Other Turtle Discussion :: Traveling with Turtles

[Zarjulius & Miaomiao]

I have to travel soon by plane and because of circumstances (i.e. neither I or my girlfriend are in town for a period of time and i'm certainly not trusting ANYONE with taking care of turtles) I will need to take them with me. Does anyone know how it's done? What kind of container do they need? How would they deal with the pressure changes during the flight (the flight isn't too long, less than 3 hours)? How to deal with them at the airport (I'll obviously need to take them with me onboard but obviously not scan them through the x-ray) and so on. If anyone knows the drill, please let me know! THANKS

Pink and Brown thank you as well.

They are both about a year old (maybe a month or so less) and about 3 inches in length, though Pink is larger than Brown.

[steve]

There's some info here (with extra links) www.redearslider.com/transportation.html

[marisa]

Make sure the airline you're traveling with allows them on board (you don't want them in cargo). I don't know what the current rules are for traveling now, but when I took my RES on a flight, there was no connection between the airport and airline. You should be able to have them hand inspected at the airport (you might call ahead and ask about this).

My RES traveled in a plastic ice cream container with holes poked in it for air that was placed in a tote bag (I had airline trouble and had to disguise the fact he was with me). A damp washcloth was placed at the bottom for humidity (cabin air is very dry). He did fine on the 12.5 hour flight. I tried to take him to the lavatory every few hours to pour water (you could carry bottled water back then). You should have to do this on the flight if it's 3 hours.

[the_orphaned]

I dont know how it is there in the US, but a certificate of health from the vet might also help. A certificate of animal health is required to get past the pesky quarantine procedures. Though here in the Philippines, it doesn't really matter since airport customs officials don't really understand this and would ask for a "tong" even if you have complete papers unless you want to get hassled by them. But I think the airport officials there in the US have a better understanding that certified healthy pets can travel with their owners inside the cabin if its small enough. How big is your turtle by the way?

As for turtle travel comforts, just refer the link above.

[DavidY]

What's a "tong"?

[the_orphaned]

Hmmm, sort of like a bribe. You know corrupt officials and government personnel are in third-world countries. They make more money from "tong" than from their salaries.

I remember my uncle bringing in some fish from Malaysia (Fighting Fishes), complete with papers and all. The airport authority was trying to hold the fish knowing that by doing so, the fish would die. My uncle had to bribe them or give them "tong" just to let them go through customs and the quarantine procedure faster.

[DavidY]

Man, that stinks! Must be kind of annoying when the guys who are supposed to be enforcing the law are a bunch of criminals themselves. I don't think I'd live very long in a place like that. I'd be too likely to shoot my mouth off at one of those pigs and then wind up getting beaten and arrested never to be seen again. rrrrgh!