Although leopard geckos are not hard to care for, they do require frequent attention in order to get what’s needed for them to survive. Because of this, traveling can be difficult and can even cause confusion on what you should do for making sure that they’re being taken care of. That said, let’s now take a deeper look into this topic to see if doing something like this is even possible.
Can I take my leopard gecko on a plane? It depends. Some airlines will allow you to travel with reptiles while others won’t, so it’s best to check the policy of the airline that you decide to travel with before attempting to bring your leopard gecko along with you.
Although a lot of airlines don’t allow this type of transportation, fortunately, there are still other methods that you can use in order to bring or care for your leopard gecko that doesn’t include traveling in an airplane. Not only will some of these other options be less of a hassle for you, but they also might be safer for your leopard gecko as well. To find out what they are, read on.
Shipping Your Gecko
Yes, I said it. Shipping your gecko. Although this might not be as convenient as bringing them along with you on an airplane, it’ll probably be one of the best ways to get them to where you want them to go with the least amount of hassle and worry.
You may be wondering how exactly you’re going to ship your leopard gecko but believe it or not, there are actually companies out there that do specifically just that, and that’s ship reptiles from one location to another.
If this is something that you might be interested in if the airline you’re traveling with won’t allow you to bring your leopard gecko with you, then I suggest checking out this company here. From what I’ve seen, that is not the only company available that provides these types of services.
So before choosing this option, feel free to search around and choose the company that you’re most comfortable shipping your leopard gecko with.
Also, if possible, try reaching out to a friend, family member, or local reptile breeder in the city or location that you’re traveling to that can care for them if you feel that your gecko will arrive at the destination that you’re flying to before you happen to get there.
Because airplanes are the quickest form of traveling though, this likely shouldn’t be an issue.
Asking Loved Ones for Help
If you’re traveling just to visit a place for a certain amount of time, then bringing your leopard gecko with you might not be the best option. If this happens to be the case, then asking a family member or close friend to watch over them while you’re gone is probably the best route to go.
By doing this, you’re, again, not only not causing yourself to stress out due to the hassle and care that it will take to bring your leopard gecko with you on an airplane, but you’re also allowing yourself peace of mind as well knowing that someone that you personally know is taking care of your gecko’s wellbeing.
If getting a friend or family member to care for your leopard gecko does actually end up being an option, then you’ll want to make sure you prep everything prior to your trip to ensure that everything goes smoothly while you’re gone.
In order to do this, you’ll want to list down all of the things that your leopard gecko will require and then explain it in a clear manner how these things are given along with the things that shouldn’t be done or given as well.
Just to give you an example, here are some of the things that you might want to write down before temporarily handing your leopard gecko off to someone else:
- When to feed them
- How much to feed them
- How to feed them
- How to avoid startling them
- When to give them water
- When to change their water
- So on and so forth
Unless you’re handing your leopard gecko off to someone who has experience with them, then it’s important that you list down every detail that you can think of so that accidents aren’t made while you’re away.
If you’re not clear, the person caring for them may overfeed them, forget to change their water, leave insects in the tank that shouldn’t be left in there, and potentially even more. There are so many things that can go wrong when caring for a leopard gecko, so in order to be on the safe side, don’t hold back when giving the information needed to care for them.
Contacting a Breeder
In the case where you have absolutely nobody to contact and you don’t have the funds to ship your leopard gecko, then the next best thing you can do after that is to contact your local reptile breeder.
Reptile breeders sometimes get a bad rap for not caring for owners reptiles well, but if you do your research on the company and they have good reviews and people who have used them in the past are saying good things about them, then that should give you some clarity as to whether or not the company you’re looking into is a safe and trustworthy place to care for your leopard gecko while you’re gone on your trip.
If you see nothing but bad reviews and people you see who have dealt with the breeder are saying bad things about how they care for reptiles, then it’s safe to say that that’s probably not a place that you want to take your gecko.
The way you can find these breeders is by simply typing in “local reptile breeders near me” in your browser and reaching out to see if they care for reptiles. Some do while some don’t and some may only watch over your gecko for a certain amount of time so in order to figure that out, please reach out to them so that you know for sure.
Sometimes breeders can be cities away so before packing up your leopard gecko and driving to the nearest one, do your research first and also contact them so that you don’t end up wasting your time and energy driving somewhere that you’re not sure will watch over your gecko.
Not everyone who takes their pets to breeders has a bad experience with them, so before taking what’s said online about how bad they can be and running with it, please do the following steps above before reconsidering this as one of your options.
Traveling in a Car
This option is probably the least favored amongst all of the other options as it requires actually driving to your destination instead of flying, but if worse comes to worst and you have absolutely nobody to rely on, then driving is also another way of transporting your leopard gecko that you might want consider.
Traveling with your leopard gecko this way can also be a little bit of a hassle just like flying them in an airplane can, but it’s completely doable if you prep everything right before doing so.
Prepping will include providing them with heat, making sure the sun doesn’t bake them while you’re driving, and also securing them and the equipment within their tank so that things don’t move around while you drive and potentially injure them as a result.
If you’d like to read more about what exactly needs to be done in order to travel with them successfully by car, then I suggest reading this article here that I recently put together on the topic to get that information.
Conclusion
Traveling with a leopard gecko in a plane isn’t completely impossible, but because of airline policies and regulations, sometimes doing this can prove to be quite challenging. Because of that, it’s always good to have a backup way for transporting your gecko so that you’re not stuck wondering how you’re going to get to where you need to be all while bringing your leo with you.
If you’re going on a short trip, then reach out to people that you know might potentially take care of them while you’re gone as an alternative option to the plane trip. It’s safer for leopard geckos to be in the comfort of their tanks anyway, so if that is an option, then do that instead for safety purposes.
Before choosing that option, make sure the caregiver knows everything that needs to be done along with everything that shouldn’t be done as well. All it takes is one thing to happen to put your leopard geckos wellbeing in jeopardy, so make everything clear and double-check your list before heading off on your trip.
If you decide to give your leopard gecko to a local reptile breeder, then do heavy research on them and their company to ensure that your gecko will be in good hands.
