big problem for college student

[RmKlotz4]

so here it is...i am going home for christmas break only for 5 days...but leaving nonetheless. It will b a 7 hour car ride and i dont know what to do to get my bp home...how can i keep him heated and whatnot? HELPPPP

[led4urhead]

As long as you are keeping the car warm, you should have no problems. Keep an eye out for any direct sunlight on the cage as it can cause the temperature to skyrocket up. I would put him in a pillow case inside a small rubbermaid, put him on the floor of the front seat ( passenger side ), and cover the rubbermaid with a blanket or towel. When you stop for gas, food, or a bathroom break check on him and make sure he is doing ok. If you have an digital thermometer, you might want to take it with you to keep an eye on the temps.

[Kara]

Materials:

Styrofoam cooler or fish shipping box
4-6 heat packs or hand warmers
2 snake bags or a rubbermaid container that will comfortably hold your snake (and also fit into the shipping box)
1 whole newspaper
1 digital thermometer w/probe.

Go to Wal-Mart (or a similar store) and get a good-sized styrofoam cooler. They may be difficult to find this time of year...if necessary check a local bait shop. If you can't find one @ either place, call your local pet stores & see if they'll give you a fish shipping box from their most recent fish order.

Put your snake in the bag (keep an extra one handy if the first one gets soiled) or rubbermaid container. Use your substrate of choice, or else newspaper for temporary housing.

Activate 1 or 2 heat packs or hand warmers (usually take them out of the plastic wrap & shake them for 30-60 seconds). Place heat packs at the bottom of the shipping box & cover with a layer of newspaper. Basically you want the inside of the box to stay warm, but you don't want your snake having direct contact w/the heat packs.

Tape a digital thermometer probe to the inside of the styrofoam shipping box. Leave the digital screen out of the box so that you can check temps with a quick glance.

Add your snake & you're ready to go.

Some notes:

You may want to activate your heat packs up to an hour before your trip. Check & see what their "heating life" is - how long they're supposed to last, and gauge that according to your trip.

Take a screwdriver or some other long, sharp, pointy object & poke some holes in the styrofoam box so that there's air exchange.

Bring enough materials so that you can provide a safe ride for your snake on the return trip.

HTH!

K

[Adam_Wysocki]

Do you have to bring him? He would really be fine for 5 days if set up properly?

If you need to bring him with you, 7 hours really isn't that bad. Where are you located and what are the temps along your route?

1. Place your snake in a pillow case with a couple of folded up pieces of paper towel (in case he urinates). Tie the end of the pillow case in a knot.

2. Get a cardboard box and some styrofoam (home depots sells it cheap) and cut the styro to line the inside of the box (top, sides, and bottom).

3. Fill the styro lined box with crumpled up newspaper (even better is pillow stuffing available at craft stores) to provide a cushion for your animal.

4. If it's going to be really cold along your route, stores that sell camping supplies (target, sporting good stores, walmart, etc) sell hand warmers. A hand warmer in the bottom of the box under the newspaper will be good for some extra heat. (you could even experiment with the thermometer from your cage to see how many you need to get the box up to 75-80 degrees)

5. Put your snake in the box and tape it all up, and presto, he's ready to go!

Hope this helps.

-adam

[ogeku]

I just drove home from school today for 2 1/2 hours with my python, he was fine, just kept the heat on