Question: Moving 12 Hours With Axolotl?

I maybe soon moving 12 hours away from where I currently live, though moving could take up to a week with driving and I was wondering how would my axolotl be, doing this?

It's currently winter here so no worries with temp, I'm just wondering about stress, feeding and anything else I may have forgotten.

Thanks.

If it's going to take around a week, you could just put them in their own individual containers in a cooler. Have a few water bottles filled with good water for water changes and a small container with some of their food put to the side. A little axolotl pack, if you will.

With most any tanks, it's always best to take apart the tank last and set it up first. I can understand if this isn't an option for you though.

imzunicorn said:

If it's going to take around a week, you could just put them in their own individual containers in a cooler. Have a few water bottles filled with good water for water changes and a small container with some of their food put to the side. A little axolotl pack, if you will.

With most any tanks, it's always best to take apart the tank last and set it up first. I can understand if this isn't an option for you though.

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totally agree!!!

Okay, thank you guys. Would it be any worse or better if he was in a bag sitting in my lap with half a bag of air? That's how I usually move fish, etc. I just thought if the car comes to a stop he could hit into the side of the container and hurt himself. Also is there anything to worry about with chemicals from the containers harming him?

We just did a 9 hour move with my little guys. We did it all in one day though, so it was a little different. I made sure to feed them really well the day before, and then the morning of I packed each in their own ziploc, half full of water and double bagged them. I put them in a styrofoam cooler with wadded newspapers all around and a towel in the bottom, I figured that would cushion them a bit. I added frozen ice packs on one side and the top.

They were packed up and in the trunk for about 2 hours before we left, and then we drove straight for 9 hours. At about the 6 hour mark I stopped and added two large cupfulls of ice as it seemed they were warming up in there. Their tank was the first thing I set up here. I had emptied their tank into gallon jugs, so I wouldn't have to start over with the cycling when I got here.

They made the trip with seemingly no problems. Both showed no signs of stress other than being a little shy about eating the next day, but that's understandable. They just gobbled up a bigger worm later :happy: Good luck with your move!

I think they are better off in the cooler than in your lap. Both because of the temperature, and also because in a sudden stop they could fly off your lap to the floor, which is worse than bumping the side of the cooler. You can pad them well inside the cooler using towels or some kind of foam.

Why is a 12 hour move taking a week? Sightseeing? Hopefully not. This would be really difficult to do without exposing them to heat somewhere along the trip.

Is there someone at the new location that could care for them? If so, you could consider shipping them.

As imzuni pointed out, take plenty of axolotl-ready clean water with you for water changes. I would say it's better NOT to feed them during the trip. The additional waste they produce as a result could be worse for them than a bit of hunger. A week is no problem without food, as long as they are in healthy condition to begin with.