end up with a DOA snake. You want it TEMPERATE. Room temp, neither hot nor cold. Not up on the dashboard in the sun, not with the heat blasted, and def not with multiple heat packs.

Your best bet is to use a min/max digital thermometer, with the probe either in the box, or in the snake bag itself. If you could keep that bag in the mid 70's, you'll be in good shape.

Don't use hand warmers! Please don't, they just straight up kill reptiles. Again and again. Use a 40+ hour heat pack. IF NEEDED. Being packaged in the insulated box, and in your hotel room and car, will likely be all the temperature control you need. That is where the digital thermometer is so valuable.

Being a four day trip, that brings a lot of stress. If it has to be that way, ok. But limit handling as much as possible. Bring paper towels because there will probably be messes. Extra snake bags as well. You don't need to feed, but shipping/traveling encourages stress and dehydration, so you might need to let the animal roam the interior of the box freely with a bowl of fresh water once a night. If the snake goes into a shed cycle, you have all new worries and stresses (shipping sometimes triggers a shed cycle, especially if one was nearly due). If the snake is not in prime health in the first place you will have all new worries and stresses.

I suggest overnight shipping your animal. Leave it with a friend and have them ship it out Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, Priority Overnight, once you have arrived at your destination. It will be in transit the shortest amount of time. If properly packaged, it will incur a minimum amount of stress. I can speak from the experience of transporting hundreds of thousands of reptiles, overnight shipping is going to be a better choice than a four day car ride. Lower stress, better temp control, easier on the snake.

Check out our site ShipYourReptiles.com, specifically the Get Help section on Regulating the Temperature of Your Package. The same temp guidelines apply whether you are shipping or driving. The same packaging guidelines apply.

It might seem daunting, but with the right packaging in hand, and the right information and support, it really isn't. If you "wing it", you could really get a disastrous result.

It's easy to accomplish this safely and successfully. You can do it. Best of luck!

I just had an idea of what "I" would do were I in this situation. Can I get feedback whether that would work, or why it may not ??

Ok, so I have a "transport/quarantine" tub already set up for emergencies. It's "blanket sized". It has a UTH taped to it, which only covers about a third of the bottom of the tub.
All it needs is substrate or paper towels, water bowl, and the thermometer probe attached to the UTH.

Now, my vehicle has a regular power outlet, but you can buy the converters for vehicles that don't. So..with a outlet (needs to be one that handles the voltage) couldn't I simply strap down the tub securely on the passenger seat and plug in the thermostat ? I could have it running in the house for a couple of days beforehand, to make sure everything is nicely balanced and working correctly.
So could I move the tub from the house to the car and plug in the thermostat to keep the temps even ? Perhaps put a thermometer probe into the tub itself with the thermometer sitting on top in easy view to double check temps ?

As long as I keep the temps in the car in normal range (like a house would be) there shouldn't be wild fluctuations?

At each hotel one would only need to unplug the thermostat, move the tub to the hotel room, plug it back in.

I could put the water bowl in at night, and remove it during driving, so there are no spills. For privacy, I could cover part of the tub with a towel. Also to insulate it some.

Wouldn't that work ?

All one would need is a extra tub with a secure lid, a UTH already installed on it. A thermostat to go along with it , and a power converter for the vehicles that don't have regular outlets.

Not "that" big of a deal in exchange for having the snake travel with relative proper temperature throughout, privacy and safety, and in good view (the temps) to check on things.

Thoughts ?

I think the difference is that with overnighting, it's by air, which is fast and relatively smooth. driving 3,000 miles involves prolonged vibrations to an animal that is wired to experience vibrations as a potential threat, over and over again. the reports here of frustrations with shipping are likely the minority. I also like Robyn@SYR approach of leaving it with a friend to ship close to when you will arrive or even waiting till you get there and all set up then have it shipped.