Long Distance Moving Stories

[angela]

If you've ever done a long distance move with chinchillas, please share how you did it. It seems the stories I read before were lost with the old forums.

I may be moving from CA to NC with 3 cats, and 2 chins. I'm trying to figure out the best way to accomplish this. The original plan was to rent an RV and tow my car behind, camping a couple nights to avoid hotel issues with 5 animals. Unfortunately, one way isn't available in this area until late September. (anyone want to foster 2 boys for a couple months?:hmm

So, how have you guys moved? Is it less stressful to ship them? If you ship or drive, how did you deal with the cages and supplies?

 

[Snickers]

I never traveled across country with chinchillas. Right now I would say shipping is out because it's too hot. Maybe you would have to travel at night when it's cooler and try to sleep in the day time.

 

[tunes]

Actually, shipping would probably be a better option. Continental now does same day shipping though, so you would have to have someone ready to go on the receiving end. It used to be that Continental would ship, but hold them overnight in Houston. They don't do that anymore. You now take them in early in the morning and they arrive at their destination by afternoon. I wonder if it wouldn't be less stressful for them to get there faster. Also, Continental has climate controlled shipping for pets, so they are kept in a/c comfort while they fly.

Do you have someone you could trust on either end to ship them or receive them? That would be the one hard part. We have a lot of members in NC, maybe someone would be able to help you out with the receiving part and holding them for the few days it would take you to arrive by car. You could just bring their cages and stuff with you.

If that doesn't work, what are you going to be driving since you can't drive the RV? I assume you have a good bit to move and would need room in the car?

 

[xcoronaangel]

I live in CA ... (orange county) I cant offer to foster since I JUST brought home my two boys and are working things out with my current pets and my chins.

BUT if you need help with the flying part I might be able to. I work nights so it would have to be during the day. So if someone has to foster them (and they are flying out close to me) I can bring them to the airport.

Let me know.

 

[SunshineChins]

I have never moved across country but we do travel in the summer with our chins from FL to MI. I went online and found a couple of hotels online that were okay with small pets. They didn't even require me to put any sort of deposit on them. We travel in a SUV with the chins in their carriers in the middle. We travel with around 10ish or so sometimes (depending on how many rescues I have at any one time)more. Since I travel in the summer my carriers are ones that Shoots made and are cardboard. I was worried that the metal ones would get way to hot even with the A/C on.

Here is what goes on a 17 hour drive with us:
4 cats
chins
3 rabbits
3 kids
1 husband

 

[Carol~Anne]

Well, my big long distance travel with chins was supposed to be a three hour trip but it ended up taking me four and a half b/c I wouldn't drive any faster than 80km an hour when the speed limit was 110. I had a lot of people passing me in the fast lane and my twelve-year-old son at the time really needed to go pee and there was no gas station around so I just stopped on the side of the highway to let him do his thing and boy did we get a lot of beeps and waves... he was not impressed with me, lol.

We made it though, safe and sound and all chinnies were a little stressed but totally fine. Good luck with your travels!

 

[Silverrose]

I actually have traveled across the country with chins. We traveled from California to Virginia. However, we did not take a lot of stuff with us, as we had just gotten married and were just going to purchase new furniture and stuff once we got to our new apartment. But we did stuff one car full of whatever we could, including chin supplies. At the time we only had 3 chins with us. We moved during August, so the weather was still pretty warm. We knew we had to travel as fast as possible, as I did not want to stay on the road any longer than we had to. So with both of us taking turns driving, staying at a motel/hotel to sleep in overnight (with a/c and the ok on having pets of course), the entire trip took us a total of 3 days. We were constantly on the road, eating consisted of fast food or one of us going into a gas station to grab something real quick. It wasn't the most luxurious trip, but we just wanted to get to our final destination as fast as possible.

