Help Required!! Want to move to NY with my Hamster!

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taizun786

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Hello,
My name is taizun and I have a year and half old Syrian dwarf hamster called Zoomie. I currently live in LA but I will be moving to New York at the end of the month. I need help and information on how will I be able to take Zoomie with me?
 
Hello Taizun and welcome to the forum. Are you asking about the legal side of moving Zoomie with you to New York or the practical side?
 
Hi taizun, welcome to the forum.

Moving that kind of distant with a hamster won’t be easy, I have no idea about the legal issues that may be involved moving an animal from one state to another in the US if there are any that are applicable.
It would be a long & stressful journey for a hamster & it may be difficult. I’m really not sure how you would provide food, water & keep stress to a minimum in a safe carrier for the length of time that journey would take.
Maybe someone else here will have experience with moving long distance & be able to offer some ideas.
 
Hello and welcome :-) Zoomie is such a great name! Assuming there are no issues between States (I'm not aware of such a thing) you'll need to think about the best way to travel. I'm pretty sure you can't take them on a flight (usually) and would probably need to drive - presumably that could be a 3 day journey? (I have no idea how long it takes to get from LA to New York by vehicle!). Maybe hiring a motorhome would be an idea. - If you can pack all your stuff on top of it and have a kind of home from home for the journey. Then you and your hamster would be in a kind of normal living environment in the evenings. during the days the hamster would need to be in a pet carrier, wedged in somewhere - so it couldn't get thrown if you had to brake eg. It wouldn't be safe to leave them in a cage while driving. But you could have a holiday cage set up in the campervan so when you stop at night, the hamster could go in the cage and have some interaction with you in the evenings. You'd also need breaks during the day to check on the hamster and make sure they have water and food (although they do tend to sleep all day so mainly cucumber and water accessible). And allow plenty of time for the journey with overnight stops for some normality.

I think providing you're around at night and they have a cage with familiar smelling bedding and toys in, in the evening, the hamster would manage this fairly well. The stability would be the home environment with you.

Can you give us more info on the drive journey time?
 
RainbowBrite said:
Hello Taizun and welcome to the forum. Are you asking about the legal side of moving Zoomie with you to New York or the practical side?
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Both actually, the legal side seems like just getting a travel certificate but practically I want to see what's possible because I do not want to leave her behind.
 
elusive said:
Hi taizun, welcome to the forum.

Moving that kind of distant with a hamster won’t be easy, I have no idea about the legal issues that may be involved moving an animal from one state to another in the US if there are any that are applicable.
It would be a long & stressful journey for a hamster & it may be difficult. I’m really not sure how you would provide food, water & keep stress to a minimum in a safe carrier for the length of time that journey would take.
Maybe someone else here will have experience with moving long distance & be able to offer some ideas.
Click to expand...
Hello! So yes Frontier airlines do allow pets on board and hamsters too but it seems like a lot of trouble. Maybe a pet transport would be the ideal way? Someone who has experience in transporting hamsters?
 
Maz said:
Hello and welcome :) Zoomie is such a great name! Assuming there are no issues between States (I'm not aware of such a thing) you'll need to think about the best way to travel. I'm pretty sure you can't take them on a flight (usually) and would probably need to drive - presumably that could be a 3 day journey? (I have no idea how long it takes to get from LA to New York by vehicle!). Maybe hiring a motorhome would be an idea. - If you can pack all your stuff on top of it and have a kind of home from home for the journey. Then you and your hamster would be in a kind of normal living environment in the evenings. during the days the hamster would need to be in a pet carrier, wedged in somewhere - so it couldn't get thrown if you had to brake eg. It wouldn't be safe to leave them in a cage while driving. But you could have a holiday cage set up in the campervan so when you stop at night, the hamster could go in the cage and have some interaction with you in the evenings. You'd also need breaks during the day to check on the hamster and make sure they have water and food (although they do tend to sleep all day so mainly cucumber and water accessible). And allow plenty of time for the journey with overnight stops for some normality.

