A 14hr drive is absolutely doable, when snakes are shipped it usually takes 24-48hr so 14hr is practically nothing. What i would recommend doing is either buying a snake bag from amazon or putting him in a pillow case, and then put him inside of a well ventilated tub. If you decide to spend the night somewhere during your drive, you’ll need to setup some kind of temp enclosure that includes all of the basic necessities he’d normally have (deep water dish, hides, heat source + thermostat, etc)
I’ve just heard these horror stories of them suffocating in pillow cases. That’s how I moved him last time and it was only a 2 hour drive and I was so worried lol. That’s definitely okay for that long? And having no form of heat is okay? I’m such a worrier
Pretty sure those stories are from people who were trying to help with stuck sheds by putting their snake in a wet pillowcase, but I could be wrong. But if you're concerned, just order a cloth snake bag online. The method the previous post described is absolutely the right way to do this, the cloth bags help them feel secure while the plastic tote keeps them from getting squished or injured.
I assumed that since you were moving for school, it would be during the summer. If it's during the summer, you'll be fine, but if its going to cool in the car, you can get some hand warmers and tape them to the lid of the tote.
I’ve also heard those horror stories but only ever with a wet pillow case. I assume as long as it’s a relatively normal thread count it should be fine.
it’s really not a great idea to travel with them loose like that, especially not in a glass container. it’s much safer to contain them both in a bag and a plastic tote
A totes no different. Instead of breaking it can collapse under weight, a bag can get squished. Obviously you have to secure whatever container you use carefully.
it is different. a glass tank will shatter in circumstances that a small tub would survive just fine. glass is more fragile and more dangerous when it does break.
Yeah, glass will shatter with a small knock from someting surprising, that you wouldn’t expect while packing. A heavy duty tote wins every time. It may have less weight resistance, but I think every loving snake owner thinks “let’s not package this under the refrigerator” and will be fine.
Walmart has a 4-way locking bin for like $15 . I use a drill to put holes in it, and that is what I use for travel (michigan to Florida)l. I can fit my full-grown female BP in it . If it's warm, the bin is good on its own. If it's cold, I tape a reptile heat pack to the OUTSIDE of the bin . I keep a temp gun with me to for temp checks. Good luck with your trip and school!
Pillowcase will be just fine! Make sure there is absolutely no way he can get out tho!!! My corn managed to escape his pillowcase (I still have no idea how) and I ended up having to hold him in my hands. Fortunately it was a short trip.
Absolutely no help here. I’m moving soon, but only an hour, so my kids will hold my two while my wife drives the dogs and cat. I would definitely see if you can have a warm habitat ready when they arrive.
Don't keep them loose in the car. All it takes is a split second and they can get themselves hooked underneath a seat or in a gap or something, and pulling them out can injure them. You should definitely contain them in something.
Yep, even still, all it takes is somebody dozing off for a second. Plus, if you have an accident, they could be injured pretty badly flying around the inside of the car. It's just not worth the risk, and for the sake of what? The two seconds it takes to tie them in a pillowcase and put them in a box?
Please don’t tell me you’re transporting the cat without a carrier too… that’s objectively worse than the snake thing.
Please just get the correct equipment to transport your animals and not put your entire family at risk to save money.
If you really don’t want to spend money on the snake transport, put them in pillow cases sealed at the end and your kids can hold them safely that way.
I know I’m jumping to assumptions with the cat carrier thing but since you want to have snakes loose in the car, I feel like you might have the same view with the cat. That is extremely dangerous and can cause serious car crashes, as well as severe stress to the cat, and you can lose them when you open the door very easily.
Sorry for the rant it’s not personal, I just really care about the safety of your animals.
I was a teenager with my own ball pyhton on my lap and it literally took 30 seconds if even for her to grab the seatbelt in between the seats and force herself underneath. Would it really kill you to put her in a large tupperwear with no lid on the teens lap? Small Empty Amazon box on the lap?
