Getting our own place, but how do we move?!

[Cheknnudol]

Hello again everyone; I'm back from the land of work, school, and responsibility

My boyfriend and I are moving into our own apartment (woohoo!) at the end of this month and while packing I reached the realization that I have NO IDEA WHATSOEVER how to move my boys. Currently my two butt heads, Brock and Muad'Dib, share a giant aviary cage split down the middle. I wouldn't be able to transport them inside of it.

I have a single carrier now and another on the way, but getting them to the new place is not going to take nearly as long as disassembling their cage and setting it back up (preferably after a thorough cleaning). I have a temp cage that I could set up until their normal home is properly raised, but I have no good way of splitting it and I will not house them together after what happened to Nibbler.

I was thinking about keeping them in the carriers but they both tend to get REALLY rowdy when confined (the 40 minute car ride home when we first got Dib resulted in several painful bites at my boyfriend through the carrier bars and barely-intact carrier walls) and I'm not sure where I could keep the carriers anyway where they wouldn't be freaked by the hustle and bustle of moving furniture.

Any ideas on a) inventing a time machine that would allow me to destroy, clean, and rebuild their cage in 20 minutes; b) splitting the temp cage; or c) if -and where - it would be alright to just keep them in the carriers a bit longer?

Thanks

 

[addictedtochins]

Have you checked into renting a moving van, doesn't U-Haul say like $19,95 a day? Then you won't have to dis-assemble but they still can't ride in there. Also beware, my latest chinny was supposed to be in one of those hard plastic carriers for about 8 hours but he didn't get the memo and chewed his way out while I was asleep.

 

[Cheknnudol]

We have the option of borrowing the community's moving van for a low refundable deposit, but the shelves in the current cage need to go regardless, and replacing them is the primary consumer of time.

I'm also a bit worried about getting the cage into the apartment, honestly; my current house has double doors that we got it through when I bought it but to get it into my bedroom we had to take the door off the hinges. I have a feeling the same will be true for the front door of our new place. Depending on the door size and community regulations for defacing property, disassembly may be necessary.

I guess this is making the temp cage look like my only option. Can anyone give insight on splitting it?

 

[Parkerspetchins]

They may not like it but can stay in the carriers for a couple or few days if need be (people going to and from shows do this with no issues). You could let them have a quick run in the bathroom if you feel bad ). Good luck with the move!

 

[Essentia]

You can always make the shelves beforehand and then it will be nice and quick to install them once you get to the new place.

 

[Cheknnudol]

Parkerspetchins: Thanks! I guess if breeders do it then it doesn't make me a horrible chin parent Though I do worry about how much plastic they would likely ingest if I left them for a while. Also, where could I leave the carriers? I was thinking maybe the bathtub since it'd be fairly isolated; can you think of any reason that wouldn't be a good idea? It's a new place so there shouldn't be an issue with water getting in the carriers.

Essentia: I hadn't thought about that! I'll definitely talk to my boyfriend and see what he thinks.

You guys rock!

 

[addictedtochins]

I thought I'd re-post rule # 379 since there are always newbies on the forum. Always close the toilet seat because they will jump in there

 

[Ash]

Hahaha definitely!

Jesse, if you're worried about them chewing out, look into the metal Ryerson carriers or something similar. They sell 2-hole ones that would work perfect. And you could definitely keep them in the bathtub if need be in the carriers.

 

[Parkerspetchins]

I agree, the bathroom would be fine ).

 

[Cheknnudol]

Ash: That was actually my first thought when I started worrying about this but I can't seem to find any that are relatively inexpensive (less than about $15) after shipping, and I need to be saving as much money as possible anyway. I have a feeling my boyfriend would freak if he saw that I a) spent more money on "something I already have" and b) acquired more things we have to pack into our tiny new place. We kind of dug ourselves into a hole because we have been living with my parents the last few months and slowly (due to lax regulations hehe) acquired many many living things under our care*. The apartment complex was alright with us having all of them, but with a few $caveats$ to cover their butts if something were to happen such as baseboard chewing, dust in the heaters, tanks leaking, cats getting trapped in rooms and tearing up carpet to get out.... basically all of the stuff that has happened to us over the past year lol. I don't blame them, but it's just one more living expense that's costing us well over a thousand dollars up front and over a hundred dollars extra monthly. In college student terms it's a fortune, and when we already have to feed these mouths that be it makes them seem extremely spoiled with such a disproportionate amount of our income going into their very existence!

That aside, I don't know a whole lot about those kinds of carriers and they scare me a bit. Brock has a history of spontaneous biting and it actually killed his previous cage mate; can neighboring chins in those types of carriers get to one another?

*Currently: 2 fish tanks over 40 gallons, 3 various tanks with different frog species, gecko tanks, the chins, and we have two of the house hold cats moving with us