temporary housing help

[LOSTCOAST_BALLZ]

I am planning on buying a snake at the upcoming show, I will be in san diego for the holidays therefore away from my snakes and the rack in which the new addition will call home. anyways my question is regarding transportation and housing of the snake. I plan on driving home on the monday or tuesday after the show so january 10-11 therefore Im deeply concerned about the wellbeing of the snake over this period of time. It would be ideal if I found a booth that would possibly take a deposit on the snake and ship it to me. but I am trying to plan on a worst case scenario I brought an insulated for the drive if I do buy one at the show. but dont have a tub, Im kind of running through possiblities in my head for example maybe I could buy a heat mat at the show and make a temp tub, but I would hate to have to buy a thermostat for 2 day use when i have extra ones at home. i dunno I might be over thinking this whole thing. I would desperatley like some input to calm my thoughts HAHAHA. especially when im planning on buying a in my mind "expensive" morph anyways appreciate the help

[LOSTCOAST_BALLZ]

are there no responses because people think i can just make a deposit and have it shipped? is this that crazy of a post lol COME ON PEOPLE!v

[Vypyrz]

If you have extra thermostats, couldn't you just take one with you?

[LOSTCOAST_BALLZ]

AGREED. What happened was BEing stressed and with limited sleep during the week of finals I forgot everything while packing accept for an insulated box, I think plan b) might have to be look for a heat source at the show and a thermostat especially if I cant find a booth that will be willing to ship the animal. but if Im spending a couple hundred dollars on a snake do you think it would be a major issue to ship It? or do you think that they wont hold it due to the fact it is a reptile show (intention of making sales and revenue)? worst case scenerio i guess Ill have to buy a tub, heat pad, thermostat at the show and make an impromptu enclosure. im more excited to see everything at the show and see my snake in person befor purchasing it.

[Vypyrz]

I have a 32qt tub that I use as a holding tub when I clean my enclosures. When I go out of town for shows, I use it as a travel tub. I put everything I need to set it up inside the tub and take it with me. If I come back with a snake, I just lay a towel or t-shirt over the tub to keep the sun from shining directly on the tub. I use the Acu-Rite to keep track of the temp in my truck. If I have to spend the night in a hotel, I just take the tub in the room, add the waterbowl, UTH, and thermostat, and the tub is up and running in 5 minutes.

Working out a shipping arrangement (providing that they are certified) is an option, but if you already have some of the stuff to put together a travel tub,why not do it?

[Vypyrz]

The thing to consider is this. Not all vendors at shows are certified to ship. Most won't have shipping supplies with them. Shipping is weather dependant. And you are going to pay $50 or so for shipping, when you can use the same $50 for a travel set-up that can be re-used...

[MarkieJ]

Here's what I would do if I was in your pickle. Buy a lockable tub and drill/solder holes in it. Buy a heat pad for us humans. These have adjustable settings (low or medium would work). Back when I used to not have racks, I created one with wire shelves, tubs, and human heat pads. My snakes did very well in this setup, but it was just plain ugly. You can sit maybe 1/4th of the tub on the heat pad so your snake can thermoregulate. You can find the heat pads in the medicine sections at Wal-Mart or Walgreens (tubs too), and get everything setup for under 20 bucks. For the drive home you can pick up some hand warmers.

[SlitherinSisters]

FYI heat pads for humans have a safety feature that shut off the heat pad after a few hours. That would be a real pain to keep turning back on, not too mention they burn humans.

If you have reptile heat pads bring one and buy a lamp dimmer from a home improvement store. They are roughly $10 and well worth the money, I use them as back ups in case my thermostats fail.

As for traveling use the insulated box and tape a heat pack to the top.

Simple

[MarkieJ]

FYI heat pads for humans have a safety feature that shut off the heat pad after a few hours. That would be a real pain to keep turning back on, not too mention they burn humans.

If you have reptile heat pads bring one and buy a lamp dimmer from a home improvement store. They are roughly $10 and well worth the money, I use them as back ups in case my thermostats fail.

As for traveling use the insulated box and tape a heat pack to the top.

Simple

Not all heating pads have the auto-off feature, although a quick search online shows that these are increasingly difficult to find in stores now (online no problem). Here's a quick snap I took of a tub resting on the edge of a heat pad on the low setting (after about an hour):



If money were an issue for you, I would go that route. Since you're willing to ship, it doesn't seem that is true... so I would go with SlitherinSisters' advice and go out and purchase a heat pad and dimmer. Did you bring your temp gun with you? If you don't have one, drop by LLLreptile and pick one up while you're in town.