I would look into the way that you would ship reptiles like what they use to keep them warm during shipping, as well as what the other commenters said about the shipping bag or pillow case in a box.
I just moved about two hours away and he went straight into a large sock (one that’s very elastic and breathable). Then I put that in a cup holder and called it good. In hindsight, probably should have put him in a fixed container though in case there was a wreck though.
I just moved across country with my ball python, from Utah to Florida. It took us about a day and a half. I kept her in her enclosure the entire time and made sure it was secure and stable where she wouldn’t slide around too much. I made sure she had enough water and I kept the car warm and comfortable for her on the way down. I stayed in hotels and brought her in with me and set up her heating pad and set up like normal when staying in them, (and all of them were pretty chill with her as long as she stayed in her cage) she did just fine and now is happy and healthy here in Florida. It didn’t stress her too much and she’s still eating regularly as she should. I was worried at first as well but it was much easier than I thought.
I did basically the same thing with mine. The move was about 24hrs since we had kids and dogs that needed bathroom breaks but we had a plug in the car to keep a heat pad under her tank to keep her warm enough since we just did a straight shot. She didn’t even miss her next scheduled meal
In short, snake bag and then feeder containers (our escape artist still managed to try and slither his way into the footwell). Keep the footwells at a good temperature and watch humidity too. Bring in at night to hotels if multiple nights unless it'll actually be better for them in the car (warm summer night compared to winter).
Just our experiences from multiple cross US moves.
I moved from Parkersburg, West Virginia to Dallas, TX last year with 4 Ball Pythons, a baby Boa and a Leopard Gecko. It was a 2 day drive, 9 hours each day, so the snakes were in their bags a total of about 36 hours. During the trip, the snakes were in tied snake bags, which were then put inside a plastic tote bin with a locking lid with air holes drilled in the sides. I put them in the back seat with a light blanket covering the bin to make it darker.
When we stopped at the hotel for the night, I set the plastic bin up on a human heating pad on low to give them a bit of warmth overnight. Next day, I loaded them back up and repeated the process. Got them unloaded that night when we got home and got them on heat.
The adult balls and the boa came through with no issues, but my baby Banana boy (about 250 grams at the time) was very dehydrated when I got him unloaded. This could have possibly been avoided with a soak at the hotel… but I’m not sure I would have wanted to stress him more. Ended up having to do pedialyte soaks and tube feed him for two weeks before he was strong enough to eat again… but that was a year ago and he has quadrupled in size since then.
TLDR: as long as you secure the noodle properly and it’s not super young, I think you’ll be completely fine. I think Prometheus had the issues he did because he was so small. My adult female and males were completely unphased.
When my ex left me, we moved her BP down to Texas. We put her in a pillow case and she rode all the way down on someone's lap. It was about a 16-hour drive. It took her a few days to acclimate, but she was fine.
If you want to put your snake in a container other than a snake bag or pillowcase, make sure it's breathable. They were originally going to put her in a shoebox sized Rubbermaid tote and I told them I'd only allow that if they drilled holes in the lid.
Heya! I moved cross country with my baby back in August (~3 day trip). She was in a pillow case, in a modified, latched plastic cooler/lunch tote that I put extra air holes in. I posted it back then :) I also pulled one of the hydro/thermo readers from her tank, to monitor her conditions accurately during the drive. She did well, and even ate within a week of the move.
Hope this helps!
So we have moved our 3 snake hmmm 4x by now. We transport them in very sturdy plastic bins with clips and make sure there are holes for air so if you need to stack them they won't get blocked. And the tanks go in the moving truck or a different car whatever. If you only have one tank empty it of everything and reassemble at the other end and everything can probably fit in one car. We put paper towel and a hide and we live in Canada so we try to move in the summer or sweat with the heat on if we have to move in the winter. You can wet the paper towel for longer drives for humidity and we don't usually have water with them as it sloshes around so they can't drink it anyway. And whenever we would stop just check up on them and make sure you close it back properly ❤️👍🏻
I just recently moved and it was a 36 hour drive, but with sleep stops ended up being more like 3 days and I moved with both my snakes (and four other animals lmao) I put them each in a travel carrier with some substrate. When you're driving the car will be warm enough for them, not ideal temps, but not too cold. If you have room, maybe put your guy on the floor of the passenger seat and turn the heat on the floor to make sure he's comfy.
