This is topic Airlines Rules for Pet Rats on the plane? in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Donna Siegwart (Member # 3232) on 09-08-2006, 05:49 PM:
 
I sort of need help here guys and if anyone can help me that would be terrific!

I will be traveling soon to Texas from New Jersey by air plane and need to find an Air Line that will accept my TWO Rats as Carry-on.

So far I have found out they will let them go in the cargo area, but I don't feel safe leaving my pets (Which I love), under a plane with other animals or other large items that might fall or hurt them. (I read of a few incidents where peoples pet rats were killed due to that). Plus I would like to cut their stress down as much as I can.

Does anyone know more about traveling with rats, or any air line that might be able to allow rats as carry on?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

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Posted by Emma Tomiak (Member # 1862) on 09-09-2006, 03:04 AM:
 
Here are some links that might help you:

American seems like it might allow rats to travel in the cabin in the proper carrier, but I'd call a rep and find out exactly what is allowed and what isn't. Same thing for United Airlines.

Traveling with Pets (AA)
United: Traveling with Pets

Southwest doesn't allow pets at all.

Animals and Pets (Southwest)

Delta is prejudiced against rats!
Pet Travel Options (Delta)

If your airline doesn't allow you to bring your babies into the cabin with you, then you might get a really durable, sturdy carrier and having them travel with checked baggage. Buster and I wish you good luck with whatever options you have!
 

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Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 09-09-2006, 05:17 AM:
 

quote: Donna Siegwart

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...but I don't feel safe leaving my pets [Frown] (Which I love), under a plane with other animals or other large items that might fall or hurt them. (I read of a few incidents where peoples pet rats were killed due to that).

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No need to worry about that - just make sure that Samuel L. Jackson isn't booked on the same flight as you!
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 09-09-2006, 09:10 AM:
 
What about packing up their cage in a nice, sturdy box and sending them ahead to the destination by Fed-Ex Overnight?
 

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Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 09-09-2006, 09:44 AM:
 
Sprit let us travel with our two Peke's as carry on. They just had to be in the airline approved carrier that would stow away under the seat at our feet.

Now we drive to our destinations...
 

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Posted by Donna Siegwart (Member # 3232) on 09-09-2006, 12:54 PM:
 
Yeah I would have decided to drive down there, but my car won't make it and I don't want to take the chance. So my best bet is air travel, though my bf said if I can't find something he can watch them for a few months and when he drives down, he can bring them with him. I just don't wanna leave my rats behind.

BTW, Emma thanks for the help, I will be calling a few airlines to talk with them about their pet rules, etc.

And Randy, I heard about a few ways to send them over night in the mail or fedex in an animal carrier, I just am iffy about trusting the mail system. I have had packages lost before and I really am nervous about them losing my rats. But it still is an option So thanks.
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 09-09-2006, 02:10 PM:
 
Yeah, it's chancy but I don't think it's any chancier than flying them. They'd be on ground level for most of the time. They'd be warm. Maybe they get jostled in handling but rats can take it.

I'm not so concerned about them getting there in one piece but in the cost of shipping live animals via Fed-Ex. I'd have to check the rules first.
 

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Posted by Marc Hansen (Member # 705) on 09-09-2006, 10:25 PM:
 
Have you checked the price of a rental car?
 

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Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 09-10-2006, 12:16 AM:
 
Pet rats are cute, I eventually want one. A small snake would be fun too, but I'd have to make sure he's locked up like Charles Manson. That and make sure the rat is so much bigger than him, if he gets out, he'd be the one in trouble.
 

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Posted by Donna Siegwart (Member # 3232) on 09-10-2006, 12:42 PM:
 
Renting a car would actually cost MORE than a plane ticket (Esp since I'm only 21, and it would be out of state traveling). And right now until I am sure I have a job out there in Houston (Which I'm working on getting transferred) I have to go with the cheapest transportation, plus I'm saving up cuz in a few months I might be getting a house. So things are a bit rough right now.

I might also have another little friend to travel with soon, I might be acquiring a Guinea Pig soon (as one of my projectionists is being forced give up her pet) Ah this is going to be a fun move
 

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Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 09-10-2006, 03:18 PM:
 
A pilot friend regularly dines out on a story she heard from one of the captains she flies with. On a flight from Dubai to Amsterdam there was a very well off lady, who had friends in high places at the airline. Those friends pulled the strings needed for her to be able to circumvent company rules and take her cat on as hand baggage. Despite being told in no uncertain terms not to do so, she opened the cat carrier in mid flight, and the kitty escaped. The captain was forced to make an announcement asking passengers to look under their seats etc., while the flight attendants soon discovered that the cabin of an MD-11 offers a wide range of hiding places for a cat. They still hadn't found the creature by the time the plane landed, and were told by Air Traffic Control that until they did the plane would have to remain sealed due to quarantine regulations. Eventually it was located, having crawled into a recess in one of the galleys, and bit the hell out of some poor flight attendant, who later had to have a very painful series of rabies innoculation jabs as a precaution. Heads rolled in senior management after that, apparently.
 

