Chinny Travel

[Irishsk8r66]

I just got my chin a couple of days ago and just found out that I need to go out of town for a night for a wake and funeral. A friend of mine has offered to watch my little Dash, but he needs him to be at his place. My cage is way too big to move it over to his apartment, so I was wondering what I could get to keep him in for a night....I obviously don't want to spend a whole lot of money, but I also do not want him to be uncomfortable. I was thinking about either a soft cat carrier that has mesh on all sides so he can see out, or a hamster cage that would typically be too small for him, but could be used for sleepovers only. If you have any ideas please feel free to post links. Thanks so much!
:hmm:

 

[VolunteerChin22]

How old is this chin? Is it full sized? If he is an adult, I would use a hard plastic cat carrier or buy a small guinea pig cage - a hamster cage is going to be too small and he could chew his way out of a soft sided cage easily. I would say Dash needs supervision in both cases though in case he decides to chew on the plastic. If Dash is a baby you are going to need one with smaller bar spacing so he doesnt escape...

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

You can get a smaller guinea pig cage at Petsmart or Petco. This will be safe enough, but small enough to travel easily. They are around $30.

I have several of them for emergency/evacuation cages.

 

[alli713]

I wouldn't even use the plastic cat carriers overnight unless I had to. I've actually known of a chin that chewed his way out of one, got lost in a house and eventually died. Obviously that's the extreme, and I know some use the plastic carriers overnight for shows and such, but I prefer metal.

I see you're in Chicago, do you have any Fleet Farms or Fleet and Farms near you? They have some nicer, pretty cheap all metal rabbit cages that collapse. You could also check your local craigslist for any collapsible cages.

 

[Irishsk8r66]

He will be a year at the end of January so hes bigger and I'm less concerned about him escaping and more concerned about him being cramped...i saw a starter guinea pig cage that included a shelf, a ramp and a wheel and thought that might work. I'd obviously take out the tiny wheel and the ramp but the shelf would be nice and it is a plastic bottom with metal cage on top....i cant find one online but its small...i thought itd at least have a perch for him though....

 

[Chinmama]

For travel, we use plastic small dog/cat carriers. I put some hay and a stick in and they are good.

I also have a spare cage that I got when ZZ was sick. I kept it at work so I could take him with me. He was fine in it short term and I was able to put small wooden perch in it for him, which was where he stayed. I keep it in the top of a closet now in case I ever need it again.

The cage I got is similar to this: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4470998 only the pan is metal and it doesn't have wheels.

The carriers we have are like these: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3086604

 

[rutherford]

i have yet to actually travel with this carrier: http://qualitycage.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=129_142_154&products_id=844 , but i plan to use it during thanksgiving when i go back to my hometown. so far, i've only used it when i clean Rutherford's cage. it's just like his regular townhouse from quality cage company, and it's very sturdy. i would plop his fuzzy fleece couch in the corner, a pile of hay, and he'd be ready to go. and removable pan is also really handy if you want to dump out the bedding afterward.

 

[chinnychinchinchilla]

would this cage work as a carrier? its the excact one i have at home for my dogs and it looks like it would be nice to use since you can put a tube or hanger in there as well as a water bottle.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753745

 

[Cuddlebug]

That is the same cage that one of my customers bought to transport a couple of chinchillas. The girls were 6 months old and could squeeze out in about 2 seconds flat.

 

[mishellyshel]

Check craigs list. People are always giving away smaller cages...free or cheap. You also may have luck at garage sales too. I use a super pet starter cage as a spare.

 

[mistywaterwoman]

i have yet to actually travel with this carrier: http://qualitycage.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=129_142_154&products_id=844 , but i plan to use it during thanksgiving when i go back to my hometown. so far, i've only used it when i clean Rutherford's cage. it's just like his regular townhouse from quality cage company, and it's very sturdy. i would plop his fuzzy fleece couch in the corner, a pile of hay, and he'd be ready to go. and removable pan is also really handy if you want to dump out the bedding afterward.

I have one of those, and drove for about 4 hours with a chin in there, she did fine. However, I wouldn't have wanted to leave her in it for over night, it's too small. Towards the end of the car trip she got "cage rage" from not being able to move around too much.

Ideally, the collapsible cages from Quality Cage would be your best bet. I keep several of them on hand for hurricane evacuations, and they fold flat to store under my Ferret Nations with ease. These are the ones I use: http://qualitycage.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=129_142_153&products_id=533 But they have several different sizes with different price options.

If you need something immediately, I'd recommend a guinea pig cage from PetsMart, like this one:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753281&lmdn=Small+Pet

Or check your local Craigs List - chances are good that someone is looking to unload a similar GP cage dirt cheap.

