Weekend Trips?

[BeansMama24]

I just joined so this is my first time posting!! I have a Sulcata (no clue of age but he’s very tiny) whose name is Bean. I have done a lot of research and am confident in taking care of him. He has his own TikTok if anyone would be interested in following him Anyways, the only thing I do not know about is traveling. We are going out of town this weekend and I was hoping to bring Bean with us but I’m not sure if it would be okay? I’d bring his entire enclosure with us, since he’s so small it is as well.
My thinking is- since he’s so small, he would adapt to weekend trips. But I also don’t want to stress him out and cause any problems.
All advice would greatly appreciated!!!

 

[Tim Carlisle]

I've known people who have done it, but I never did it with mine due to the whole stress issue with the environmental change. I had someone look after mine while I was out.

 

[Tom]

I just joined so this is my first time posting!! I have a Sulcata (no clue of age but he’s very tiny) whose name is Bean. I have done a lot of research and am confident in taking care of him. He has his own TikTok if anyone would be interested in following him Anyways, the only thing I do not know about is traveling. We are going out of town this weekend and I was hoping to bring Bean with us but I’m not sure if it would be okay? I’d bring his entire enclosure with us, since he’s so small it is as well.
My thinking is- since he’s so small, he would adapt to weekend trips. But I also don’t want to stress him out and cause any problems.
All advice would greatly appreciated!!!

Hello and welcome! Most of the care info out in the world is all wrong. Take a few minutes and review this info and look for the heating and lighting breakdown and the sulcata care sheet near the bottom. Questions are welcome. Most people do lots of research and then find out that all of that info was incorrect. We hope to help.

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Its best to leave the tortoise at home. Its very stressful on them to travel and also very difficult to maintain the correct temperatures. Your tortoise will do better if you leave it at home.

 

[wellington]

When I got my leopard, he was a hatchling. I would leave him for weekends. I had everything on timers and or thermostats. I made sure he had the proper bowls for water and he would have two. I would give him extra food the day I left and at one point I even grew food in the enclosure so when I left, he would have that to graze on.
When I left for longer periods, week, I hired a friend to check in on and feed/water my torts.

 

[ryan57]

When I got my leopard, he was a hatchling. I would leave him for weekends. I had everything on timers and or thermostats. I made sure he had the proper bowls for water and he would have two. I would give him extra food the day I left and at one point I even grew food in the enclosure so when I left, he would have that to graze on.
When I left for longer periods, week, I hired a friend to check in on and feed/water my torts.

Interesting story:

Stump 1yr 10month 2 week old tortoise about 23lbs has travelled 5 hours one way to my parents house 3 or 4 times, car trip to Florida last year for 2 weeks, Cape May New Jersey when we couldn't find a sitter and has been "duffled" as recently as this fall to stay in a hotel while Kathleen works. I play in a band that has gigs and when it was only Stump and no other tortoise yet we have taken him to a public park the day of the second gig and last time he walked about a mile around the paved path following us, having a ball and being fed dandelions by all the kids. Fun times.

Like Wellington mentioned, now that we have a small one we always have to arrange a tortoise sitter because 1) Stump is too big for this nonsense and 2) there are 2 of them that are completely separated which is not practical at all.

The story... At my parents house we went there when he was about 1lb. He had a favorite spot by the side of the garage that he dug out and would sit in the sunny afternoons. Walked past the garage doors and the sunny side of the garage became "his spot". 6 months later I go to my parents and he's much, much bigger. 6lbs or so. When I'm unloading his stuff from the Expedition I set him down in the driveway. You know what?? He went directly to the same spot and dug it out for his new size. Seriously. These creatures have some serious recall. My parents looked in astonishment like "Well OK then". We all did.

In motel or hotel rooms Stump always does the same thing. Looks around for a while, picks a corner... then goes around the space to make sure there are no threats and then goes back to the original corner. That's where we place his doggie bed and that's it. He's there. Food bowl and water dish and that's about it. Out during the day and then he's in bed for the night at 5:00 anyway.

BTW, Stump is growing like a beast (23lbs with 6 weeks until 2 years old) and the least stressed, go with the flow, laid back kind of tortoise. My other is a complete terror that makes you tired by watching it. (S)he almost got named "Demon". Sitting on the empty food dish at 7:00 am most days, poop in the water, If you don't get food by 7:30 it protests by trying to get the heck out of the enclosed chamber climbing the walls. If the food is there there are no escape plans that day so I know it's not environment related but rather hunger. This is one high strung, demanding individual.

 

[Jacqui]

I've traveled with tortoises in the semi and they all did well. That being said, it's best if they can stay home. So many things can go wrong on the road, especially during bad weather.