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Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 09-10-2006, 03:23 PM:
 
Have you considered simply leaving them with a ratsitter (friend, family) for the duration of the trip? Maybe you want to have them with you all the time, but couldn't it also be that the stress of travelling would be too much for them? I don't know much about the emotional world of rats, I have to admit. But I know for some pets such a trip would be a total nightmare.

The only other idea I would have (except for pet shipping by experienced carriers like Fedex) would be that you could pretend to be blind and that the rats are your guiding animals. You could tell them they are specially trained to guide you by giving you squeak signals. Why not a blind dog? Because you are allergic to dog hair. The only prop you would need would be some dark sunglasses.
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 09-10-2006, 03:47 PM:
 

quote: Michael Schaffer

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...you could pretend to be blind and that the rats are your guiding animals. You could tell them they are specially trained to guide you by giving you squeak signals.

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Michael, I don't care what anyone says about you, I think you *DO* have a sense of humor. That is hilarious!

(Does 2 blind rats = 3 blind mice?)
 

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Posted by Kara Tillotson (Member # 3899) on 09-10-2006, 05:11 PM:
 
I dont know what the big deal is...Sven is a certified water therapy instructor.

and Bartok supliments his meager income at the local theatre rewinding film.

 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 09-10-2006, 05:29 PM:
 
Kara, those pics are really cute ...and funny!
 

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Posted by Kara Tillotson (Member # 3899) on 09-10-2006, 05:59 PM:
 
you know, I actually think there was some article about a blind cat and a seeing eye rat...really...lemme see what I can find.
 

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Posted by Donna Siegwart (Member # 3232) on 09-10-2006, 06:11 PM:
 
LOL. This is getting interesting,(AND those photos are ADORABLE!)

Anywho I cannot leave the rats behind, I will be moving permenantally. So any help, which so far you all are being very helpful, is great.

EDIT:
I also have a new option open to me, my bf said if I cannot, at all, get my rats on the plane, he will take care of them until he moves (A few months after me). Though I will miss them if that is the case, it is still an option. And he does like my rats.

Oh and on a side note since I have many rat fans here, anyone ever have a problem with their rat constantly scratching his/her own eye? One of my rats keeps on doing that, it will heal and then he scratches again! I have clipped his nails and everything but it doesnt seem to work.
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 09-10-2006, 06:30 PM:
 
Donna, perhaps you should consider taking a ship. I've heard all ships have rats aboard...
 

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Posted by Donna Siegwart (Member # 3232) on 09-10-2006, 06:36 PM:
 
LOL.

THAT would be a trip

All of a sudden I leave the ship with 14 rats rather than just my two. I think in the end I will end up having my boyfriend drive my rats down, I just will miss them a lot, plus he doesnt know how to take care of them yet. Like giving them baths, oh hes gonna have fun with that , they HATE bath time.
 

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Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 09-10-2006, 08:31 PM:
 
NO ship. Or at least with feral rats aboard. I'm told that domestic rats will go wild if they get mixed in with feral rats. Though I could be wrong. At the very least, it may be hard to track your precious pet down again, if he ever got loose amongst the feral populace.
 

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Posted by Mathew Molloy (Member # 666) on 09-10-2006, 10:22 PM:
 
All this talk of rats -

Rats are the greatest. After my third rat, Pinky, passed away I happened to be in a Petco near my house just as they were dumping a crate of rats into a small cage. Obviously feeder rats, I noticed two little rats who wouldn't leave each other's side and they were being pushed around by the bigger rats. So of course, I had to get those two - one was brown and the other white/brown.

Although they were real young I made the assumption they were both girls. I discovered I was wrong a little too late when I got home from work one night and there were 9 little pinkies in their house. So I separated the two rats from then on and let the mother raise her young. Several weeks later I learned something else - rats can get pregnant even after just giving birth and ended up with 9 more baby rats.

