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[akmatulic]

Hey guys, so I have a question about chinchillas being able to travel. I just recently got a chinchilla. I've had her for 2 months now, but she's about 6-7 months old and she's my baby. I love her to death. I currently live in Massachusetts, and I have to make some big changes in my life. One of those changes is figuring out which college to transfer to. I applied to college in Croatia, Europe, and have been seriously considering it, but there is no way I can leave my chinchilla behind. I love her too much and I know they can live a long time so it would be too devastating for me to leave her, especially after the bond we've created. I read online that chinchillas can technically travel by plane, but I'm scared that it'd be too much air pressure for her, and god knows what'd happen. Any thoughts on chinchillas being able to travel overseas? I mean this is not a definite answer for me yet, and a lot depends on this. If she can't make it with me, that will have to be the unfortunate truth, but I need an expert to tell me, someone who knows more about the topic. Any opinions are welcome!!

[GrayRodent]

Traveling by air, in theory, is okay. The fact is you don't know how your pets will be handled. If they are transported straight to the cargo bay (which is pressurized and air conditioned in the same way as the passenger cabin, btw) in an air conditioned van you will be less likely to have problems. If they are packed in next to screaming cats and barking dogs that might be a problem. You will have to research which airlines are best for exotic animals. There should be no discomfort from varying cabin pressure as long as your chinchillas are healthy and have no ear infections.

Traveling to a foreign country is going to require you research the way customs handles pets. Usually quarantines are involved that can take weeks. It will depend on the country. Again, there can be extreme psychological damage done to your pets if their living conditions aren't very good. Chinchillas are not considered exotic animals and do not require the same types of papers as exotics. Some people don't have a problem traveling and others have lost their chinchillas to heat stress. It is a calculated risk.

[akmatulic]

great, thank you so much for the advice. I read online that you need to see which flights would allow it and look into the conditions as well, which I will definetely do before I decide anything. I have until August to decide and figure it all out, so I will see. Thank you again.

[Jasonred79]

I consulted my chin on his thoughts on this.

Popsicle: squeek! I'm not fussy! Squeek! First class looks too pricy, you can get my business class! Chew chew chew.

Me: not happening.

Popsicle: bark bark! Well, i can sit next to you in economy if you're willing to give me you dessert... Poop poop.

Me: you don't have a passport, you're in the cargo bay.

Popsicle: squeeeeeeek!!! That's an outrage! Cousin Mickey would have been given a complimentary first class seat!

Me: stay home and I'll build you your own theme park.

Popsicle: squeek! It's a deal!

[mb30]

Theres a wesbite called chinchillas.com and they do plenty of shipping.

I just was in contact with theady through emails to find out about shipping my chins from the uk to america and she said when they ship to other countries they use swiss airways.

She also gave me the name of an animal broker in chicago that i can relay to you if you would like

[mb30]

Here is what she said to me:

Although we do ship all over the world, we never shipped directly into England because of England's costly import quarantine requirements. For other European countries, Swiss Air and SAS both did a very good job handling our chinchillas. The key to exporting safely is to ship when the weather is very cool at the point of departure, any layover location, and the destination. You want to make sure that if the chinchillas are set out in the sun for an extended period of time, or if a plane gets stuck on the runway for 2 hours in air traffic, and the air conditioning is idle and not cooling well or at all, that the chinchillas are safe anyway. I would not ship this time of year if I wanted to do it safely. You should wait until late October or November.

[kageri]

Are chins too big for carry on?  You can carry on small rodents at least in the US flights.  People do it all the time for the big gerbil show.  When I had a long distance boyfriend and was flying from the quad cities to atlanta I saw people with gerbils in little special cages taking them on to the plane.  I've heard of people taking very small dogs on.  I'm not sure how many people would be able to give you info since shipping chins is not the same as carrying them on the plane with you.  You might want to ask some flights that allow animals.

[Jasonred79]

http://www.aa.com/i18n/travelInformation/specialAssistance/travelingWithPets.jsp
http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/traveling-with-us/special-travel-needs/pets/pet-travel-options.html
http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/my/en/book-and-plan/baggage/special-equipment-pets.html
http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/airport/baggage/pets.html

ah... google... so, I guess you might want to check which airlines allow carry on pets, since they ALL seem to have completely different policies.
I bet it would save both YOU and your chin a LOT of stress if you could carry on, right?

... other than the air travel itself, make sure you get all the CERTIFICATION needed, otherwise your pet might end up in quarantine at every port of entry... or worse, DESTROYED. (it's a rodent, and most countries are VERY cautious about rodents being brought in... so you better have every certificate under the sun, just in case)

If Croatia is a problem, consider flying in to a European neighbour, then take a train or bus across the border.

OOH. Edit:

Just checked, and chins are classified as EXOTICS by many airlines. And many airlines have stopped allowing exotics on board.

also found this:
"http://www.pettravel.com/blog/index.php/pet-travel-traveling-by-air-with-rabbits-guinea-pigs-rats-turtles-and-other-exotic-animals/
WestJet: Westjet Airline is one of the most “exotic pet friendly” airlines inside the US. For only $50 (for both in cabin and cargo) they will transport cats, dogs, rabbits, birds (not just household), chinchillas, guinea pigs, and hedgehogs. The only downside to WestJet is their flight selection is somewhat limited especially in the central US."

Unfortunatly, last link is not very useful for you, unless you need a domestic connecting flight within USA, but it'd be pretty useful for any other Americans who read this topic.

http://www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr/index.en.php?id=549
http://www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr/index.en.php?id=547

wow, you might want to be careful about croatia and chinchillas.


Swiss air recommends you contact their service centre.
http://www.swiss.com/gb/EN/customer-support/faq-help/animals-travelling

[Jasonred79]

AHA!!! This link seems very useful!!!

http://www.pettravel.com/airline_pet_rules/SwissInternationalAirlines.cfm
http://www.pettravel.com/airline_rules.cfm


The 2nd one has a drop down list right under the photo of the woman, it has like 100 different airlines on it, hope you can find one that will work for you!!!

This too.
http://www.petfriendlytravel.com/airtravel

[Jasonred79]

FOUND IT.

http://www.airberlin.com/site/flug_gepaeck_luggage.php?LANG=eng#btieren

Sorry for triple post guys, but I think this is what akmatulic wants!