Traveling with your pet hamster is fun. As long as your hamster has everything it needs, and not things it dosn't need, it will be fun for it too.
Basic Tips
Make an appointment with your vet for a check-up. Your pet should be in good
physical condition before embarking on a trip.
Make sure there is lots of ventilation
Use a limited amount of bedding, most of wich has the hamsters smell on it already (for less stress)
Mix some seeds and treats in with the bedding to occupy your hamster
For long travels, bring a water-bottle and offer it to your hamster from time to time
Don't play with the hamster at inconvenient times
Use carriers that are very excape-proof
Don't allow temperature extremes
Try not to bump your hamster around a lot
Don't let strangers or/and other people play with your hamster while traveling (too stressfull)
Try to maintain constant temperature
Try to keep your hamster away from drafts, heaters, etc.
Keep your hamster out of direct sunlight
Always keep an eye on the carrier
Whether you're staying at hotels or campgrounds, check first to see if pets
are welcome.
Travel either early or late in the day to reduce the risk of overheating.
Never, ever, leave your pet in a parked car; it takes just minutes for
heatstroke or freeze to set in.
Airline Traveling Tips
Use a carrier that is airline-friendly (like Sherpa bags, in the pic below)
Keep the hamster with you on the trip
Keep your eye on your hamster
To make the skies a little friendlier, research your airline's rules and
regulations for pet travel.
If your hamster is traveling as cargo, find out what the other cargo is (in
case it's harmful) and be sure to properly label your hamster's crate.
Don't feed your hamster airline peanuts :)
Food
Have a supply of complete food that your hamst is familiar with so you rhamster doesn't have to adjust to a different kind of food in a strange place. This can also prevent indeigestion, stress, illness, and hunger.
Lighting/Climate
Maintain (as much as possible) a steady 12-hour light/darkness routine (traveling or no). Keep the temperatur a comfortable room temperature for humans, maybe slightly cooler. Besdies, hamsters have a thick fur coat and cannot sweat (to the best of my knowledge) except out of their paws like dogs. Also keep carrier out of direct sinlight and drafts.
Illness Cause: The cause can simply be from stress (unusual smells, drafts, food, water, bedding, lighting, people, etc). It can also be caused by poor bedding, water or food.
Here are some pointers on bedding, water, and food WHILE TRAVELING. Bedding & Cleaning: Use the same bedding your hamster is used to, and mix it in with about a handful of un-soiled bedding from the previous cage-cleaning. This way, the scent of your hmaster smells from the leftover
bedding will be comforting and give it a snse of being at home. If you are traveling with your hamster
for more than a week, then a cage-cleaning isnecissary. Put your hamster in a stress-free holding cage
while cleaning its home.
Use the same bedding arrangements as above. If that is not possible, just us un-inky
newspapers to cover the bottom of its cage.
Food: While traveling, keep a subtle amount of food & treats for your hamster in an
airtaight container to assure sanitation. Feed greens sparingly, compared to your hamsters normal diet. Feed your hamster
treats on its usual basis.
IF YOUR HAMSTER REFUSES TO EAT while traveling: make sure the food is santitary and/or offer it less treats.
Make sure it is housed a suggested in the Recovery section below. If its conditions worsen, take it to an animal
clinic or vet immediately.
Water: Tap water is okay for hamsters as long as it is okay for humans. Make sure that water is offered to your
hamster in an un-leaky water bottle that is re-filled and washed out with water daily.
Dehydration and constipation are very common traveling illnesses, caused by lack of sanitary water.
Recovery: Recovery on the move can be altered by your vets' suggestions. It is much
more serious if a hamster gets sick while traveling. First off, put it in a cage with lots
of bedding, familiar food, and a water bottle that doesn't leak filled with fresh water.
Give it plenty of nesting material to use if it gets cold. Make sure your hamster is not bumped
about, or handled by strangers to preven stress. Keep your hamster out of direct sunlight, but be sure to keep
a constant lighing pattern. 12 hours of ligh, 12 hours of darkness, same as it was (or should be) at home.
Make sure the cage is not placed on the floor/ground, near an open window, or in direct sunlight.
Breezes and cool drafts, even too much sun could be stressful. Hamsters are needy when they're ill,
aren't they?
On the Move
Keep your hamster in a carrer best suited for it's enviornment. Try as much as possible to keep
strangers from prodding or holding your hamster. Also try to prevent drafts, driect sunlight,
unusual lighting, and bumping around for your hamster. Requirements: Hamsters need ventilation, floor covering, food, fresh water, something to
chew on, and mental stimulation while traveling or no. Make sure your hamster has something
to gnaw on while its traveling (didn't I just say that??). Don't allow items to shift around inside the
carrier, or water to drip, spash, or spill. Make sure the carrier is excape proof and chew-proof.
Do not use objects that can shift around inside the carrier, like water dishes. Use water bottles
if you are traveling with your hamster for more than an hour.
Food dishes are not needed. They take up space and can move around inside the cage. Besides, your hamster
will probably just stash the food somewhere else. Houses, wheels, and other toys should be kept firmly
in place. They can be secured to wire bars with twisite-ties.
Don't bother your hamster while your on the move. It could be stressful or annoying to your hamster.
Try to avoid the temptation.
Put your cursor over the pictures to learn more about them. If a discription doesn't show up when you put your cursor over it, try aiming a little above the image.
Make sure it's a short journey on a nice, smooth road. Take
out anything in the cage that can move around and hurt your
hamster. If you are using a special travelling cage, use bedding
that's familiar to your hamster.
Give your hamster a cucumber or similar wet
food before the journey. Take out the water bottle, since they
drip too much into the cage.
Try to have a passenger watch your hamster and hold the cage
so that he can't escape. Remember that bumps could knock the
cage open, so be sure that it's extra secure. Without a
passenger, either find a way to secure the cage with a seatbelt,
wedge the cage in between luggage, or put it in a stable place on
the floor.
Keep the windows closed so it doesn't get too drafty.
Don't leave your hamster in the car or in the sun, and stop if
your hamster looks sick.
By plane:
We've did some investigating into American airline
regulations for hamsters. Here are her findings:
Most airlines do not have hamsters on their list of
animals, so they fall into the "other/general" category. U.S.
Air, American Airlines, TWA, United Airlines and Continental
require you to put the hamster into the cargo hold.
Delta Airlines allows 1-2 hamsters in the passengar cabin.
The cage counts as carry-on luggage and must meet with carry-on
size limitations. Delta allows only 2 animals in the cabin at a
time, so the airline must be notified at the time the tickets are
purchased.
There are some conditions:
Fees: $45-$60 (independent of cabin or cargo). In cargo,
the fee is per cage, and animal quantity is unlimited.
Age: Hamsters must be at least 8 wks old at the time of
travel.
Health: Each hamster must have a veterinary statement of
good health within 30 days of travel.