I think providing you're around at night and they have a cage with familiar smelling bedding and toys in, in the evening, the hamster would manage this fairly well. The stability would be the home environment with you.

Can you give us more info on the drive journey time?
Click to expand...
Yes driving takes almost a week. Flying would be ideal but most airlines do not allow hamsters. Would a pet transport work for her? That seems like the only option right now :/
 
You want to check the regulations very very carefully if an airline says they allow hamsters on board, because sometimes it is only in the hold, not in the cabin.

Personally I wouldn't trust my hamster to a pet transport company for that distance. I would rather do it myself.
 
People have had these issues with airlines before and found the small print meant there were issues. You might find that more so these days since Covid as well. Ultimately the hamster has to take priority with the travel.
 
I just looked up Frontier airlines and it sounds ok. It does say a hamster can travel in the cabin with you, in a pet carrier but the pet carrier must go under the seat (so it will need to be one that will fit under the seat).

The issue then really is all the travel to and from the flight which could be stressful for the hamster. Presumably bus, train or car to the airport, waiting in an airport lounge at both ends, and then further travel, along with all your luggage. How long would the flight be? The best way to travel with a hamster is either by train or driving really. Is train an option? If you sent your luggage on ahead so had nothing else to carry? I assume a train journey would also be a few days and mean sleeping on the train.

Hiring a motorhome might be expensive, but you could make it into an experience perhaps.
 
taizun786 said:
Yes driving takes almost a week. Flying would be ideal but most airlines do not allow hamsters. Would a pet transport work for her? That seems like the only option right now :/
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Have you made enquiries with a pet transport company? How would they transport your hamster this long distance?

Personally, i wouldn't consider it as an option for this kind of distance and to answer your question. No, i don't think it would work for her.
 
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A pet transport company would likely still be either driving or flying so there wouldn't really be any benefit to that over bringing Zoomie yourself. Pet transport companies are generally used by people who can't make the journey themselves, for example if they're adopting an animal from a breeder a very long way away. It will also be incredibly difficult to find one who is experienced with hamsters as specialist small rodent transport is generally a thing that almost never exists. I have used pet transport companies myself but for shorter journeys of a couple of hours where specific small rodent experience wasn't so important as long as they were generally competent with animals and reputable (in one case I used a pet ambulance company). For a week long trip, it's more ideal for a hamster to be with someone who knows more about them, and that's probably you as opposed to a transporter.

I took one of my hamsters myself on a car trip of a couple of hours once and she just went to sleep so I think a longer journey may be doable if you can set up a reasonably comfortable and safe travel enclosure. You would need to find hotels along the way who don't mind a hamster guest though. I think you would have to weigh up the options and decide what would be best for Zoomie. If you can leave her with someone who can give her good care, that may be kinder, but if you don't have anyone trustworthy to leave her with, maybe the journey is worthwhile even for her.
 
I had a similar situation a while back, and what made it easier for me was finding the right help for the move.
 
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I hope your move goes well. Choosing a carrier and the right bedding, food, fluid should make a big difference. If the company allows you to keep the carrier with you, you can keep checking that Zoomie is OK, not chewing through the carrier, has enough food and can take in enough fluid. There may be a way of attaching a small bottle to the carrier so that when it is stable she will be able to drink, probably at the time she would normally come out to drink, as per LA time. If you time the flight for when she normally sleeps, she might (if you are lucky) sleep within deep bedding for the journey. Be prepared for what to do if she is restless and also how to check on her without letting her out the carrier in case she escapes. How long is the flight? It might be good to let the attendants on the plane know that she is with you in case anything goes wrong. Good luck, let us know how things work out ❤️
 
If she is restless, for instance, would she accept food that she might pouch and stash as a distraction. How much room does she need for deep bedding and to allow some movement if she needs to move about, but not so much that she could be hurt if there is any instability.
 
This is quite an old thread Socks Mum :-) From May 2023 - I think JParker10 was just relating to it and saying what helped. In case anyone else was in this situation :). It's probably best I close this thread now and if the topic comes up again, someone can start a new thread and/or this one can be linked in it :)
 
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