It’s bound to happen. You are going to run into a situation where you need to take your beardie somewhere. Whether it’s to the vet, to have them boarded, or on an extended trip, you are going to have to travel with your beardie at some point in time.
That leaves you with the question of how to travel with a bearded dragon. Not only short distances, like taking them to a vet or down to the park for a nice day in the sun, but also long distances.
When traveling with a bearded dragon, keep them inside an enclosure that provides room to move and is lined with soft material to cushion any sudden motion. Use hand warmers or heat packs wrapped in a towel to provide warmth. Secure the enclosure in place to prevent harm in the case of an accident.
If you are wondering if and how long your beardie can stay home alone, make sure to check out our in-depth article here. If you have decided that you’ll need to take them with you, read on!
Bearded dragons don’t really like change (none of us do, right?). So if you can leave them home safely, that’s usually the best option. This, of course, excludes trips outside to be in the sun. It also excludes those of you who take your beardie everywhere and your beardie is used to new and exciting environments.
For the other beardie owners out there who don’t travel with their dragon regularly, there are a few simple steps to traveling with a bearded dragon that will make life easier for you and your dragon.
Short trips
The most common reasons you’ll need to travel with your beardie are trips to the vet or taking them somewhere to have them boarded. Both are usually short trips, so arranging for their safe transport is a relatively simple matter.
Making a carrier
There are a few basic concerns when putting together a carrier for your beardie to travel in:
- Ventilation
- Safety
- Temperature
When we take Bacardi to the reptile store to board her, we use a large shoebox. It’s actually a box that boots came in, so it is amply sized for her to move around a little. It’s also not big enough to be cumbersome or easily dropped.
This has worked really well for several trips and is our preferred method. The box is opaque, so it keeps her calmer than one she could see through. We’ve seen carriers that are clear and that don’t limit the stress of travel.
Bacardi seems to do well in a cozy, dark enclosure while traveling. She does scratch at the sides a little but nothing frantic, and usually not for long.
Other viable containers to use would be properly sized Sterilite containers, cardboard boxes, Rubbermaid bins, and other similar containers as long as they have a lid that is secure and cannot be pushed open by your beardie.
Ventilation
A primary concern for the carrier is that there is proper ventilation. Your bearded dragon, like you, enjoys breathing! Make sure they can do it by ventilating the carrier. Making a series of small ventilation holes across the top of the carrier will do the trick nicely.
If you’ve chosen a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid, ensure that you have ample holes made. It’s also a good idea to put holes not only in the top of the carrier but on at least one side as well. This will aid airflow, which is good for your beardie!
Safety
Bearded dragons, while being fairly resilient for their size, are also susceptible to injury while traveling. It’s important to take a few precautions to ensure they are safe.
First, make sure to line the carrier with soft towels. Don’t just plop them onto bare cardboard or plastic bin bottom. They not only need something to be able to hold on to, but they need some padding for comfort too!
As your car moves, your beardie will slide around helplessly without this bedding. Even slight turns, minor acceleration, or gentle braking will send them skidding across the carrier and into the side of their traveling enclosure.
This type of instability can cause both undue stresses as well as injury. For these reasons, we not only like to line the bottom of our carrier but also allow the towels to cover at least the bottom portion of the sides too.
Speaking of the motion of your car, take it easy! There is no reason to speed around, accelerate hard, or brake quickly. Take care not to be all herky-jerky in your driving. Your beardie will thank you for it!
Lastly, make sure to buckle up! Place the carrier on the seat of your car and use the belt to secure it in place. It won’t do much in the case of a major accident, but it will help a whole lot if you have to slam on the brakes to avoid one.
Temperature
As we covered in our in-depth guide to lighting (article coming soon), bearded dragons are exothermic animals, which means they get their needed body heat from outside sources.
That said, we aren’t trying to replicate their vivarium for short trips. They won’t need a basking spot. They simply need a comfortable temperature for the duration of the trip.
That means that you’ll need to provide a modest heat source but nothing crazy. The goal is to give them a temperature of 65-70℉ (18-21℃) at the low end to around 90℉ (32℃) at the high end. While there are quite a few ways to do this, I’ve used two very successfully and like them the best.
As a note, this only applies to cold weather. With an ambient temperature of 75℉ (24℃) or higher, this won’t be necessary in most cases.
Heat packs
Also known as hand or foot warmers, these packs use a chemical reaction to get and stay warm for hours. They are great if your trip is going to be longer than an hour. With a little care, they are the ideal solution. Just make sure to follow a couple of simple guidelines.
First, don’t use too many. We use two in Bacardi’s boot box carrier, and it’s the perfect amount. Even though they don’t feel like it at first, heat packs put out a lot of heat. They can get up to about 105℉ (41℃) in the right conditions and typically level out in the 80℉ range (27℃).
Inside a closed container, even one that is well-ventilated, a lot of heat can build up. We recommend using your temp gun to test and monitor just how many you’ll need and to make sure you don’t overdo it.
Remember our goal of 70-90℉ (21-32℃) for the duration of the trip.
Second, make sure to wrap the warmers in towels. They can get hot to the touch and your beardie could burn itself if it decides to lay directly on them. They fluctuate in temp and can go from comfortable to hot pretty fast.
Third, keep them off to one side of the carrier. Just like in a bearded dragon’s primary home, give them the ability to regulate their temperature by moving closer to or further from the heat source. The goal is not only to keep your beardie warm but to allow them to be comfortable as well!
Hot water
Our other preferred source of heat is much simpler. It’s what we use on shorter trips of an hour or less. It’s also free!
Hot water is a great way to keep your traveling carrier warm. It’s simply a matter of how to pack the water without it being a hassle.
Some people choose to use plastic bottles filled with hot water. We’re not a fan of this as water bottles are big, heavy, and can roll around in a moving car. These are not ideal qualities when trying to keep your beardie safe.
Instead, we make a homemade water-based heat pack. I take a 12” x 12” microfiber towel and fold it in quarters. We soak it in warm water and ring some of the water out. Enough that it’s not dripping everywhere, but still nice and soaked.
Then we put it in a freezer bag and seal it with just a little bit of air trapped inside. The air serves as insulation and keeps the towel warm longer. You’ll be surprised at how long this little setup can keep warm!
Now, put the whole thing in the microwave for a few seconds. When done, measure it with your temp gun. You are looking for the 90-95℉ (32-35℃) range. This is not hot enough to go over our goal temps for too long, but still warm enough to last for a while as the pack cools down.
Once you have the pack at the right temperature, fold it in half and place it under the towels on one side of your carrier. This gives your beardie a warm side and a cooler side to pick from. We’ve used this method a bunch of times, and it works great!
Your car’s temperature
One last step before taking off with your bearded dragon in tow is to get your car to the right temperature. If it’s too cold, a lot of the warmth in your carrier will quickly dissipate. If it’s too hot, the carrier could get too warm.
Take a few minutes before you load up the car to get it to its traveling temperature first. We like to keep ours at about 70-75℉ (21-24℃) for the duration of the trip.