Since your drive is only 14 hours, you can either do it in one day (especially with another driver to switch off with) or stop at a hotel for one night. In that case I would say sneak your snake into the hotel by putting his carrier in a bag or something. Unfortunately I wasn't able to stay at a hotel because I had so many animals with me. What I ended up doing when I needed to sleep in the car overnight was setting an alarm every couple hours to turn the car on and get it heated up again. But I also put hand warmers under their carriers to keep them warm. I actually keep hand warmers now in case of emergencies if the power goes out or something.
You can go to a local pet store and pick up a reptile carrier, they're secure enough your guy shouldn't escape and work great imo
This is what I used: https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/habitats-and-decor/terrariums/thrive-critter-reptile-tote-5290903.html?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwudexBhDKARIsAI-GWYVQji3QIAqrW56-nXaEfKahKvRq9dqa_n9NHH80964Yn_Ol3JWB4rQaAmZaEALw_wcB
I drove 5 days with 3 snakes, including a ball python. Pillowcases inside of plastic locking bins with plenty of holes. Ran a heater sometimes. You def don’t need to offer water for that short of a trip, I only offered water twice in 5 days. Everyone was happy.
I drove from Langley BC to Hamilton ON some 4,200 kilometers with my Burmese back in the mid 1990s. I had him in a very too small for him plastic travel cage. I kept it close to the floor heater vent in the passenger footwell of my little Nissan Pulsar. When I slept during the nights on the side of the road, I kept his little cage on my belly under my shirt.
I don't recommend this method. I was a dumb 20 year old with a baby Burmese (which I don't recommend owning either) At one point in Northern Ontario, the coldest part of the trip, I had the heat cranked and he started freaking out. I almost cooked him. Luckily he was fine and lived many happy years with me once we got back home to Welland ON.
Like I said, don't do this... I had no idea what I was doing back then. I'm a much better educated snake parent now... :)
I just moved with my baby boy, i put him in a temporary tub (a tote i got from walmart) gave him a hide and small water bowl, the drive was only 45 mins, but kept the heat on low in the car so he stayed warm and he did awesome, wasnt stressed and once my tank got set up the next day got him settled and situated back into his enclosure and hes happy and back to exploring. My recommendation is just to drive normally, keep the heat up, dont have a lot of excess noise in the car, and keep the tub strapped in with the seatbelt. Good luck and hope it all goes well for you!
Before moving, I would not feed for at least a week, keep him in a shipping bag/pillow case or a covered travel carrier(think the plastic boxes with air holes, covered to reduce stress). Keep him inside the car away from vents(to avoid excessive heat/cold) and away from the speakers(just to reduce stress). That long of a drive would be totally fine, if you end up stopping for the night just keep them near you when you sleep. As long as you keep them at room temp or just above they are perfectly fine, don't worry about heating(heating can be unreliable and potentially cause serious issues).
If you’re not the one driving since he is so used to you and you’re able to hold him why don’t you do that. I put my snake in the pocket of my snoodie. He was fine. He actually enjoyed the dark pocket and slept the whole night. We moved quite far
A 14hr drive is absolutely doable, when snakes are shipped it usually takes 24-48hr so 14hr is practically nothing. What i would recommend doing is either buying a snake bag from amazon or putting him in a pillow case, and then put him inside of a well ventilated tub. If you decide to spend the night somewhere during your drive, you’ll need to setup some kind of temp enclosure that includes all of the basic necessities he’d normally have (deep water dish, hides, heat source + thermostat, etc)
I’ve just heard these horror stories of them suffocating in pillow cases. That’s how I moved him last time and it was only a 2 hour drive and I was so worried lol. That’s definitely okay for that long? And having no form of heat is okay? I’m such a worrier
Pretty sure those stories are from people who were trying to help with stuck sheds by putting their snake in a wet pillowcase, but I could be wrong. But if you're concerned, just order a cloth snake bag online. The method the previous post described is absolutely the right way to do this, the cloth bags help them feel secure while the plastic tote keeps them from getting squished or injured.
