Flying with Rabbits

[cwolfec]

Has anyone ever had to fly with their buns?

I am currently living in Guam, but will be moving back to the States in the next year. Apparently, there are massive restrictions on flying with rabbits (no animal can be on a flight to or from Hawaii, and no international flight will allow rabbits either...)

The commercial flight from Guam averages 20 hours, and I have no idea how long it would take for pet transport or if I can even find a relocation program that will ship my bunny. How traumatizing on a bunny is flying that long?

I don't want to give up my baby...he helped me get through the husband's deployment and I have never had to surrender a pet before. But the more research I do, the worse it looks...

 

[Nela]

I have no idea if KLM has a flight from there but if they do, try with them. They allow animals on their flights usually. It is possible that they don't fly animalsin certain periods though so it would be good for you to check with them. However, I do not remember if KLM allowed bunnies in the cabin or not so it is possible that he'd have to fly cargo.

You would have to check the US rules for bringing in the bun and what kind of documents you would need. For here, for the rabbits, a certificate of health from the vet, legalized by the Ministry (there was a specific ministry I had to get the vet certificates stamped by to prove the vet was legit and the ministry authorized the travel) was sufficient. However, I do not know the laws in the US so you would have to look into that.

I know members here who have flown rabbits successfully. I couldn't bring mine from Montreal because she was much too stressed and the vet felt it was too risky for her to fly. I was too scared to put her through that risk so I found her a good home with a friend instead. Again though, people here have done it successfully so I do believe it's an option.

Check with KLM/Air France if there is anything. There are animal relocation services too. I have no idea what is available in Guam though and have no experience with them.

 

[Nela]

Oh, I am seeing quite a few posts about people bringing rabbits through Hawaii. It is perhaps the fact that rabbits were recently banned in the cabin from flights from Hawaii that is causing the confusion? They should still be able to fly cargo then. From my understanding, Guam is a rabies-free area so there should be no problembringing your rabbit into theUS.Doesn't Guam belong to the US anyway? That would mean that it should be much easiertechnically to bring in the rabbit.

 

[cwolfec]

So I went to the local pet store and asked if they had ever heard of people flying with rabbits, and he said yes. Apparently, the rules and regulations have changed since of the merger of Continental and United, so it's gotten confusing. He said I need a certificate of health too, but I will check if there's anything else I need. It looks like they can fly cargo, just not in-cabin like you mentioned with Hawaii flights. That's good news! Yay!

And you are right about Guam being a US territory. But we still need passports to get here from the continental US. Crazy, right?!

So your vet determined your Bun was too stressed for a long flight? I wonder if I can try socializing mine and driving him around in the car to get him used to being carted around...

Thanks for your info! Oh, and unfortunately KLM doesn't fly here. Boo.

 

[Nela]

Yep all that info seems to concur with my research and my own experience. Flying cargo is a bit worrying but it's doable. I do think they are more comfy though as they get more space, as do you. I flew my two cats from Montreal to the Netherlands so for them they needed updated vaccinations, microchips, spayed/neutered/, and vet certificates legalized by the ministry within days of the flight to be sure that the vet certificate was recently issued so they weren't sick between then and the flight. For the rabbit I wouldn't have needed anything other than the certificate.

Yeah the rabbit was not socialized much at all (she was dumped on my doorstep not long before or was she the one that I took in from the pet store cause she was sick? :confused2:Heh, I don't remember now!) and it was so soon that she just hadn't had the chance to bond and settle down. The vet was really concerned about her and I myself had just enough doubt to figure it wasn't worth risking her life over it. Bleh. Most buns do okay though but yeah it's quite something for sure. One of my cats was totally freaked out, while my other was like 'Cool! I flew on a plane!' *Facepalms*