 

[DevnChip]

Wow, am I a bad chin-mommy? I travel with some of my critters once or twice a year because my husband's family is about 4 states away. I put Chipper in a tiny little thing sold as a carrier to transport him during his first 6 hour trip in the car. It's one of those plastic-bottomed, wire-topped, top-opening things sold as a small animal or bird carrier with a short plastic perch. I took out the perch, of course, and lined the bottom with shavings but he still only had enough room to turn around. I didn't trust the handle so I removed it and held it from the bottom like a box. The only available spot in the car was between my feet on the floor as the car was pretty packed. But when we got there I set up a nice two level cage for him for the week that's about half the size of his palace at home. He slept during the whole 6 hour trip up in the carrier. As I said in another post, he was the best passenger in the car - and I'm including myself in that group! My husband even joked that he'd leave the rest of us home next time and just take Chipper and maybe one 'tiel if they could only set up their own cages once there. Hmph.

So for the trip itself, a small carrier does the trick if your chin can handle the tight fit. The carriers mentioned sound huge compared to what I used. I wouldn't go anywhere with him for any length of time, though, if I didn't have a larger cage to put him in once there. On that score I second getting at least a single-level, collapsing cage for the destination.

 

[ticklechin]

Small carriers are the only way to go during travel, IMO, the only way mine came out of a serious auto accident that sent John and I to the hospital and them unscathed is the small 3 hole carriers-they were not physically able to richochet around inside and get hurt. And it was easy for the firemen to take them on their truck to the fire station where they spent the evening watching TV.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

The only available spot in the car was between my feet on the floor as the car was pretty packed. .

I hope this was not during the summer and if it was you were lucky- the floorboard is the hottest part of the car and I can tell you numerous chins have died that way from overheating. The best place for a chin to ride in a car in in the front passenger seat.

I agree that the smallest cage possible is safer in the car - I use ryerson's carriers for all my transport.

 

[DevnChip]

Not summer, no. I dread that actually. It was a December trip. I kept checking on him too, all the way up. I was in the front passenger seat with no coat on and was in control of the climate. No heat blowing on the floor and a sweater draped over three sides of the carrier to cut down on draft and light. He seemed quit comfy. I was jealous. I kept checking for heat under the sweater and made sure it didn't shift to cover him completely. My main concern was that he would get too warm. My husband was actually pretty happy Chipper needed a cooler environment because so does he. Once I got the temp right for Chipper (and Hubby too), I threw another sweater over me. The birds in the back seat were more bothered by the motion than anything else. At the end of the ride it got dark and I pulled him up onto my lap and listened to him munching on the chips on the bottom. It was a surprisingly pleasant trip. He didn't like all the light from the street lamps flashing by but was very calm about the whole thing. The sweater ended up kind of piled on one side of my lap so he could hide his head if he wanted, which he did for a bit, then not, then did, all on his own to hide from the lights.

 

[tunes]

i have yet to actually travel with this carrier: http://qualitycage.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=129_142_154&products_id=844 , but i plan to use it during thanksgiving when i go back to my hometown. so far, i've only used it when i clean Rutherford's cage. it's just like his regular townhouse from quality cage company, and it's very sturdy. i would plop his fuzzy fleece couch in the corner, a pile of hay, and he'd be ready to go. and removable pan is also really handy if you want to dump out the bedding afterward.

That cage is plenty big. Chins do not need a FN to travel in. If you put them in a larger cage, the potential for injury and spazzing is much higher. In a smaller cage they will just sleep. If a chin gets "cage rage" it's just that chin's personality. Every time I travel, my chins sleep. They could care less whether they are in the car or a small carrier.

I would, however, not be thrilled about all those open sides. Chins will reach thorugh those gaps and chew your seats or whatever else they can get their teeth on. I also think the solid sided carriers provide security. If they can't see the boogeyman, it can't see them either.

 

[Essentia]

I travel with chins in either a Ryerson carrier, or I have one that's just a bit larger. I would never travel in a larger cage due to the reasons stated above.

Edit: For the same price you can get a 2 hole ryerson's carrier and have that extra hole to carry essential items in (small bag of hay/treats/chews, food, small water bottle for when you stop, etc.)

 

[Irishsk8r66]

I was looking into the pet starter ones kind of like the bunny one that Chinmama suggested. But I was also thinking about doing like a dog carrier like she suggested. lol. Thank you all for your help! I ended up being able to leave him at home for the funeral, but as rutherford said, the holidays are coming up and i'm sure travel is not too far in our future. lol. Thank you all again so much!!!!!!

 

[caiti]

This thread is making me re-think the cage my chin travels in. It's her old cage and I can barely get the seat belt over it and sometimes it slides underneath her cage. It's just annoying. I do have this for vet visits. I would worry she would chew the plastic for the hour ride it is home. I might go home and see if I have an old wire cage from my mouse-owning days. Hhhmmm...now I have something else on my list of stuff to buy gah!!

 

[mistywaterwoman]

The cage the OP already has is perfectly sufficient for the short car trip. I recommended the collapsible cage for the overnight stay with her friend.