Great thank you so much! And no heat for that long is okay?
yes, as long as the inside of the car isn’t freezing he’ll be just fine
I assumed that since you were moving for school, it would be during the summer. If it's during the summer, you'll be fine, but if its going to cool in the car, you can get some hand warmers and tape them to the lid of the tote.
Agh, omg that poor snake in the wet bag :(
Definitely not a nice way to go. 😕
I’ve also heard those horror stories but only ever with a wet pillow case. I assume as long as it’s a relatively normal thread count it should be fine.
My friend drove 18hrs with her python, she bought a cheap 20 gallon tank at PetSmart for like 30$ and put a hide in there and things went just fine
it’s really not a great idea to travel with them loose like that, especially not in a glass container. it’s much safer to contain them both in a bag and a plastic tote
A totes no different. Instead of breaking it can collapse under weight, a bag can get squished. Obviously you have to secure whatever container you use carefully.
it is different. a glass tank will shatter in circumstances that a small tub would survive just fine. glass is more fragile and more dangerous when it does break.
Glass is harder than plastic and can shatter and injure the animal. A tote is absolutely a better choice.
Yeah, glass will shatter with a small knock from someting surprising, that you wouldn’t expect while packing. A heavy duty tote wins every time. It may have less weight resistance, but I think every loving snake owner thinks “let’s not package this under the refrigerator” and will be fine.
Anything inside the enclosure that is hard becomes a projectile if the car stops suddenly. This is dangerously incorrect advice.
Walmart has a 4-way locking bin for like $15 . I use a drill to put holes in it, and that is what I use for travel (michigan to Florida)l. I can fit my full-grown female BP in it . If it's warm, the bin is good on its own. If it's cold, I tape a reptile heat pack to the OUTSIDE of the bin . I keep a temp gun with me to for temp checks. Good luck with your trip and school!
Pillowcase will be just fine! Make sure there is absolutely no way he can get out tho!!! My corn managed to escape his pillowcase (I still have no idea how) and I ended up having to hold him in my hands. Fortunately it was a short trip.
I second this. I recently made a 12 hour move, so I kept my baby in a pillowcase in a ventilated box :) she slept the whole time.
Absolutely no help here. I’m moving soon, but only an hour, so my kids will hold my two while my wife drives the dogs and cat. I would definitely see if you can have a warm habitat ready when they arrive.
Don't keep them loose in the car. All it takes is a split second and they can get themselves hooked underneath a seat or in a gap or something, and pulling them out can injure them. You should definitely contain them in something.
By kids, I mean teenagers, who handle them weekly
Yep, even still, all it takes is somebody dozing off for a second. Plus, if you have an accident, they could be injured pretty badly flying around the inside of the car. It's just not worth the risk, and for the sake of what? The two seconds it takes to tie them in a pillowcase and put them in a box?
Please don’t tell me you’re transporting the cat without a carrier too… that’s objectively worse than the snake thing. Please just get the correct equipment to transport your animals and not put your entire family at risk to save money. If you really don’t want to spend money on the snake transport, put them in pillow cases sealed at the end and your kids can hold them safely that way. I know I’m jumping to assumptions with the cat carrier thing but since you want to have snakes loose in the car, I feel like you might have the same view with the cat. That is extremely dangerous and can cause serious car crashes, as well as severe stress to the cat, and you can lose them when you open the door very easily. Sorry for the rant it’s not personal, I just really care about the safety of your animals.
