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[TheFreedomAngel]

Hi all,

I have 4 chinchillas, i live in the States but need to move to Asia permanently. I have to bring the chinchillas as well. Any one here have experience or advise on travelling with pets on the plane?

Please advise!

Thanks

[GrayRodent]

I think the biggest concern for you will be international customs. I've read that in Australia they are illegal to keep as pets. Do you know if there will be a mandatory quarantine? I know in some places it can be 6 months but it can be shorter if you have the right paperwork. If they are put in quarantine I suspect there is a possibly they could die from the stress if they are put in the same room with noisy dogs and cats for too long.

If you can carry pets onto the plane it would be best. It is going to be up to the airline policy if they will accept caged animals. I think most do. If you have someone else going with you maybe you can divide them up between two travel cages.

I read of a case where chinchillas have died in cargo bays because they got overheated and put near a load of dry ice that may have contributed to their deaths. That's about the extent of my knowledge.

[chinclub]

Check with the airlines because for awhile they were considering chinchillas exotics and won't let you carry them on.  This can be a problem depending on what time of year you are flying.  If you are going when it is hot the chinchillas could be outside longer than is safe waiting to be loaded and unloaded.

If your airline does consider them exotic you should be able to fight it.  Chinchillas are not considered an exotic animal by Aphis (USDA)

[TheFreedomAngel]

Thx, ill check up with the airline and customs. most likely international flights they will be in the cargo like other pet dogs or cats, Im more concerned about the environment they'll be in when theyre in there for more than 15 hours, does anyone know if there are any danger in terms of air pressure, temperature, etc. that might be fatal? Anyone tried moving chinchillas like this before can shed some light?

[mb30]

Please keep us updated on what you find...eventually ill be moving back to the states from the uk and any information you find out will be helpfull and appreciated.

[chinclub]

Chinchillas do fine flying. I have had chinchillas shipped to me and I have shipped chinchillas via the airlines.  Delta used to have a DASH service that ensured pets were hand delivered to plane just before take off and were the first to be removed by hand at landing so they spend zero time sitting out in the weather.  We also never shipped when either destination was hotter than 70 degrees.  If we had to ship during hotter months for some reason we would ship at night when the air was cooler. 

They will require a health certificate that any vet can sign.  Most require that it be done within so many days of the trip.  I shipped mine in a basic small plastic cat carrier that you get at Wal-Mart.  I wouldn't attach a water bottle because it would leak too bad with all of the moving around.  We also ziptied the door closed to be sure they didn't escape and no nosey worker tried to check them out.