Flying Rodents!

This is my favourite page ever (it used to be a page, now it's a post. Same thing!). It was my favourite accomplishment in working in animal rescue. It is about a little rat named Mousie: the mouse that roared. You can read her story over here.

It is also my favourite page because a lot of readers find Mooshika when they are looking for information on how to fly with their pets.


What do you do if you have to move across the country, or are taking an extended visit and want to take your pet rat (or other rodent) along? Many people put their pets at the sitter's, or rehome them. You don't always have to!


The five items that are absolutely essential to follow should you travel with a pet are the following:

1. Check your preferred airline for its pet standards! Read policies and be prepared. If your airline doesn't cover rodents or pet travel, choose one that will. 
2. Arrange to travel during temperate weather. Not in winter, and not during hot spells. Early morning and evening is best. We found out upon Mousie's return that planes can be on the tarmac for a long time, loaded, prior to take-off - and the temperature variation can be quite wide. Plan a time of day that is not too hot!
3. Get a direct flight. No stopovers, no connections. (If you must connect, take several hours between the flights, and pick up your pet at the connection, and recheck your pet back in just prior to boarding). If your pet becomes lost, you want searches to only have to be conducted at the origin and destination.
4. Always use the sturdiest airline-certified cat carrier you can find. Make sure the carrier is normally smash-, buckle-, and escape-proof, and LABEL ALL PARTS THOROUGHLY. During transport, things can shift, fall, and break. You can put your pet in a more suitable small-animal carrier inside the cat carrier, so long as it has ample cushioning and air circulation. (I'd add a hammock, too!) Screw it down if it has a suitable bottom; drill the cat carrier and the transporter in matching places, and use small pan-head metal bolts to anchor it.
5. Give the animal enough fruit to remain hydrated for three days!

Remember, no one will care for your pet like you do. So take maximum precautions to ensure their safety, and follow the formal guidelines both here and at your airline.


Loading procedure for pets as baggage
The following is Air Canada's, and likely all airlines', procedure for checking in a pet for travel.

• When you board a plane with a pet, the Lead Station Attendant calls in to the destination airport's Weight and Balance office that there is live cargo aboard the plane. This gets logged on the Load Sheet. The animal is carried to the live cargo compartment and is installed there.
• When the plane arrives at its transit points (stopovers), the animals in the live cargo compartment are verified for the Weight and Balance office. Same thing when it arrives at the destination airport, except that the animal is then unloaded and taken in to the Baggage office for claiming. If unclaimed for very long, it goes to a vet or an animal handling company to be looked after until its owners are found.
• Every day, in North America and around the world, rats, mice, and other animals are flown by the singles to thousands. Rats and mice are flown in boxes that are specifically designed to maximize their survival in adverse conditions. They are chew-proof and they contain a gel source for hydration. (However, they are NOT suitable for hamsters. Hamsters have special requirements, and you'll need to do additional research.) The place to get a box like this would be a lab animal supply company. Check your closest university to ask them for any used boxes, or to ask their suppliers for a fresh one for your rodents.

If at all possible, call your airline and ask for Live shipping. Find a live animal cargo specialist. You want this because cargo is a whole different system than baggage, where animals are treated better. (Cargo flights are not passenger flights. They have some passengers, but we'll get to that in a minute.) I confirmed with Rob Little, one of Air Canada's animal handlers, that there are more staff people around per shipment than in regular baggage, and they also have specialized knowledge about how to handle animals of different kinds. As they handle rats a lot, they know rats! They also ship horses, tigers, elephants - you name it.


Still, I wouldn't want to fly separately from my pets, and neither would most people, so I inquired about being a passenger on a cargo plane. It can be done, but it requires special arrangements. Usually the seats on a cargo plane are occupied by "dead-heading" airline staff - staff heading home at the end of their shift, or for their time off after a week of work.


The next page to read is what to do if the unthinkable happens, and your rodent becomes LOST!