Moving cross country with "exotic" animals

[mdrossncsu]

Has anyone ever moved any distance with pets that you can't take on an airplane?

I Have a veiled chameleon, a fat-tailed gecko, and a b. smithi (tarantula) that I would like to take with me on my move from NC to CA. I don't really have enough time, (or desire), to drive the 2800 miles and airlines pretty much don't allow anything other than dogs/cats to ride in cabin. I could ship the chameleon and the gecko as cargo, but I'd need a special license to ship the tarantula. I would also be worried about heat this time of year with the cargo option. Who knows how long the airline would let them sit in the sun.

From what I've seen online the best option is to overnight them through something like fed-ex in a well ventilated/labeled/padded box. Does anyone have any experience with this? All I can picture is this smashed package arriving to my door step a couple of days late

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

 

[AsiaKauffman]

I know what you mean. I'm about to drive my animals out from Ohio to California. We want to come home for christmas but if I can't fly with my 2 chameleons as a carry on, then there is no way I'm not driving back. I don't want to leave them with anyone either. I called united airline and a guy said I could carry reptiles as a carry on for $125 but I didnt believe him. I kept asking if he could look and see if anyone has done that before. He wouldn't answer. He just said there was no place he saw for reptile problems. When I fly home this week I'm gonna ask someone at the airport. Unless I'm wrong I have been told reptiles can only fly as cargo under the plane and these lizards are my children and I don't want to think how someone would treat them when I'm not around. They allow birds on planes as carryon. They make more noise than a lizard who could fit in my shirt.

 

[laurie]

I know what you mean. I'm about to drive my animals out from Ohio to California. We want to come home for christmas but if I can't fly with my 2 chameleons as a carry on, then there is no way I'm not driving back. I don't want to leave them with anyone either. I called united airline and a guy said I could carry reptiles as a carry on for $125 but I didnt believe him. I kept asking if he could look and see if anyone has done that before. He wouldn't answer. He just said there was no place he saw for reptile problems. When I fly home this week I'm gonna ask someone at the airport. Unless I'm wrong I have been told reptiles can only fly as cargo under the plane and these lizards are my children and I don't want to think how someone would treat them when I'm not around. They allow birds on planes as carryon. They make more noise than a lizard who could fit in my shirt.

I always fly united and their corporate policy is no reptile of any kind on their plane never!! My sister tried to carry on a couple of baby veils and had I not been standing outside security to take them she would not have been allowed to board the plane.

I drove, well hubby mostly drove from Mission Viego, Ca to Montana. We stopped three nights and I brought a number of my chams in the back of my Yukon. Eact was in one of the round collapsable repteriums and we took them in every night. This was a long trip but I sent a bunch of them to my sister to be mailed to me later when I was in Montana. I took the ones that for what ever reason I did not feel should be mailed twice in 2 months. It worked out for me.

 

[Carlton]

. I could ship the chameleon and the gecko as cargo, but I'd need a special license to ship the tarantula. I would also be worried about heat this time of year with the cargo option. Who knows how long the airline would let them sit in the sun.

From what I've seen online the best option is to overnight them through something like fed-ex in a well ventilated/labeled/padded box. Does anyone have any experience with this? All I can picture is this smashed package arriving to my door step a couple of days late

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Would you need the same special license to ship the tarantula as cargo or by some other method anyway?

Check with the airline you are going to use. Most have pretty specific animal cargo handling options and you can specify the temp range your pets require. Depending on the airline's track record they may hand carry them from office to plane, not set them on baggage carts. For the tarantula, maybe find a dealer who could ship it for you?

 

[Carlton]

I know what you mean. I'm about to drive my animals out from Ohio to California. We want to come home for christmas but if I can't fly with my 2 chameleons as a carry on, then there is no way I'm not driving back. I don't want to leave them with anyone either. I called united airline and a guy said I could carry reptiles as a carry on for $125 but I didnt believe him. I kept asking if he could look and see if anyone has done that before. He wouldn't answer. He just said there was no place he saw for reptile problems. When I fly home this week I'm gonna ask someone at the airport. Unless I'm wrong I have been told reptiles can only fly as cargo under the plane and these lizards are my children and I don't want to think how someone would treat them when I'm not around. They allow birds on planes as carryon. They make more noise than a lizard who could fit in my shirt.

Noise has nothing to do with restricting a herp on a plane. I can understand that the airline doesn't want to try training their staff to recognize or handle all the various exotic critters people want to bring along. They are not biologists and can't trust everyone to be honest about the harmless nature of something in a box. Their solution is simple...nothing other than a known domestic pet.