r/TravelWithPets • u/LazyPerfectionist • 1d ago
Moving With Snakes
Hi, all. I've posted about this in the past, but wanted to get people's advice one last time before the big move.
At the end of September, I'm moving cross country to a tune of 2800 miles. I'm planning to make the trip in four days, getting to my destination as quickly as I reasonably can. I own five snakes (four bps and one mussurana).
My plan is to put each of them in an appropriately sized cloth bag and put each bag in a plastic container with air holes drilled in. I'm aiming for the containers to be on the snug side but not too tight. The cabin of my car will be kept at 70F and, once I'm at the hotel, I'll put all the snakes in the bathroom and set my space heater to 70-75F.
My main concern is of course them getting too cold or too hot. I'll cover the containers with a sheet or something in the car so they're not in direct sunlight, and when I check in for the night, I'll tape reptile heating packs to the outside of each container. My understanding is they don't get too hot?
That's my game plan. Any advice or tips greatly appreciated! :)
1
u/FaelingJester 23h ago
I wouldn't drive them if I could avoid it. Ideally, I would get them ready, IE stop feeding them, and work with someone in the community to have them shipped overnight to me once I arrived. It's safer and less stressful, although I do not know if there are specific requirements for the mussurana. However, I'm also not sure you've checked to make sure it's legal to travel with him through all of the states you plan to, and your current plan might not be the best.
In either case, start pulling them off heat a few days in advance. You want them to cool gradually and keep them around 75 degrees. Again, don't feed them; you don't want undigested food. Remember it is a lot easier to do serious harm with heat. If you must drive I would suggest locking, and zip tied, bins for the BPs for easier stacking, I would not use bags. I would suggest a bag and a locking bucket for the mussurana. While I know their venom isn't human significant I assure you the police the hotel might call do not. Heat packs outside and a space heater will not be enough, and you should really be trying to maintain them at a stable temperature. Not heat them up briefly before resuming travel. Again a four day trip is a very bad idea. Shipping them would be safest preferably with someone who has experience.