Hi all,

I am moving from Michigan to Arizona (2,000 miles away!) in 2 months. I plan on flying, as it'll only be 6 hours vs a 29 hour drive.

I'm definately planning on bringing my 2 Chinese Water Dragon's and Golden Gecko. I was wondering if I could bring them on an airplane. Not necessarily will an airline allow me to, but will they be ok way up in the air?

My other option would be to get them shipped to AZ, but I don't know if that would be better, as I would want to do do overnight shipping, which would mean they'd be getting flown. I wouldn't want to do standard ground because that's like 3-5 days.

Could I please get advice as to how I should go about this? (How to prepare them for long distance traveling and what to do)

Thank you in advance for your comments!

__________________
~Gerardo

My babies:

1.1.0 Chinese Water Dragons (Miyagi, Karamu)
0.0.1 Ball Python (Squid)
0.0.1 Chilean Rose-haired Tarantula (Venom)
1.0.0 French Lop Bunny (Moses)
1.0.0 Black Cat (Felix)
1.0.0 Siamese-Mix Cat (Simon)


Wishlist:
2 Crested Geckos, 1 Veiled Chameleon, 1 Iguana, 1 Blue-tongued Skink

Have you contacted the airlines to find out the guidelines for pets on the aircraft? As far as the "up in the air" possibility, remember that the cabin of the airplane is pressurized, as are the cargo holds. I imagine that take-off and landing will feel different, but what is the difference in them flying with UPS or with you on 6-hour flight? You may also think of contacting a breeder that ships animals and find out how they "package" their animals for transport.

Also, after arriving at their new house, the lizards should be able to go into a set-up, working, warm viv. Leave them alone for a few days as they get acclimated.

honestly you'd be better off shipping them overnight than trying to hassle through shipping them on the plane with you. You just need to find out how the online shops ship their reptiles and do it like that.

I agree, shipping overnight thru one of the carriers would be less costly and probably less traumatic. Shipping is not hard to do at all. Here is a link showing how we ship Bearded Dragons, you can use that as an example

http://www.herpcenter.com/articles/S...d-Dragons.html

__________________
MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

Although this is all regulated, a few airline companies have different procedures and policies about transporting animals so contacting the company that will fly them is your best option.
Although I don't live in the US, from what I remember of seeing while I was researching for export regulations, you will have a lot of paperwork and red tape if you fly them, so I guess you'd be better off with shipping overnight.

__________________
Wish list: Blue Tongue Skinks and Uruplatus =)

Thanks guys, I'll seriously look into shipping them overnight, but in order for them to get shipped overnight, they will have to get flown. It does sound like less of a hassle to do that then to keep them with me on a plane. I'll contact breeders and online companies to see if they can give me any advice on preparation and transport procedures.

__________________
~Gerardo

My babies:

1.1.0 Chinese Water Dragons (Miyagi, Karamu)
0.0.1 Ball Python (Squid)
0.0.1 Chilean Rose-haired Tarantula (Venom)
1.0.0 French Lop Bunny (Moses)
1.0.0 Black Cat (Felix)
1.0.0 Siamese-Mix Cat (Simon)


Wishlist:
2 Crested Geckos, 1 Veiled Chameleon, 1 Iguana, 1 Blue-tongued Skink

When I shipped rabbits the best carrier I found was NW (out of Detroit). They were also the best when I traveled with the rabbits on the same plane, they would tell me that they had been loaded before take off. When you ship with one of the major carriers like NW, American etc, at least with the rabbits you had to have a health certificate. Hope this helped.

Okay,

I've been checking reptile companies/stores online and did some calling. First off, it seems most ship via UPS. I currently work at UPS for the past 5 years and have never come across any live animal packages. I went to the customer service before work and asked if we are allowed to ship nonvenomous reptiles. Both guys behind the counter said no. So, do these companies ship reptiles "illegally"? I called one reptile company and they said they had an account with UPS, and that they would ship my 2 WD's for me for $40, which is reasonable, but they're out of Florida and I live in MI.
Also, some ship via USPS, but when I went to the Post Office today, they said they don't ship reptiles.
Fedex says they do, so I'll ship my WD's through them.

I've asked around for the best way to ship them and this is what I've gotten. See if this sounds right:

Put them in pillowcases, then a cooler. The pillowcase insures that they don't run off as soon as the cooler is opened (even though they don't normally run off but might after a night of shipping), and to reduce stress. I know that pillowcases are used for snakes and asked if this was good for lizards, to which I was told it was. The cooler is used for climate control and to make sure the lizards don't get crushed. Then put the cooler in a box with crumbled paper/foam peanuts and tape the box shut. I was reassured that the lizards would not suffocate in the pillowcase, cooler, and box, because they'll have plenty of air in the cooler for overnight shipping.

What are your thoughts on this? I did follow the link that Marsha gave me for shipping baby Bearded Dragons, and it stresses air holes. Is this because they're hatchlings? (It does say that older lizards take more work and time).

If there are others with experience in shipping juvenile reptiles, please let me know! Thank you.

__________________
~Gerardo

My babies:

1.1.0 Chinese Water Dragons (Miyagi, Karamu)
0.0.1 Ball Python (Squid)
0.0.1 Chilean Rose-haired Tarantula (Venom)
1.0.0 French Lop Bunny (Moses)
1.0.0 Black Cat (Felix)
1.0.0 Siamese-Mix Cat (Simon)


Wishlist:
2 Crested Geckos, 1 Veiled Chameleon, 1 Iguana, 1 Blue-tongued Skink

my breeder that ive been ordering from flyes them to the nearest airport to you and its fairly cheap 68 bucks and they go in a deli cup in a cat carrier with air holes in the cargo hold but im in canada and westjet will do that with reptiles and dogs cats somtimes horses

i hope that helps

__________________
0.0.1 Iguana Pickle
0-1-0 Bearded Dragon Honey
1-1-0 Red Tail Boa Libby&Dogma
1-0-0 Cat Rajha
0-0-1 Charcoal Corn Snake Strider
1-1-0 Chinese Water Dragons Isis & Osiris
1-1-0 Cockitiles Hawk&Ashley
1-0-0 Tangerine Leopard Gecko 9erz
0-1-0 Leopard gecko Jets
1-0-0 Mali Uromastyx Uri
0-0-2 Betas Holly & Go (kids fish)
0-0-1 Red Eared Slider Shelly
R.I.P hamster hamtaro
R.I.P Wolf Lab Cross Kenya

Ok, in the last 6 months I have received herps VIA UPS, USPS and DLS if that helps any. Here is the list of the MI Herp Society and I see that a few are in your area. http://www.michherp.org/contacts1.html
I know Eric Tobin ships all over the county, call and ask him how he does it. Don't e-mail as he is up to his ears in baby corns and it will take quite a while to hear back.