Question:
Does anyone know if chinchillas can acquire health problems from being shipped? I don't know what the procedure is to ship chinchillas but are they exposed to other animals where they are kept on the plane? I am eventually going to adopt another male chinchilla as a companion for Shadow and there are a lot of nice chins for sale that can be shipped but I would be too paranoid to do so. I just think of everything that can possibly go wrong and what the chinchillas could potentially be exposed to and I realize there is nothing safer than picking up your own animal (from a highly reputable breeder of course).
What are you thoughts on this?


Answer:
Denise, I've had several chins shipped to me (living in rural connecticut, noone is close to me!) and they have done just fine. Preferably no temps below freezing and none over 70 degrees F.(sorry LOL we rarely use celcius in the U.S.). Counter to counter shipments are the safest. A lot of people like Northwest and Continental. The fewer layovers the better. You have to make sure the temps. at any layovers are ideal also.
In one instance, I did have an airline overlook my carrier and I had to have my chins shipped on a later flight. I wonder if flourescent stickers on the carriers would help? The person sending the chin should put a bunch of nice warm shavings or bedding in the carrier and plenty of hay/hay cubes. I really believe that once in flight the chins sleep just like they do when they are riding in my car. Obviously it is riskier than driving to get your chins and bringing them home via the car but when all the good breeders live 100's and thousand of miles away, sometimes there is just no choice.


Answer:
P.S. I am VERY careful about monitoring and quarantining my chins after arrival. I give loads of hay and apple juice in their water to encourage drinking and keep them very quiet. A couple of times I had some loose poo for a few days but that cleared up quickly.