[beanieboo-rattles]

Hey there. Well i am "immigrating" to england soon. ((I am currently in scotland hehe)) And it will be a long long drive when we move...Can anyone tell me what i should do to keep my 3 girls happy and healthy on the possible 8/9 hours drive ??

 

[Kima-chan]

If at all possible, keep them in their present cage, so that they have room to run around. DO NOT let them out of the cage at all, because there are so many nooks in cars, as well as lots of electrical cords :?

Make sure they have tons of toys in their cage to keep them occupied.

Also, make sure they have enough food. It's a good idea to take the water bottle out of their cage while driving, because the bottle can leak. Worse, if you hit a pothole or a bump while one of the rats is drinking, you could have cracked teeth. Just make sure that you stop at regular intervals so that the rats don't get too thirsty.

NOTE: Make sure that the rats can't chew anything in range. Make sure that seatbelts etc aren't within reach or you could suddenly find yourself unstrapped

 

[CaptainFlow]

Haha, 8-9 hours to "immigrate." Teehee. Sorry... My girls will soon be subject to a 31 hour train ride or a multi-day car ride just so I can go home for the summer, and that's all in the same country! Although to be fair, it FEELS like a completely foreign world over in North Dakota, compared to Oregon. And Canada is just two hours away...

Anyway... I've already taken the girls one several 6 hour car rides (they're just little travelers, I guess), and I left them in their cage. Make sure the cage is level and secure. Take the water bottle out, but make sure you provide them with hydrating fruits for the journey, and I always offered them the water bottle again if we stopped. Make sure they can't reach anything to chew, because as we know the little buggers WILL find a way to destroy it. I also wrapped them in a blanket for the ride, because it was snowing out, and I didn't want them to get drafts, but the blanket got several chew-holes in the process. Make sure to keep the heat/air conditioning on as appropriate to keep them at a happy temperature, even if you stop for lunch.

Take out any shifty/heavy toys, so that they don't get thrown off or pinched in a turn. And they'll probably just sleep the whole way anyway, so you don't really need to worry about them getting bored.

 

[mopydream44]

They will probably end up sleeping most of the way as Captain said. What you want to do is keep an eye on the temp. of the car. Buy a few shades for the back windows, so the sun doesn't beat down directly on them. I know even in the winter direct sunlight feels really warm against my skin, so I'm sure it would be best to avoid it if possible, and maintain a steady temp.

 

[beanieboo-rattles]

** is thanking god that she just bought a big estate car ** LOL thanks guys =)


One lil question. What about hammocks..i was thinking if they were sleeping in one and we tirned a corner..We could have sugargliders lol. Keep in or take out ?

 

[mopydream44]

LOL that made me laugh! Yeah I'd say keep the hammocks out and but some blankets on the bottom they can snuggle under!

 

[beanieboo-rattles]

LOL Ok will do , Thanks for all your adviec guys =)


Love from all the girls at Lizi's rattery x

 

[twitch]

personally i would rather put them in a traveling cage as i find that they are safer in case of an accident. or at least they seem that way to me as i have a rather large cage, even when i moved out of my parent's house i had a hagen chinchilla cage. i've seen some nice ones made out of storage containers. part of the lid was cut off and replaced with hardware cloth, which a small hammock could be attached to as well. the hammock was enough off the floor to still be a hammock but only just. that way if there was a sudden stop the fall no worse then falling off a mattress on the floor. also the cases are easier to place on the floor of the back or strap in with the seatbelt in the back. both things that you'll want to be able do one or the other if there is an accident. if they are in the cage they may be able to chew the seatbelt or not be able to at least be wedged for some security.

as for water, i find leaving fruit like watermelon or vegetables like celery to work best then having to stop for a water bottle that they may not be interested in that time but want 10 minutes later.

 

[beanieboo-rattles]

I have a "converted tub" trval cage so yes i may use that. Depends what else is going to bundled in my car with their main cage lol.


I will put some apple and celery in there to make sure they dont get dehydrated.

I will do what twitch sugeseted and put in a low hammock. And lots of blankets bundled on the bottom so they wont get hurt.

Thanks alot you guys. Youve really helped =) i was dreading what to do lol