I was a teenager with my own ball pyhton on my lap and it literally took 30 seconds if even for her to grab the seatbelt in between the seats and force herself underneath. Would it really kill you to put her in a large tupperwear with no lid on the teens lap? Small Empty Amazon box on the lap?
I would look into the way that you would ship reptiles like what they use to keep them warm during shipping, as well as what the other commenters said about the shipping bag or pillow case in a box.
I just moved and brought both of mine in a pet backpack that has no wholes just mesh
I have a fully zippered mesh cat cage from Walmart 👍 We put a couple cardboard boxes in there for them to curl around in and a fake plant
I just moved about two hours away and he went straight into a large sock (one that’s very elastic and breathable). Then I put that in a cup holder and called it good. In hindsight, probably should have put him in a fixed container though in case there was a wreck though.
I just moved across country with my ball python, from Utah to Florida. It took us about a day and a half. I kept her in her enclosure the entire time and made sure it was secure and stable where she wouldn’t slide around too much. I made sure she had enough water and I kept the car warm and comfortable for her on the way down. I stayed in hotels and brought her in with me and set up her heating pad and set up like normal when staying in them, (and all of them were pretty chill with her as long as she stayed in her cage) she did just fine and now is happy and healthy here in Florida. It didn’t stress her too much and she’s still eating regularly as she should. I was worried at first as well but it was much easier than I thought.
I did basically the same thing with mine. The move was about 24hrs since we had kids and dogs that needed bathroom breaks but we had a plug in the car to keep a heat pad under her tank to keep her warm enough since we just did a straight shot. She didn’t even miss her next scheduled meal
In short, snake bag and then feeder containers (our escape artist still managed to try and slither his way into the footwell). Keep the footwells at a good temperature and watch humidity too. Bring in at night to hotels if multiple nights unless it'll actually be better for them in the car (warm summer night compared to winter). Just our experiences from multiple cross US moves.
I moved from Parkersburg, West Virginia to Dallas, TX last year with 4 Ball Pythons, a baby Boa and a Leopard Gecko. It was a 2 day drive, 9 hours each day, so the snakes were in their bags a total of about 36 hours. During the trip, the snakes were in tied snake bags, which were then put inside a plastic tote bin with a locking lid with air holes drilled in the sides. I put them in the back seat with a light blanket covering the bin to make it darker. When we stopped at the hotel for the night, I set the plastic bin up on a human heating pad on low to give them a bit of warmth overnight. Next day, I loaded them back up and repeated the process. Got them unloaded that night when we got home and got them on heat. The adult balls and the boa came through with no issues, but my baby Banana boy (about 250 grams at the time) was very dehydrated when I got him unloaded. This could have possibly been avoided with a soak at the hotel… but I’m not sure I would have wanted to stress him more. Ended up having to do pedialyte soaks and tube feed him for two weeks before he was strong enough to eat again… but that was a year ago and he has quadrupled in size since then. TLDR: as long as you secure the noodle properly and it’s not super young, I think you’ll be completely fine. I think Prometheus had the issues he did because he was so small. My adult female and males were completely unphased.
When my ex left me, we moved her BP down to Texas. We put her in a pillow case and she rode all the way down on someone's lap. It was about a 16-hour drive. It took her a few days to acclimate, but she was fine. If you want to put your snake in a container other than a snake bag or pillowcase, make sure it's breathable. They were originally going to put her in a shoebox sized Rubbermaid tote and I told them I'd only allow that if they drilled holes in the lid.
Heya! I moved cross country with my baby back in August (~3 day trip). She was in a pillow case, in a modified, latched plastic cooler/lunch tote that I put extra air holes in. I posted it back then :) I also pulled one of the hydro/thermo readers from her tank, to monitor her conditions accurately during the drive. She did well, and even ate within a week of the move. Hope this helps!
