# Take him to summer home or leave him where he is comfortable?



## ReikiMasterKate (Jun 7, 2018)

Hello fellow tort lovers! We are fortunate enough to have a summer home on 2 and 1/2 acres in Green Valley (LA county/Santa Clarita, CA) and we are getting ready to move there for the reminder of the summer before it gets up into the 120s in Scottsdale, AZ. Ha!

Anyway, we have an 85 pound African Sulcata who we adopted from Phx Herpetological Society in mid-March. He is doing great, has dug one substantial burrow in our yard, and he seems totally happy with his environment.

We now need to decide whether it would be best to pay a caregiver for the month and 1/2 to two months we will be gone or to bring him with us to our summer home. Of course my kids and I would rather have him there with us. He would have lots and lots of natural grass in the yard to feed on ... We are just concerned the travel may be traumatic for him, and since he already has his established burrow at the Scottsdale home, I don’t know whether it may be discouraging to him to have to start fresh again in a new environment being that we only just got him a few short months ago.

As far as transporting him goes, we do have a 40 foot motor home he could ride there in with us, or I understand FedEx does reptile shipping. Does anyone have any experience with that process and know whether that is traumatic for the pets? Are they sedated first? Is that only for lighter reptiles?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

In Light,

Kate


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## Bee62 (Jun 7, 2018)

Short answer: Take your tort with you. Please !
A payed care taker takes never as good care for your tort as you would do. Imagine something would happen: The tort gets out of the enclosure and gets lost.
Build a nice outdoor enclosure by your summer house and for Gods sake, _take your tort with you._
He will be fine together with his family. A car ride does not harm him.
I would surely take him with me if I would be in your situation.


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## vladimir (Jun 7, 2018)

I'd opt for taking him with you, in the motor home rather than dealing with the stress of shipping. How long is the drive?


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## Big Charlie (Jun 7, 2018)

I'd probably take him with you. The weather in Green Valley is probably better than Phoenix. Do you have a fenced in area for him? The travel is stressful. I think it is best to keep him in the dark so he'll sleep through it.


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## ReikiMasterKate (Jun 7, 2018)

vladimir said:


> I'd opt for taking him with you, in the motor home rather than dealing with the stress of shipping. How long is the drive?


It is about 6 and 1/2 hours if we drive straight through, but with a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old, we usually stop once or twice. Thank you for your response.


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## ReikiMasterKate (Jun 7, 2018)

Big Charlie said:


> I'd probably take him with you. The weather in Green Valley is probably better than Phoenix. Do you have a fenced in area for him? The travel is stressful. I think it is best to keep him in the dark so he'll sleep through it.


Yes, the entire 2 and 1/2 acre property is fenced in. Thank u so much for the suggestion regarding keeping him in the dark. I hadn’t thought of that idea. )


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## ReikiMasterKate (Jun 7, 2018)

Bee62 said:


> Short answer: Take your tort with you. Please !
> A payed care taker takes never as good care for your tort as you would do. Imagine something would happen: The tort gets out of the enclosure and gets lost.
> Build a nice outdoor enclosure by your summer house and for Gods sake, _take your tort with you._
> He will be fine together with his family. A car ride does not harm him.
> I would surely take him with me if I would be in your situation.


Thank u so much! So far, it is *unanimous* . Everyone who has posted has agreed with you. Thanks again for the heartfelt post. <3 Looking forward to having him enjoy California. )


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## JoesMum (Jun 7, 2018)

Hmm. 85lb Sulcatas are bulldozers. They don't need the careful scrutiny of very young torts indoors. Much like my 7lb 40 year old Greek they are happiest free range in the yard they know. Letting a tort that size know there is a world outside is a disaster waiting to happen as @Yvonne G will tell you. 

They can knock down brick walls... I dread to think what one would do to a camper van... I'm thinking poop, pee and destruction. 

So I would recommend you train someone up to feed and care for your tort (it's unlikely to be much work) Fit a webcam if it helps you relax. And let your tort stay where he knows and where he's happy.

We never travelled with Joe and he was a darn sight more portable than this one


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## Team Gomberg (Jun 7, 2018)

Based on your situation, I would take him.

To prep for travel I wouldn't feed him the day or 2 before leaving. The day before and/or morning of the trip I'd give him at least 1 (if not more) warm soak to empty his bowels as much as possible.

Pack him in a box or rubbermaid tote with hay and keep the lid on so he's in the dark.

A 5, 6 or even 9 hour drive (factoring in family rest stops) with your tortoise in the dark and an empty tank will be just fine. 

I regularly take my leopard tortoise on short car rides (I have a mobile petting zoo) and he does fine in the dark, hay filled box.

I also traveled 12-13 hours with 3 leopards and the "no feed, warm soak" procedure was how I prepared them.


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## ReikiMasterKate (Jun 7, 2018)

Team Gomberg said:


> Based on your situation, I would take him.
> 
> To prep for travel I wouldn't feed him the day or 2 before leaving. The day before and/or morning of the trip I'd give him at least 1 (if not more) warm soak to empty his bowels as much as possible.
> 
> ...


Thank u. Additional great & important suggestions. I really appreciate your willingness to share your opinion & your story. Again, I would not have thought of the fasting for a day or two & being sure to personal him. How fantastic! A mobile petting zoo.


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## ReikiMasterKate (Jun 7, 2018)

JoesMum said:


> Hmm. 85lb Sulcatas are bulldozers. They don't need the careful scrutiny of very young torts indoors. Much like my 7lb 40 year old Greek they are happiest free range in the yard they know. Letting a tort that size know there is a world outside is a disaster waiting to happen as @Yvonne G will tell you.
> 
> They can knock down brick walls... I dread to think what one would do to a camper van... I'm thinking poop, pee and destruction.
> 
> ...


Thanks so much for sharing your experience and opinion.


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## Big Charlie (Jun 7, 2018)

JoesMum said:


> Hmm. 85lb Sulcatas are bulldozers. They don't need the careful scrutiny of very young torts indoors. Much like my 7lb 40 year old Greek they are happiest free range in the yard they know. Letting a tort that size know there is a world outside is a disaster waiting to happen as @Yvonne G will tell you.
> 
> They can knock down brick walls... I dread to think what one would do to a camper van... I'm thinking poop, pee and destruction.
> 
> ...


Normally I would agree with you, but I've been to Scottsdale in the summer, and it is an oven. I would worry more that being left there, even with a caregiver, he would overheat unless he had a pond, misters, or air conditioning.


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## ReikiMasterKate (Jun 7, 2018)

ReikiMasterKate said:


> Thank u. Additional great & important suggestions. I really appreciate your willingness to share your opinion & your story. Again, I would not have thought of the fasting for a day or two & being sure to personal him. How fantastic! A mobile petting zoo.


Soak him (not “personal” him). LoL! Gotta love that predictive text.


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## Team Gomberg (Jun 8, 2018)

ReikiMasterKate said:


> Soak him (not “personal” him). LoL! Gotta love that predictive text.



I have had to learn to thoroughly re read my texts before sending after a predictive message came out horribly wrong!  

But I caught on to what you meant


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## Maro2Bear (Jun 8, 2018)

Gee. We are looking to relocate to Scottsdale or Florida.... maybe you need a house sitter for a month! One that enjoys and cares for torts! Win win win!


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