Either way, getting him used to movement and noise can only help. Long car rides, if they aren't putting him through too much stress could be worth it.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Flying is stressful for rabbits, but so can just about anything. Some rabbits do handle it better and they can get used it travel. I do know that many breeders do fly rabbits in cargo and the rabbits do well.
Since flying in the cabin seems pretty much impossible, you are stuck with cargo. I would get a bigger carrier, but not too big. One maybe about 2ft long or so and about 12" wide would give a fair amount of space to move around but not too much that he doesn't feel safe. If he is a big rabbit, you may want a slightly bigger carrier too. In the cage, put down several layers of newspaper and then some fleece or something on top for comfort. The newspaper will help absorb and pee while the fleece or a towel would provide comfort. The airlines do require a food and water dish on the door. You can get these at most pet stores If you can't find something easily, try a bird feed dish, these usually hook onto the cage. I would recommend using a rubber band to attach to to the carrier as some rabbits like to throw them around. You can try freezing some water in the dish (no more than 1/2 full) so it can gradually melt and won't spill as easily in the first 5 minutes. Put hay into the carrier and some pellets in the dish. You can put some extra pellets in with the hay, but they might get peed on.
Take extra pellets so you can have some to switch him over to a new food if needed. If you don't think you can get what he is currently eating, you can try to switch him before coming, this would be helpful is the food is confiscated at customs. Hay is easy enough to buy when you arrive, so I would just do some basic research on stores to get some.
If you can, grind up some pellets (or use the dust at the bottom of a bag). Also get a large syringe (30cc or so and no needle). This is an easy thing to force feed if needed. While a vet visit would be good if he is not eating, this can help until you can get to a vet.

I would definelty get him used to the carrier before you go. Get him to eat in there as well as it will be important on the flight. For the food and water dished, get him used to using those as well. Even getting him used to going out will be helpful, just taking him for a visit to the pet store helps get him used to travel and going out of the house. Car trips are good, but it can be hard to go places with a rabbit, you can't really take him on errands easily without having to leave him in the car.

I really don't know too much about the actual moving process and customs. Going from Canada to the US or back really doesn't require anything for rabbits.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Carrie, I don't know about all the legal stuff and regulations, but 4 of my bunnies have been on airplanes. 3 of them rode in the cabin and 1 actually took a long trip (about 24 hours total) from Pittsburgh to Dallas to Seattle to Anchorage, all cargo. Technically the airline had a special spot for pets so he wasn't rattling around with the suitcases. That was my sweet Skyler boy and he did great on the trip. 2 days after we picked him up from the airport, we had to make an 8 hour drive home (the airline would not fly him to our town) and he did great on that, too. He was a very healthy bunny and very well socialized, I would only do something like this with a healthy rabbit that is not excessively fearful.

As Kate said, freezing the water is a good idea so it can thaw. I bought special dishes that had sides that curved in on top to limit spillage and actually had his breeder freeze water in BOTH cups, she just sprinkled some pellets on his hay. For the bottom of the cage, I sent his breeder a piece of vet bed ( http://www.vetbed-canada.com/product.html ). She put that in the carrier with lots and lots of paper towels underneath. The vet bed worked like a charm, after about 32 hours in the carrier (he chose to stay in the carrier all night long even though we had an area set up for him with a litter box and toys, I finally pulled him out the next morning!), it still felt completely dry and was very nice and plush for Skyler to sit on.

 

[JimD]

Check with Delta Air Lines.
From my past research, they're the most pet-friendly.

I think the question would concern whether Guam is an International or Domestic flight designation.
From what I can find, rabbits can be shipped on Delta as Unaccompanied Cargo on International & Domestic flights.

 

[cwolfec]

Thank you all so much for the fantastic and encouraging information! I will be working on getting Bunny adjusted to his travel carrier (after I get an appropriate sized one) and try to take him on car rides. I bought one that meets the flight regulations for in-cabin, so I will start with that. He is a pretty chill bunny around most new people he meets, but he does get nervous when he hears banging from the neighbors upstairs. Maybe I should tell them to take tap dancing classes to get him used to the noise!

I am very hopeful that I'll be able to take the buns with me. There are basically two flights from Guam that go to the States: one goes through Hawaii (which is with United/Continental) and the other flies through Japan (which is Delta). If he has to travel in cargo anyway, it shouldn't matter which way he goes. Regardless, it'll be over a days worth of flying. I'll look into Delta since it seems the most pet-friendly. I hope he will be able to eat and drink on the flight!

My other question was if he would travel better with another rabbit? If I got him a friend, I wonder if they could go in the same carrier and keep each other calm..?

 

[LakeCondo]

Bonding is a long process, so a blankie probably would be more comforting.

 

[cwolfec]

I was reading about feeding your rabbit acidophilus (specifically in regards to post spay/nueter care) so their GI tract doesn't shut down if they aren't eating or drinking yet. Would it be a good idea so start him eating this before his long flight? I'm worried he won't eat anything and make himself sick