Need help traveling with my tortoise

[Amanda1]

My Russian (Ana) hates car rides. I've been putting her in a plastic container with either her substrate (coco coir/sand) or towels. She paces back and forth and scratches at the walls, she starts breathing really loudly, and she poops everywhere. I've also tried putting in a little box for her to hide in, but it doesn't help much. Last week we went to the vet (just a check up, she's perfectly healthy), and she's still sulking about it. (She eats and basks normally, but when I get her out to exercise she just sits there). In about a month I'm moving 5 hours away, and I'm worried the car ride will be too stressful for her.

Any suggestions on how to make traveling easier? How do you travel with you tortoises? Do any of them have the same problems? Are there any tort tranquilizers available to calm them down like there are for dogs and cats?

 

[SulcataSquirt]

We travel with our sulcata in a sweater tote, green tinted so he can't see out the sides. At first he used to HATE it and would pace or hide in his hide log the whole drive - now hes gotten more used to it, or careless, so he eats and digs a burrow while driving just like he would at home. We have never had a problem with him pooping or peeing the whole time or nothing. Normally he will poop once when we first put him in - but thats it. Some people on the forum say if you keep them in the dark they will sleep. (depending on how far your driving and what time of day.) - Sorry I'm not too much help but someone will come along soon enough I'm sure.

 

[Tony the tank]

I travel with mine quite a bit..I have a place way up north we go to at least 3 times a month...With Tony I give him a good soak.. He does his business and he gets loaded in the Mini Van...He walks around then settles in between the Two dog crates...After about an Hr he walks to the front of the Mini Van and wife feeds him some carrots after which he goes back to the same place and settles in for the remaining 2 hrs...He have done this trip a few dozen times with only one accident....

 

[Jacqui]

Since your Russian has such big problems with car rides, I would suggest first making sure she has no problems with her temporary travel enclosure. If you put her into it and would feed her in it, does that first step cause any problems?

What I am trying to do, is to find out at what point does she seem to start getting stressed... the enclosure, the movement of the car, the noises in the car. If we can pinpoint what is causing her stress, then we can work out how to avoid or minimize that part of the trip experience for her.

 

[Edna]

My two littles Hermanns are traveling twice a day, 5 days a week. They live at home with me, travel with me to my classroom every school day. They are not in their travel box really long enough to even settle. They do seem to stress and little, pee and poop usually in the box. However, they also settle right into normal behavior once we're at school, and again as soon as we get home. They have continued to grow and seem healthy while being commuters with me. On the morning trip they are quiet, being in cooler temps and having just awakened. On the trip home they are most active, especially if it is warm outside and the interior of my vehicle is hot. I would suggest maybe trying to keep your tort cooler, like at her overnight temps, when traveling.
I have also taken my torts on longer trips with me, 300-400 miles each way. On longer trips they all travel in dark, insulated boxes and get set up in smaller versions of their home habitats on arrival. They don't seem to mind the travel.

 

[Amanda1]

Thanks everyone! Those are really good ideas. So I tried just putting her in the enclosure, and she started freaking out a little. So that seems to be a problem, maybe not the only one, but one we can fix. The sides are kind of transparent; I think next time I'll try something opaque.

 

[SulcataSquirt]

Thanks everyone! Those are really good ideas. So I tried just putting her in the enclosure, and she started freaking out a little. So that seems to be a problem, maybe not the only one, but one we can fix. The sides are kind of transparent; I think next time I'll try something opaque.

I would definitely try something she can't see through.. instead of buying something new try just taping newspaper or something up first and see if that even helps before spending the money. Depending on how much she is freaking out it could just be natural reaction/anxiety to being taken out of her normal home.