General Care Discussion :: i need help quick plz

[soldier1]

i will be moving to another country and would like to know if i need a passport for my turtle if so where i would like to carry it in a little caryer and take it on the plane wit me thank you soooo much for you attention i really appreciate it )))

[steve]

Check with the airline you are using, they will let you know if he can board with you or would need to be checked in. Considering all things, I would make every effort to find an airline that will let you carry your RES with you.

And, you need to separately check to see if the country you're going to has any laws regarding reptiles/sliders (sliders are considered invasive in many countries). No doubt you will need to fill out some paperwork...

[soldier1]

no they don't have a law cause they sell them their and would i need a passport for it

[marisa]

Turtles don't have passports. What country are you going to? If it's one in Europe, I think the importation of RES is extremely difficult (by now they could be banned). My RES came back to the U.S. with me from Japan. I basically did two things: One, I checked with the Japanese authorities to make sure he'd be allowed out (it depended on which CITIES list he was on, and RES aren't threatened, so they didn't care). To get him into the U.S., I contacted the U.S Fish & Wildlife Service and was sent a form to fill out (his traveling papers and probably the "passport" you may be thinking about).

I suggest, if you're going to to this above board, that you start with the USFW service to find out about taking him out. Then check with the authorities of the country you're going to. (If you return with your turtle, you'll have to go through the red tape all over again.)

The airline is a separate issue. Most don't allow reptiles on board and allowing him into be put cargo is chancy--he could freeze if the cargo area isn't heated adequately. This happened to someone who was bringing his turts to Canada from Asia. He lost multiple turts and the airline could not be held responsible for it.

[da sAUCE!]

Screw the man. Excuse my french, but yeah. Smuggle. DO IT. I KNOW YOU WANT TO. There might be another way though. Comfort animals. Airlines are required BY LAW to let passengers that are afraid to fly carry "comfort animals" with them. And they are also required BY LAW not to ask anything about it as it's discrimination. The only animal that can't be a comfort animal is a cat. Don't ask me why but a cat is supposedly not considered comforting by some higher authority.

[ellman605]

hmmm, you can get a stuffed turtle, make it hollow, put water, filter, heater, and 2 side windows out of it and bring him through.....make sure the turtle is big though.....

[marisa]

I wouldn't advocate that anyone do something "illegally" if it can be done otherwise (you need to do some checking). And I don't think I'd smuggle anything I was not prepared to lose if caught.

[butterfly]

I dont think it should be done illegally either. If your caught, it can pose a danger to your turtle. You might be seperated from it or a whole series of events can happen that can hurt your turtle.

Just follow Marisa's advice, it makes sense and you will be glad you did. Better to be safe than sorry. Traveling is stressful enough as it is, you dont want to make it worse by worrying about your turtle possibly getting hurt or lost. Cover all of your bases before taking your turtle.

On a side note though, airlines are a**es when it comes to peoples pets.

[marisa]

Couldn't agree with your above comment more, Butterfly.

[ellman605]

i was just kidding. :P

[staman]

Marissa that made me laugh. Picturing my turtle emerald with her own little passport. I wonder howd she'd sign it? The pic would be cute too..

Turtles paying for other turtles passports....
Dropping off you turt at the airport let him fly himself... lol

[marisa]

Well, Tilly has no actual passport, just a piece of paper saying he's been admitted to the U.S. and a copy of a physical that he had in Tokyo that says he's healthy. (A cute little turtle passport would be nice, but somehow I don't think he'll be needing one anymore. )

I must say I was favorably impressed with USFW as a government agency. An inspector was promptly waiting for us at JFK when we arrived to do a physical inspection of Tilly. I found out that, since I had to change my flight at least 3 times, each time someone had been there waiting. They were nice about the delays, though, and Tilly was pronounced "a real beauty." He got so much attention, I think he enjoyed it.