General Care Discussion :: Is airplane safe for turtle?

[RESCHIU]

I'm currently in east coast and may have possibility to move over to west coast for my job, one thing that came to my mind was my baby , since I will have to ship my car, the only way to bring my turtle with me is by airplane, but I'm not sure if the difference/change in pressure will hurt them? if anyone travel with their turtle before safely please let me know. (it should be about 4 hour flight)

[Pizza]

I have not had any experince with shipping pets via airplanes before, but from my common sense, turtles are easily stressed and by instinct, generally scared reptiles. So the moving plane would probably stress them out, if not the small vibrations or loud noises from the plane engines.

My advice is to consult your pet carrier service on shipping small pets, and how they can help accomodate your needs.

If they suggest placing your turtle in water during the trip, choose to decline it, turtles are even more stressed if the water is shaking while they move, and the drop in temperature in the water could give your turtle hypothermia or other sicknesses. Best to transport them dry, and with as little room to roll around in. Maybe wrap your turtle in a loose blanket (not so tight that it is completely immobile) or have a small heat pack (check so it isn't overheating the enclosure) to help conserve heat, airplane temperatures on the whole, are low, and it's even colder in the storage hulls.

Sorry I was unable to answer your original question.

[RESCHIU]

thank you for your reply, it's good to know not to put them in water. At first I thought about having my turtle with me in my pocket or in my purse, somewhere small so that they feel safe. Actually my turtle has been travel to many places with me in the car, and I did notice that whenever he's in the plastic container filled with the water in the car, he always tries to climb out, one time I let him climb out and i put a piece of towel over him and he stayed that way for like whole hour till I arrived home, turtle definitly feel a lot safer having things around them than in the water.

[Pizza]

Well as long as you are legally allowed to carry them with you into the cabin, but air travel guidelines have been enforced and are now very strict, with everything, don't risk getting caught and having your turtle confiscated if it isn't allowed. You may even be in some trouble for doing so, . With things such as liquid bombs and avian flu going around, carry-on items are very limited now (I couldn't even carry my tennis and badminton racquets on last time I travelled, and had to risk them getting snapped in my baggage, the airport authorities identified them as possible "weapons").

But if you can carry your turtle with you, it would be best.

[megcornell]

I flew out to denver this summer- no major airlines in the US allow turtles on board, I called them all- most don't even have regulations for putting them in with the luggage (which I wouldn't advise anyways). So the whole airplane idea may be out unfortunately.
I'm not really sure what alternatives to offer other than shipping or driving out. Sorry...

[steve]

Hope this helps (additional links on the bottom): www.redearslider.com/transportation.html

[marisa]

I brought my RES back from Tokyo with me (a 13-hour flight) about 3 years ago. The airline I flew said no to bringing him, so I had to take measures on my own to get him on the plane undetected (I'm not advocating you do this, I'm suggesting that you make sure the airline you fly with allows him on board with you---you don't want to put him in cargo).

Once in the air, he was put in a small container (about 7 inches by 7 inches and 3 inches high---he was just under 4 inches at the time), with holes in the top for air. A damp cloth was on the bottom to provide humidity. The container itself was in a tote bag.

He flew the whole trip this way with no problems (cabins are pressurized, so there shouldn't be a problem). Every few hours I made a trip to the lavatory where I rehydrated him with the bottled water I had brought with me (don't know what the rules are about taking bottled water on board now, though) and remoistened the cloth if it needed it.

A former airline employee and turtlekeeper I know of brought her turtles back from Europe when there were apparently no restrictions on doing this. She had them in a clear plastic carrier under the seat in front of her. Every few hours she would rehydrate them with water.

Hope this gives you some ideas on transporting them.

[jenaero]

I had 2 large res shipped to me by airplane with no ill effects.

[pumpkinsherbet]

Well as long as you are legally allowed to carry them with you into the cabin, but air travel guidelines have been enforced and are now very strict, with everything, don't risk getting caught and having your turtle confiscated if it isn't allowed.

oh wow, is that the new terrorist threat! death by turtle! goodness, they've been going overboard with this airport security.

[SpotsMama]

Well you know those turtles have a pretty mean bite!

[Pizza]

Hah, last time I travelled out of Canada and flew back (and took a connecting flight from San Francisco), I had a bunch of specialty foods (were unbuyable here, and of high quality) that were taken and were not returned to me at SFO, said that "there was a risk of avian flu in my items, as well as disease", and they could not be allowed in the US, even though my location of departure was nowhere even close to the areas of disease (and at the time, they were contained and hadn't even had a case of any biological threat in a year). .

They could probably pin you down even worse with live animals, transport of biological disease, illegal sale, just some other excuses they make.

With the liquid bomb scare last year, now little to no fluids (even bottled water or baby food) can be allowed to be taken on board, nowadays, air travel is near unbearable.

[MyVeryOwnRES]

Well as long as you are legally allowed to carry them with you into the cabin, but air travel guidelines have been enforced and are now very strict, with everything, don't risk getting caught and having your turtle confiscated if it isn't allowed.

oh wow, is that the new terrorist threat! death by turtle! goodness, they've been going overboard with this airport security.

Hey, I never knew snakes were a hazard on planes until i watched snakes on a plane, maybe they'll make a new movie called Turtles on a plane

[pumpkinsherbet]

oh i loved that movie! it was freaking hilarious!!!

[Blue Flamingo]

[quote Pizza]

Hah, last time I travelled out of Canada and flew back (and took a connecting flight from San Francisco), I had a bunch of specialty foods (were unbuyable here, and of high quality) that were taken and were not returned to me at SFO, said that "there was a risk of avian flu in my items, as well as disease", and they could not be allowed in the US, even though my location of departure was nowhere even close to the areas of disease (and at the time, they were contained and hadn't even had a case of any biological threat in a year). .

Haha ya right, They were prabably like this is some good stuff, just tell him he cant have it back because of the Avian Flue virus.