Travel/shipping

[rem]

I have a chinchilla I need to get from Seattle, WA down to Jacksonville, FL.

I am wary of sending him alone in the cargo hold of the plane as it's so hot in Florida and there is no telling if he would be exposes to the tarmac heat for long.

I have been told some airlines will allow pets as carry ons, but only in soft sided carriers. Obviously this is less than ideal as the chin may try to chew through the side.

Does anyone have any experience with carrying a chin on a flight? Any recommended travel carrier? I have a side by side (2 hole) Ryerson carrier, but I am uncertain if it will be sufficient to travel in on the plane.

In addition, does anyone have any experience with actual airlines that will allow transport of chinchillas?

 

[hmccoll13]

From what I can tell, there are very few-if any-airlines that will allow you to fly with a chinnie, and cargo is simply not an option for them due to the stress and drastic temperature changes that often occur in cargo (it can be dangerous even for more well suited animals like dogs and cats). Personally when I need to transport my chinchillas I will drive. I realize that may not be an option but as of yet it is the only one I have found to be completely safe and foolproof.

There may be others on here with more knowledge and potentially actual flight experience but I know when I was trying to figure out if flying with my boys would be possible that it seemed like a hard task, if not impossible to get them safely on a plane. Many airlines simply don't want and won't allow rodents in the cabin area, unfortunately :cry2:

 

[mercynursie]

It is pretty much a wasted effort to try to find a airline that allows chinchillas to fly in cabin and temps in cargo holds are not controlled/not reliable due to delays,mistakes,etc. One reason why even most of the breeders that ship will only do it in cooler temps. The only safe solution for a long distance move that I was able to find that was acceptable for me was that I flew up to pick up one of my chins from his breeder at a show in NY and rented a car to drive back home to NC.

 

[rem]

My research has shown the same issue. Only "registered" domesticated cats, dogs, and some birds are allowed within the carry-on section of the plane.

With that said I did find "Delta Cargo", which actually has some airports that have guaranteed services from one airport to the next:
https://www.deltacargo.com/PetShipment.aspx

I'm still quite frustrated and confused on whether or not it's even possible to fly him down.

If I knew anyone who shipped using refrigerated goods then I wouldn't have much of a question about getting him here.

 

[mercynursie]

Do you know any long distance truckers that maybe could work up a railroad? I know railroads have been done by a lot of us here, but often no one will even railroad in the heat of summer due to obvious heat dangers. Mostly we group together for railroads in the fall,some winter, and early spring.