General Care Discussion :: Flying Turtles

[megcornell]

Ok, so I was planning on leaving my baby RES under the care of a friend for the summer, but she is afraid that she will kill him, which forces me to fly Leo out to Denver with me for the summer as she is the only animal savvy friend I have, and no one else wants the responsibility/ there isn't anyone else responsible enough, sadly.

So... I was wondering what special precautions I should take before flying. I've read not to feed the turtle the night before flying to reduce stress, but other than that I'm not sure what else would help. My boyfriend is getting to Denver first, so he will have a tank set up for Leo on his arrival which I'm hoping will help. But as far as travelling, do I want to put a moist towel in with him or not? I've read conflicting things on that. And how big of a carrier do I want? One with ample room to move or something tiny and secure?

And also, what signs of distress should I look for and how would I combat them once in Denver (or in transit) besides just giving him time to settle in? And should I have his tank as full as it is here to start or have it shallower because he'll be stressed?

Thanks!! I really appreciate it...

[megcornell]

oh and p.s I've already confirmed with the airline and TSA that it's ok to fly the turtle so that is not an issue... Leo already has his plane ticket

[missibsu]

I agree with the not feeding. I would also think that a smaller container would be better. You don't want to allow room for him to move around and potentially get injured. Make sure you leave breathing room. When I have transported in the past, I have used a damp cloth underneath and a dry one over top. If they are not being shuffled around a whole lot, they should sleep. The one thing I noticed with the wet towel was the tendancy to get cold. I don't know if that is particularly good for them, but I don't know how to keep it warm.

[megcornell]

So perhaps I could use a tiny container like the ones baby turtles come in with the open lid and plastic sides? I'm thinking it would be best to cover the sides to reduce stress. As far as keeping him warm... maybe if i tried a few combinations of placing damp cloths on one of those hand warming sheets you can put in mittens that would work... with enough layers perhaps I could get close to 75degrees although I have no idea how warm they are so I'll ahve to check on that. What kind of dry cloth have you used? Like fabric or paper towels? I assume something that can't be eaten...

[steve]

Is there a way you can get a printout or some sort of additional confirmation that you're allowed to do it? Even try to get a few names and numbers of those who said you were allowed to. I've been burned or misinterpreted customer service before... you don't want to be at the airport check-in when they tell you something else.

You don't need damp cloths. I wouldn't use a tiny container either but if it's totally dark in the box and he has something to burrow under, he will likely sleep.

[megcornell]

Well, I have Leo's confirmation code for the flight, and I called TSA to confirm that he could make it through security. I feel as though if he's not allowed, whether I can drop the name of the woman I talked to or not won't help me get past airport security nowadays.... but I agree that a confirmation wouldn't hurt.

You said you wouldn't use a tiny container... so how big should I aim for? And what would be appropriate for him to burrow in? He likes hiding under leaves in his tank so maybe if i pile some of his fake leaves in a corner he can bury in those?
Also, will he run the risk of dehydration with no damp cloth? I don't want to stress him anymore than necessary.

thanks!

[missibsu]

If your turtle gets loose in your house, he's good for a couple of days at least...based on that information, he isn't going to dehydrate on the flight. I think the important thing when it comes to the container he is transported in, is for y'all to discuss actually size, lol. Meg, what do you mean by small, and Steve what do you mean by larger? If you are basing the size on a couple of different things, then you could be thinking the same size, lol. Just a thought.

[megcornell]

Haha, good point missibu... when I say small, what I had in mind was something the size of one of those small plastic crates you get at a pet store
http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_ ... 4441809403

like those... perhaps that is inappropriate, I've never seen anyone travelling with a turtle so I'm not too sure... I'm thinking the most important thing is that he feels safe in whatever enclosure he's in.. which i hope to do induce by giving him a place to hide and covering the sides.

i also have to keep in mind what will pass through security. the plastic crates are as close to the animal crates as I've found, and TSA approved it so I'm hoping it will work...

[steve]

I wouldn't use damp cloth because that could become cold and you wouldn't want you RES to be in that. An old pair of dark colored sweat pants cut up should work. Leave enough to cover the bottom and enough on top for him to cover himself.

Missi, by larger I mean the turtle has room to turn around if he wanted. I think she has a hatchling, so I may be off. Meg, he doesn't need much room, so you can try out the different options to see if he prefers one.

[megcornell]

i do in fact have a hatchling, he's just under 2" so he'll have plenty of room to turn in a small crate. I think i'll ditch the damp cloth and just find him a dry one to burrow in... thank you for all of the help, i really appreciate it!

[marisa]

How long is the trip? If the trip is not a short one, I have to disagree with not using a damp cloth. I brought my RES on a 13-hour flight in a plastic ice cream container with holes on top that had a damp cloth on the bottom and he had no problems. The air in the cabin of an aircraft is dry and I wanted to increase the humidity. Periodically (like every few hours) I would take him into the lavatory and hydrate him with bottled water. The cabin shouldn't be that cold. If you're really worried about the cold, you could buy a small disposible heat pack and sandwich it in between the cloth so it's not directly touching your turtle or the bottom of the container (I think that's what your were talking about above)--you don't have to get the temp up to 75F.

[Andrew7769]

those thing u keep in your mittins should work they stay hot for like 8 hours

[megcornell]

the flight is about 5 hours, so i don't think that Leo would get deathly dehydrated but it may not be terribly hard to keep him warm and moist either... i'll have to experiement with his travel case and see what works.... thanks!

and what do you mean by a "plastic ice cream container" like what sherbert comes in? and also may i ask how old your turt was when travelling? I'm pretty worried because leo is young...

[missibsu]

Steve should consider including some of this information when he does updates!!! Hint Hint, lol

[steve]

Yea, there is a trove of information building up. I should have taken notes when I first came across them, but now there is a lot of digging that needs to be done.