General Moving Back to America - Guinea Pig Travel?

[spawngo]

Hey all, I need a bit of advice.
I'll be graduating from university this July (finally!) and moving back home to Texas. At the moment, I live in Northern Ireland.
The whole reason I never got a pet during my 4 years here was because I knew I'd become too attached and have to figure out a way to get said pet back Stateside. Now that I have Elliot (a lovely piggie xmas gift), my ideas have been confirmed.
I've been doing research, and discovered that there are no regulations regarding the importation of guinea pigs into the US if they are pets...which is a huge relief. It means she won't have to be quarantined or anything! AND I can have her as carry-on!ptimist:

But my question is this - will this long trip (minimum 9-12 hours in-flight + max layover time = at least 20 hours) be harmful to her? In most airports she will be surrounded by loads of people, and will have to go through ordeals that may be terrifying to her small self. The last thing I'd want is to selfishly put her through a nerve-wrecking, long trip just so I could get her to Texas...:guilty:

My other option would be to find a home to take her in. I've got friends offering, but to be honest, I really don't trust that they'd provide the kind of care and attention she needs. I never owned piggies before her, so when I got her, I did extensive research and know WAY too much now ...but I don't feel any of those offering to take her would devote as much time to ensuring she lives a great life... you know?

I guess my third option would be to find one of y'all in my area or close enough that could take her in? I don't know..

Any advice?
Thanks ahead of time!

 

[sarica338]

I know how hard it would be to chose. 1st:If any one says they live near you and can take one then that would be good if not do step2: Ask your friends and if any say yes then leave them info and maybe a book. Step 3: if you have a local small animal rescue ask if they would mind taking in a guinea pig. step 4: dont leave her on the streets, take her with you. I know if you have to do step 4 it will be very nerve racking on your pig but defienetly better then knowing you left her on the street. Hope I helped ,Sarica

 

[spawngo]

I know how hard it would be to chose. 1st:If any one says they live near you and can take one then that would be good if not do step2: Ask your friends and if any say yes then leave them info and maybe a book. Step 3: if you have a local small animal rescue ask if they would mind taking in a guinea pig. step 4: dont leave her on the streets, take her with you. I know if you have to do step 4 it will be very nerve racking on your pig but defienetly better then knowing you left her on the street. Hope I helped ,Sarica

Yeah, I think the best option for Elliot would be to re-home her with an experienced guinea owner, and failing that, I'd rather take her with me than leave her with a friend. My friend that has shown interest asked last night how old she was, and then said "Oh yeah? Still young...good, I could probably get a few years out of her." I was completely appalled.

For the record, I didn't mention leaving her on the streets, and I would never do that to ANY animal, ever.

But thank you.

 

[voiletmay]

I'd take the guinea pig, just make sure you have enough supplies for the trip. We know people that took a guinea pig from Australia to the US when they moved. Northern Ireland to the US is a much shorter trip.

 

[Frapplove]

It might be selfish, and I'll probably be admonished for saying this, but if I was in that situation, I would take her with me. (because you can take her as carry-on) I would spend time finding her the most comfortable travel carrier possible, get her used to being in there beforehand, of course bring food and water and her favorite treats, keep her with me at all times, no one else gets to touch her or see her and must simply take my word for how cute she is, perhaps have a towel to cover her.
That being said, I know there are risks. You may have a long layover or a short layover. She might make noise. But the journey would be temporary, and re-homing would be forever.:sad: It would take a lot of preparation, but the only other way I could leave mine is if I was sure of her new home, and kept in contact enough to know she was okay ptimist: such as pictures and letters of how she loved her new home and was getting great care, no matter how many years she had left. I hope this helps you.

 

[sarica338]

@spawngo: yeah i know i knew you wouldnt its just that i was sorta exaggerating hope your not mad at me orf anything

 

[Kimberly713]

Yeah I was a bit confused with the leaving her in the streets comment myself.

Anyways, I too would take my pigs with me. The worst part for her will probably be take off/ landing as it is a whole new feeling she won't be able to understand. I don't think the people and noise would be so bad, just a bit skittish.

Get the best carrier possible, maybe with a top entrance so you can periodically reach in and pet her, give her a watery veggie treat for moisture, etc. If you can, take her for a vet check up and get his/her opinion on the matter as well.

Definitely put in fleece pieces or something to burrow in and feel secure. Cover the carrier with a little blanky so the people and such aren't so scary. Don't let anyone pet her, see her, etc. Only you. I agree with what Frapplove said, it would be temporary re-homing is indeed forever.

I've also heard of pet flying sevices where they board them, feed them, water them, and reassure them. No people, just pets. Although I'm sure it's a fortune, your call.

 

[Eimear]

If it were me I would take her with me. But if you cant and are really stuck, I would gladly take her in! Im planning on getting another female buddy for my two girls soon anyway

 

[Cavalicious]

Wow, this is a hard call. Has anyone traveled within the U.S. with a GP? I can understand an Aus-U.S. flight working out (still, I'd be really, really nervous), but if spy9doc is right, you may have some serious issues. It's harder to control the cabin environment in a plane and I'm not sure the air is the best. I'd be worried that the GP would be traumatized into not eating or drinking. Just my two cents until someone with medical and personal experience can chime in.

Also, each GP is different in temperment. Just because it worked out for one GP doesn't mean it's going to work with yours. Just sayin'

 

[lissie]

I also don't think you could take her as a carry-on. Have you check with the airline? Someone on GL is trying to take her pigs from India to US. It's a very complicate process. You might want to read her thread here:
https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=62279

 

[lemonham]

I would check out this site: Airlines Pet Policies, Pet Air Travel, Private Charters Pets, Air Travel Pets they go through each airline and look at how the gps can travel. You want them to be in the cabin and not cargo.

