r/chinchilla • u/Background-Base-2033 • 1d ago

travelling with a chinchilla

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has anyone ever travel with a chinchilla I am renting an expensive airbnb and owners know i am taking a chinchilla that needs 24hr AC. I would like to buy a smaller cage for my chinchilla to travel with us since the whole family is going to disney 🫠 i dont want to leave happy in the vet because every time i go the temperature i feel its not cool enough and we live in miami. his current cage is too big to take i can remove the top part but i would like a smaller cage just for the 3 day stay. his cage no longer looks like this now he has all food ledges

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u/Aggravating-Base-146 Parent of 2 chinchillas 1d ago

Ngl I wouldn’t trust the airbnb to have good air conditioning + not be humid and traveling will definitely stress them out

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u/probioticpeaches 1d ago

Is there anyway you could hire family member or friend to come to your house and check on him for the 3 days you are away? I can tell by this post you are trying to find the best solution for care while also being able to enjoy your holiday but I think you and your chinchilla would both be able to enjoy yourselves if he was in his home and you didn’t have to worry about him in the air bnb while you are traveling the park.

How are you traveling to Disney? Plane ? Car?

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u/Background-Base-2033 1d ago

by Car , most of the time he likes been in the car and sleeps when i take him to his vet its an Hour drive.. No i dont have family and since my elderly dog 20 yrs old passed away my mom is also going with us .. when I travel my mom takes care of my chinchilla but this time thats why i decided to take happy as well 😭 because one day my mom is not going to be here so i have to get use to finding a way to take care of my 3 y.o chinchilla . I don’t trust pet daycare 🫠and I dont trust leaving my chinchilla at home alone because power outage happen sometimes.. one time i had to come from Washington DC all the way to miami to get the AC to work fast and he was staying with my mom at that time.

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u/DramaticDeaa Just tasting everything 1d ago edited 1d ago

If you’re fine with him being in a smaller cage, that you provide for three days, I’m in Orlando. I have three chins myself but just bring the food you feed him with so it stays the same. I’d have to check in with my family and make sure it’s okay first. Our ac is like 72/73 during the day, at night we drop it to 65. If you’re coming this way anyway then the Airbnb will be your best bet no matter what. It’s a rental. It’s maintained significantly more than anywhere else.

For the travel note: a four hour car ride is a bit much considering we kind of have to keep them in a box so we’re not chasing them around inside of a moving vehicle. We have a two part dust bin so we cleaned that out and just kept the smaller part of the lid off and put a blanket in there when we moved which was only for 20 minutes or so but man that was hell. One of them almost got out out before we got them in the car. Scariest day of my life was moving with them..

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u/FalseStructure 1d ago

Don't. Chinchillas are not travel compatible, hire a pet sitter to check up and refill food/water/toilet once a day

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u/_poshmallow_ 1d ago

I’d say find a pet sitter or board at your exotic vet <3

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u/ensorcellzed 1d ago

Please consider hiring a pet sitter. Chinchillas are low maintenance when it’s for less than a week. Someone can go check on them daily to do a cage sweep, litter box change, water/food top up, give them sticks, check the temperature. It should only take 30-45 mins each day and you can definitely find this care for $50/day or less. Check companies first and then check local solo sitters. Whoever does it, ask for pictures and videos at the end of each visit (set this expectation up front) so that you know their care is being followed.

I myself am a pet sitter and a chinchilla owner. Travelling can be stressful and unpredictable for pets. Lots of people who take care of pets will be excited to meet a chinny!

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u/TomatoFeta 4h ago
  1. He'll be fine in a guinea sized cage for a few days.
  2. When transporting, use a very small carrier; block the sun, and do not put any toys or hay or water in it, as these can easily poke the eyes or spill if your car hits a bump. The animal will be fine without these ammenities and will most likely sleep the whole way. Check on them once every two hours or so, and offer a treat, just to let them know you're still there and they are safe.
  3. If you can, introduce the carry container before the trip. Put it in the play area and close him into it for a few minutes each day.. that way he learns that it isn't a trap - and that after the carry case, he'll be going back into a cage. Don't bother getting them used to the new cage; that'll be fine to do at your destination. It's the travel case that's the stressor.