Reducing stress during an evacuation

[FayeEsquire]

My fiance and I live in Charleston, SC. We recently made the decision to evacuate up north with his family before Hurricane Matthew hits our coast this weekend. While our exotic vet does offer boarding, the vet's office is located much closer to the coast and in the area that's expected to get hit the hardest. Needless to say, we don't feel comfortable leaving our chinchilla so we're bringing him with us.

We sadly won't be able to take his normal cage with us, but my fiance did pick up a single story cage (30.7"; L X 18.9"; W X 19.7"; H), and our chin won't get out-of-cage playtime during to being in a non-chinchilla-proof location.

We did purchase our little guy from a couple who moved up from Florida 3 years ago; they said they kept him (and his parents) in a small cage when they drove and there weren't any problems. I'm just looking for any advice anyone has to help us reduce the amount of stress our chin may face during the drive and 2 to 3 day stay before we can return home.

 

[mercynursie]

Your baby should do fine in a smaller cage during your stay. Most people do recommend using a smaller travel kennel that can be better secured in the vehicle for the drive but if you don't have a chin safe one, just secure the cage snugly with the seat belts. Pack frozen water bottles/cold packs and fleece to wrap those in as it may get hot in your vehicle, esp if you get tied up in traffic. Offer water to drink at intervals during the drive,but don't leave water bottle on during drive as they will tend to leak out everywhere in the cage and on your chin. When you get to your safe place, be sure to put the baby and his cage in as quiet room as possible and away from any dogs/cats or loud noises. Food and water can be placed on/in the cage when you arrive too! God speed and God bless with traveling mercies during the storm!

 

[tunes]

He'll be fine. He might be irritated by not having the out of cage time (pinning you with his chinny death glare) but the cage size you mention is bigger than some breeding runs.

I don't offer water during a drive with chins. In the beginning I tried, but they just ignored it for the most part. I've gone 14-16 hours easy without offering any water and they are fine. Water bottles in cars tend to just make a mess. Give him hay to chew on, maybe a wood chew, keep him out of direct sunlight, and get to safety.