 

[Eimear]

just out of interest (I may be moving to Canada within the next 2 years) is it a totally no-no to transport your pigs in cargo?

 

[Zuidy]

It might help if you take a lot of her favorite veggies, throw a handful of her usual bedding, and other "Homey" items into her carrier with you. I would definitely bring her along. Just do what you can to alleviate any stress she may have. Also, you can bring a towel to throw over her carrier if it has windows when there is a lot of commotion. (provided you are allowed to) and always keep her close! Your scent and your voice will probably help her the most through any trip.

Good luck!

 

[voiletmay]

A have an elderly friend who as a cockatiel as a pet. The bird is always with her on her shoulder and is very tame. Once she went on holidays on a plane and the bird had to go cargo. My friend said the bird was traumatized for weeks over the sounds he heard while being in cargo. She would never put him in a plane again.

When I was young, we moved interstate (two day train trip) and our two guinea pigs came on the train too. We made it, but somehow even though the guinea pigs were supposed to be on the same train as us, they got caught up in a train strike and were stuck for two weeks in a freight train depot somewhere. When we finally got them back they were alive, but much skinnier. Some train people had obviously been tending to them as there was shredded paper inside their cage. But they did survive.

 

[SeeSpotSit]

You mentioned in your original post that you would be able to have her in the cabin as a carry on. In that case, I would totally take her. If you had to put her in cargo, then I would possibly think about rehoming or checking out this service - Pet Relocation - Safe, personalized travel for your pets

Good luck!

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

I would bring her. I moved from PA to TX and Herbie spent over 30 hours in the backseat of the pickup truck and he was fine.

 

[Inle_Rabbit]

You will need to call the USDA I believe and double check the regulations on bringing guinea pigs into the US. I have worked with people bring horses, cattle, dogs, cats and birds across the Mexican boarder (which is much more open than over the pond!) when I was a vet tech, there is a ton of paper work involved, vet checks, vaccinations, proof of owner ship, etc. as well as only having certain check points on which you can enter or leave the country per the paper work.

I know when I was a child my father was being courted by a computer company in Ireland for a job. When it came down to the animals the dogs needed almost a year of vet observation before being transported and it was determined whatever the possess was for getting guinea pigs into Ireland would be too stressful to the animals. I was a kid so I'm not sure exactly what it all was but luckily for us my father took a better job in Texas and all animals traveled to our new home via car. =D

 

[guineapigfied]

I live in Texas just saying....

 

[bpatters]

Check into Continental's PetSafe program. The animals travel in a special area in the plane where they're checked frequently, and fed if necessary. Lufthansa also has a very good reputation with pets, but I don't believe any US airline will let you take the pig in the cabin. Also double and triple check with every agency possibly involved in the pig leaving Ireland or entering the US.

The best info I know on international pet travel is at https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=62549. It's a long thread on the user Feylin's move to Germany with her tortoise, and you may have to register with GL to be able to see it -- it's in the General forum, not the medical one. But she got conflicting information from several US agencies plus some German ones, and in spite of following every instruction to the letter, still ran into some late difficulties. There are several suggestions in the thread of numbers to call to make sure you've covered all the bases.

Edited to add that you may not be able to fly with an animal at all during the summer. There are some pretty stringent rules about temperatures at the departing, arriving, and any interconnecting airports, and if it's going to be too hot or too cold for your animal, they won't take it.

 

[luvanimals987]

We lived in Germany for 7 years and while we were there we got a dog & cat. We moved with them from Germany to the US a year ago. There was a lot of paperwork involved and we had to get a health certificate for each from our vet that was good for 10 days. It was kind of hard to coordinate everything w/ the airline, customs, & the vet.. because at the last minute the airline changed our flight... and we ended up flying out the last day their health certificates were valid. We didn't have much choice with the flight because we're military. Luckily we moved when it was cold, or they may not have let us take our pets. Some airlines have pet restrictions in warm weather. We put a warm blanket in each kennel, as well as food and water. It was a horrible trip. It ended up taking 2 days because of bad weather (delayed flights & layovers). We had 3 different flights. I couldn't get to my pets to let them out! Once we checked them in at Munich we couldn't see them again until we were picking them up from our last flight! That was scary to see their kennels loaded up on the belt like suitcases... I felt so horrible thinking they were trapped in cages with no potty all that time! ...thinking we abandoned them... Well once the whole thing was said and done, our cat was a different cat. She went from being an absolute doll, super loving, always wanting to be in the midst of things... to being terrified of everything to this point that she hides from every noise. It took months for her to let you pet her again. I have 3 kids, so she became extremely stressed when they were not in school. (They never did anything to scare her; just the noise and commotion would cause her to go into hiding, stop eating & drinking, and shed like crazy.) It really traumatized her! She went to live with my mom this past Christmas where she can now live the quiet life. Mom takes excellent care of her, of course.... but even at Mom's she spends her days in the quietest room in the house with another cat and rarely ventures out... So sad! She never begs for attention like she used to... My dog, on the other hand, took the move in stride. I could tell it did stress him out, but it didn't traumatize him. Then again, dogs are used to being out and about, going places all the time. (Especially if you live in Germany... where dogs are often more welcome than children.) lol So I would carefully consider whether you really want to put your gp through all that stress. But I am very surprised to hear that you can even bring him with you because when we moved the only pets allowed to go in country without stricter regulations & quarantine... were dogs & cats. I know this is a hard decision, and I wish you the best.