The chins themselves were fine the entire way. They each had their own hole in a carrier; we used the metal JPChinchilla/Ryserson type ones. I did not give them water bottles during drives, as it makes more of mess. I just offer them water whenever we had a rest stop, and when we stayed overnight somewhere. They always had hay and pellets in their carrier as well. And of course most importantly, the a/c was always on. We have it as cold as possible, I even had to wear a sweater in the car! Also, baby shades on the windows will keep some of the sun out.

The second long distance trip we've had with the chinchillas was even more crazy. We moved about 20 animals, including pregnant females, from Virginia to Florida. This trip required both me and my husband driving separate cars. But basically it was the same thing as above, try to get to the destination as fast as possible and keep the chins as comfortable as possible.

So, it can be done. But it definitely isn't fun! It was a bit stressful for us, but it we did what we had to do to keep the chins happy.

 

[angela]

Thanks for all of the replies. I decided that if this move happens, in my case, shipping would be the best option. No furniture to move, but the boys and 3 cats would not be okay in a 1958 beetle for 3 days, so the cost of renting a car + trailer and gas is about the same as shipping everything. EXPENSIVE. The only reason I considered this move is so I could keep my beautiful chins. After thinking of every aspect of my situation, :tissue:I'm probably going to be looking for a foster or possibly a forever home depending on what happens in the next couple of weeks. I won't go into details because this thread should stay on track. There is a lot of great info here, and hopefully it can help others if they have to make a long move.

 

[Spoof]

FYI, shipping is closed for most heat sensitive animals until October. Especially anything going through southern airports.

I've driven 18 hours with the chins, though when I moved to LA I had Ronda ship them to me, that way I could buy a house and build cages first. )

 

[Snickers]

I might be able to foster as long as you take them back within a short time. Are the boys housed together? I have 4 boys in 1 cage but a cardboard separating them from 3 girls that are housed right next to them. My chin room is mostly full of girls.

 

[angela]

That's a very kind offer Snickers, but you're pretty far away. Besides that, I decided to make the move and be able to keep my boys. So,now I'm looking for some wire cages to ship them in. I was going to go with JPChinchillas http://www.geocities.com/chinchilla_fancier/Chinchilla_Supplies.html but haven't heard back yet. Anyone know of another good place to get a couple of shipping cages? This has to happen by August 1st. I know it's not much time, but this was all a very unexpected situation. I have a couple of small cat carriers for them in case of emergencies, but they'll probably do a lot of chewing during the trip.

Both boys live in separate cages, but I still have their old ones. I'm hoping to put them back in those, so by the time they get to NC, I'll have their QC Mansions set up waiting for them.

Thanks for listening and any help is appreciated.

 

[Tillygizmo]

Hey I just read the article that the new Pet Airways has done its first flight. It only flies to five major cities so you would have to travel by car to retrieve them but at least they would be SUPER comfortable

 

[Ronda]

I've transported a lot of chins in all kinds of weather. Summer is the worst but you can do it. Keep the air conditioner on and airflow through the cages. Not directly on but through. Windows slightly open in the back will draw the air conditoning through the cages and out the windows. Using wire cages is best as the cardboard holds in heat. Cardboard works great in the windows to keep the sun off the chins. Using a wire cage - with a wire top - is great because you can sit ice cubes on the top of the cage and it gives them fluids and something to play with as well. If you are taking them TO SHOW then don't use this method as they will get wet. If you are just transporting them it doesn't matter if they get wet.

Travel as fast and as far as you can. Don't bother with hotel rooms unless you get really, really tired. The longer the chins are in the carriers the more stress they have. Stop at rest areas, take a cat nap and head out again. I usually sleep in the car and when I start getting warm I wake up and leave. You can take longer stops at night without too much worry. Coming from NY to OR when I purchased Carole Kessler's animals was an experience. They do have roads that you pay to travel on and about every 30 miles there are places to stop and eat, gas up, etc. Also great you can take a free shower in most of them. Tha'ts a big help in keeping you awake too.

Ronda