Both times she had 9 babies. The first time it was 5 boys & 4 girls and the second time it was 4 boys and 5 girls. Now the Mother was all brown and the Father was brown and white - what's interesting is that all the pups were opposite in color (boys all brown & girls brown/white.)

The 4 baby girls from the first litter went to a friend of mine. I built a rat condo for the rest to live in - the girls got the upstairs half and the boys had the downstairs. Later, my friend took in the rest of the girls.

Sadly none of the "children" lived as long as their parents. Within two years they had all passed away... After one year the females started developing cancerous tumors and one-by-one the males would be found dead. (Of heart failure.) We probably spent a couple thousand in vet bills.

After talking to the vet and doing some research we came to the conclusion that the two rats we started with had been bred with these particular genetic traits - tumors in the girls and heart failure in the boys. Although the mom & dad lived the longest (about 2 1/2 yrs. each) they, too, died of the same symptoms.

Anyway, here's a pic of the rat condo just after I built it with the girls on top and boys on the bottom half. It's just a $25 bookcase from Staples.


 

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Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 09-10-2006, 11:09 PM:
 
This rat thread reminds me of the famous words spoken by George Carlin...

Rat shit, bat shit, dirty old twats.. 69 assholes tied in a knot...Hooray, lizard shit. fuck.

At least that's the way I THINK it goes..
 

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Posted by Donna Siegwart (Member # 3232) on 09-10-2006, 11:28 PM:
 
My goodness Mathew, that's a lot of rats! I have enough with just my two. Mine are both BOYS, and they used to be LAB RATS.

My roomie goes to Arcadia University and they had the option of adopting their lab rats (dont worry these guys didnt go through bad tests, just mazes) So she adopted her rat and someone elses.

She came home with them because her dorm wont let her keep them, and i somehow ended up with them. I sort of adopted them, I told her when I move I will be taking them too, she agreed that it was a good idea because I have spent the past year and a half taking care of them as my own.

Im glad she adopted them.
 

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Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 09-10-2006, 11:40 PM:
 

quote: Donna Siegwart

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I also have a new option open to me, my bf said if I cannot, at all, get my rats on the plane, he will take care of them until he moves (A few months after me). Though I will miss them if that is the case, it is still an option.

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quote: Donna Siegwart

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My roomie goes to Arcadia University and they had the option of adopting their lab rats (dont worry these guys didnt go through bad tests, just mazes)

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quote: Michael Schaffer

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That sounds like you will miss the rats more than the "bf". Does that stand for boyfriend or best friend?

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In UK English slang, these initials are generally used as an abbrevation for 'bloody fool'.
 

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Posted by Donna Siegwart (Member # 3232) on 09-11-2006, 11:16 AM:
 
Haha, yeah BF stands for Boyfriend. Though I will miss him a lot, at least I can talk to him on the phone. The rats have no communication with me what so ever. I worry more about them than him because I know I will see him again.

And no they don't glow in the dark. But for rats with no immune systems, they have been more healthy than any of my friends Rats tha do have immune systems.
 

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Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 09-11-2006, 03:25 PM:
 

quote: Donna Siegwart

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I worry more about them than him because I know I will see him again.

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You will? Are you sure? Oh, Donna, you are still sooo young!

How come there are rats with and without immune system? Do they come in different editions, like cars with and without 4WD?
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 09-11-2006, 06:44 PM:
 
Yeah, I was a little confused too... will Donna's REAL Love Guy please squeek up.
 

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Posted by Donna Siegwart (Member # 3232) on 09-13-2006, 09:16 AM:
 
I really dont know why the rats dont have immune systems, my roomie who got them from the lab at college just told me about them. I could probably ask her but shes busy with college, she just went back in. Im guessing it has to do with how they are bred.

Anywho they are adorable, and Im getting my BF used to being with them (i dont wanna freak them out by just randomly leaving them), I got them a carrier to take them to his house every now and then to play with them and get used to them. Their first trip, they both pee'd on him

They spent most of the time climbing over to me and laying on my arm, I told him once he starts feeding them, they would like him more. I mean how can you NOT like the person who is giving you FREE FOOD?

I dont know what Im gonna do with out my rats.
 

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Posted by William T. Parr (Member # 677) on 09-13-2006, 01:41 PM:
 
So what color are these rats? and what part of Texas are they coming to? Maybe one of them can run for Govenor in the next election LOL. Only in Texas
 

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Posted by Donna Siegwart (Member # 3232) on 09-13-2006, 09:06 PM:
 
The rats are All White with Pinkish/Redish Eyes. They will be in North West Houston with me. (Names Gadget and George)
 

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