Moving

[Lily&Lucy]

Hey all,

So I am going to be moving soon. The trip from where I live to where I am moving is about a 20 hour drive so I will be stopping one night and staying in a hotel. I have a nice travel cage for the chinnies. My plan is to put some hay and bedding in there with them and giving them water at night so it doesn't leak in the car while we are driving. I have a place in my car picked out that is protected from the sun and I won't leave them in the car alone. I have never gone on a road trip with chinchillas before except when I got them but that was only a few hours. Are there any other tips that people have for moving them with minimal stress?

Thanks!

 

[Luci]

i recently traveled with gizmo for 12 hours. not as long as 20, but still a bit annoying for him lol.

a few things i recommend:
* pack them and their things last; keep a box with essentials (meds, food, water, toys, etc) within reach in case you have an emergency
* when you stay the night at the hotel, take that opportunity to give playtime in the bathroom and clean the carrier at the same time. i took 2 sets of fleece to change out, and i threw out old hay because it usually got peed on
* every few hours, offer water through a syringe. we did this with gizmo and he was always happy to take water
* place their cage where they get AC. i'll be moving in a week and i already know that the front seat is reserved for his carrier and necessity box
* on pit stops, if possible, have at least one person always in the car so you wont have to turn off the ac.

for the most part, gizmo was pretty quiet on the road trip. he barked for the first hour, then settled down. he was the last thing i packed, and the first thing i set up when i got to my destination. after the road trip, leave them alone for a bit to help them adjust.
my boyfriend and i always checked on him throughout the drive, and we'd take turns talking to him and petting him through the bars. he was eventually so calm that we could open the carrier, and pet him. but i dont recommend that for skiddish chins, losing them in a car of packed boxes wouldnt be good lol.

thats about all i can think of right now. but your chins will be fine. they'll be unhappy about the carrier, but they can entertain themselves...or sleep the whole way lol.

good luck! and dont forget to take it easy. you want this trip to cause minimal stress on you as well

 

[mishellyshel]

in addition to the great advice above from luci

i usually put a nice piece of comfy thick fleece in the bottom of the liner. i use hay cubes because they are less messy for travel & nice big apple wood chunks. i also put some pellets in there.

i have never traveled that far BUT i do take my one chin with me on weekends and he is always by my side. at night i chin proof the bathroom and take a magazine in there and sit on the floor and let him run about.

 

[Olallie]

I took my guys on a 20 hr trip to vancouver from LA in April 09. It was cool enough that I didnt need to keep the Ac running the whole time, but for summer travel i would recommend it! ALso if you have to get out of the car for something that takes longer than 20 mins- 30mins, get a small bag of ice and put it on something plastic or carboard or newspaper and put it on top of the cage, that way the cool air from the ice will flow down into the cage and cool off your chins. make sure it doesnt drip on them tho!

 

[Rob7911]

What size carrier would you recommend? I have one with a fleece bottom, but i feel like its a little small... at the same time he wont be jarred a lot around turns..