Lost!

This is a repost of the original explanation of what happens, and what to do, if your rat becomes lost in transit.

Being lost in the big bad world is not good news for rodents. People react badly. They don't understand that a little rat just wants to go home and be cozy.

The first type of “lost” is when they go rambling. This has happened to me a lot; particularly with black rats. They always seem to be the biggest explorers, some sometimes those short-sighted PEW will surprise you. Also: beware the mighty hamster! I think hamsters are the biggest “lost rodent” threat based on the urge to hide.

The second type of lost is when travelling. Scary! So if this happens to your rodent while flying on an airline or other mode of transportation, here is what you do:

Don't panic! or burn bridges. Assigning blame at this point is counter-productive. You need people to help you, and your wee rodent will need a lot of help.

Rule Number One: tell everyone you know! Don’t assume you don't know anyone who knows someone who works at an airline or airport - someone came forward on the Canada Rat Adoption list because he had connections through friends and colleagues in the industry. I found that one of my petsitters has an uncle who worked 30 years for Air Canada in the baggage division.

Two: save yourself some time and call the union who's responsible for the baggage and cargo - chances are, two or three unions are! They know - or are - the people in charge of doing actual physical work, whereas the Corporate offices have too much on their plate and lack focus on what needs to be done. Moreover, some in the corporate office that you call, receiving calls as their job, don't want any disruption in the normal flow of their day. And this kind of situation is worth a lot of disruption! The managers that the union puts you through to - they are better focused and able to help.

Three: Get the word out at the airport. Call the Airport Authority, call Security, call the Canine Unit or Wildlife Unit (who keep birds away from the runways), and call the Canada Customs (or your country's equivalent) Agricultural Inspector. HOWEVER, the airport may claim they can't act until asked to by the airline, because if the airline is a tenant at the airport, it has ultimate authority over its domain. But the more people who know, the greater its priority, and they may help you get through to the appropriate airline personnel. Do not hesitate to go in person, too. You can obtain a security pass in order to conduct the search.

Finally, DON’T give up in the face of adversity in searching for a pet! Drop your ego, but uphold your convictions (a lost pet matters). It can be truly amazing what happens when you commit yourself to finding a lost pet, just as with any other worthwhile goal. Which is exactly what happened when we lost (and found) Mousie…

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!

Rescuing squirrels and wild rodents

Most of the phone calls that Small Victories (our former rescue) have received over the past few years have been regarding young squirrels found outside of their nests, injured squirrels, and errant mouse-like creatures (rats are pretty easy to identify).

• If you are looking to solve a problem with an animal that’s taken up unwanted residence, contact Humane Wildlife Control. 

Here is your basic advice on what to do and how to care for wild rodents:

1. Goat milk is the universal replacement milk.
2. Soy milk comes a close second.
3. Rabbits take puppy formula, but not kitten formula. 
4. Don't take a baby rabbit (or even a bird) from the wild just because it's alone. Its mother will come back to look for it. You must be sure it's abandoned by its physical condition, or by monitoring it regularly throughout the day, without touching it.
5. What small animals in distress need is 1) warmth and 2) liquid energy.
6. Sometimes they actually need to see a vet, too.
7. But if they don't, they need a secure, warm (but not too warm), dark (away from prying eyes) space in which they can recover.
8. Babies need to be fed every few hours. Count on one overnight feeding.
9. Squirrels sleep 75% of the time.
10. Once a squirrel's tail begins to be bushy, it needs solid food (start with porridge) and climbing exercise.
11. You can't keep them and domesticate them. It's inhumane to cage a wild animal for long, and it's illegal.
12. Take the squirrel outside for walks. Introduce it to trees.
13. Handle small rodents as little as possible while you clean their cage.
14. Release mice in an environment as similar as possible to the one in which you found them. If it's a house mouse you don't want, find it a secure shelter where it won't be bothering anyone - or unlikely to be poisoned.
15. Don’t feed wildlife you don’t want to increase in population. I didn't mind having a wild rat sheltering in my backyard, but for its own safety, I removed the bird feeder.