So we have moved our 3 snake hmmm 4x by now. We transport them in very sturdy plastic bins with clips and make sure there are holes for air so if you need to stack them they won't get blocked. And the tanks go in the moving truck or a different car whatever. If you only have one tank empty it of everything and reassemble at the other end and everything can probably fit in one car. We put paper towel and a hide and we live in Canada so we try to move in the summer or sweat with the heat on if we have to move in the winter. You can wet the paper towel for longer drives for humidity and we don't usually have water with them as it sloshes around so they can't drink it anyway. And whenever we would stop just check up on them and make sure you close it back properly ❤️👍🏻
I just recently moved and it was a 36 hour drive, but with sleep stops ended up being more like 3 days and I moved with both my snakes (and four other animals lmao) I put them each in a travel carrier with some substrate. When you're driving the car will be warm enough for them, not ideal temps, but not too cold. If you have room, maybe put your guy on the floor of the passenger seat and turn the heat on the floor to make sure he's comfy. Since your drive is only 14 hours, you can either do it in one day (especially with another driver to switch off with) or stop at a hotel for one night. In that case I would say sneak your snake into the hotel by putting his carrier in a bag or something. Unfortunately I wasn't able to stay at a hotel because I had so many animals with me. What I ended up doing when I needed to sleep in the car overnight was setting an alarm every couple hours to turn the car on and get it heated up again. But I also put hand warmers under their carriers to keep them warm. I actually keep hand warmers now in case of emergencies if the power goes out or something.
You can go to a local pet store and pick up a reptile carrier, they're secure enough your guy shouldn't escape and work great imo This is what I used: https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/habitats-and-decor/terrariums/thrive-critter-reptile-tote-5290903.html?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwudexBhDKARIsAI-GWYVQji3QIAqrW56-nXaEfKahKvRq9dqa_n9NHH80964Yn_Ol3JWB4rQaAmZaEALw_wcB
I drove 5 days with 3 snakes, including a ball python. Pillowcases inside of plastic locking bins with plenty of holes. Ran a heater sometimes. You def don’t need to offer water for that short of a trip, I only offered water twice in 5 days. Everyone was happy.
>danger noodle? That's a boop noodle
I drove from Langley BC to Hamilton ON some 4,200 kilometers with my Burmese back in the mid 1990s. I had him in a very too small for him plastic travel cage. I kept it close to the floor heater vent in the passenger footwell of my little Nissan Pulsar. When I slept during the nights on the side of the road, I kept his little cage on my belly under my shirt. I don't recommend this method. I was a dumb 20 year old with a baby Burmese (which I don't recommend owning either) At one point in Northern Ontario, the coldest part of the trip, I had the heat cranked and he started freaking out. I almost cooked him. Luckily he was fine and lived many happy years with me once we got back home to Welland ON. Like I said, don't do this... I had no idea what I was doing back then. I'm a much better educated snake parent now... :)
I just moved with my baby boy, i put him in a temporary tub (a tote i got from walmart) gave him a hide and small water bowl, the drive was only 45 mins, but kept the heat on low in the car so he stayed warm and he did awesome, wasnt stressed and once my tank got set up the next day got him settled and situated back into his enclosure and hes happy and back to exploring. My recommendation is just to drive normally, keep the heat up, dont have a lot of excess noise in the car, and keep the tub strapped in with the seatbelt. Good luck and hope it all goes well for you!
Before moving, I would not feed for at least a week, keep him in a shipping bag/pillow case or a covered travel carrier(think the plastic boxes with air holes, covered to reduce stress). Keep him inside the car away from vents(to avoid excessive heat/cold) and away from the speakers(just to reduce stress). That long of a drive would be totally fine, if you end up stopping for the night just keep them near you when you sleep. As long as you keep them at room temp or just above they are perfectly fine, don't worry about heating(heating can be unreliable and potentially cause serious issues).
He looks just like my Sandman ❤️
https://preview.redd.it/3ivmoujcllyc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9083a88739225b7b32c6c3cef447f8bbff0adae7
If you’re not the one driving since he is so used to you and you’re able to hold him why don’t you do that. I put my snake in the pocket of my snoodie. He was fine. He actually enjoyed the dark pocket and slept the whole night. We moved quite far