Shipping rats on the Spirit

[nanakki]

Hi,

Just wondered if anyone has ever shipped rats on the Spirit of Tasmania? We are planning to go down there and take the rats; I'm assuming they have a special area for the pets as i've seen animals taken over on my other trips. I wonder how they will go considering its a 12 hour crossing, often rough. Does anyone have any knowledge of suggestions?

[Colleen]

I have been across. The pet compartment is below deck, where everyone parks there cars for the trip across. I saw dogs in metal cage things, they didn’t look too happy and it was noisy where the were. I would imagine that it would be pretty distressing for a rat. You might need to ring up the company to find out where you would house small animals.

[rani]

Hi, I live in Tassie and have had rats sent from the mainland.
I have them sent Air Express - they are excellent - the price has been approx $80 for 2 rats (med sized) in a plastic, vented lid small animal container.

the 3 times I have done this they have been fine and the staff at the airport have loved them.

I wouldnt recommend taking them in the pet section on the Spirit - it wasn't very nice from what I remember plus I would be concerned about them being near dogs and cats who might want to eat them (barking etc stress)

Mine have arrived at Hobart airport but I am sure they could be sent to olther airports in Tassie.

If you needed some help and are coming to Hobart I am happy to pick them up from the Airport and rat sit until you drove down to Hobart from the Spirit Terminal in Devonport.

If you need to source rats in Tassie I have some rescues available and will also be breeding in Nov 08

Goodluck
Rani
olivereindeer.googlepages.com

[nanakki]

Thanks very much for the advice!

We are actually planning to come back to Tassie to live at the end of the year, which is why I was considering taking them over on the Spirit, but to tell you the truth, I find the Spirit pretty distressing (seasickness! it really rolls in the rough bits, I think it would be terrible for a small animal)) so I was a bit concerned about the rats.

I think in that case I'll put them on a flight carrier. Anyway, I'll figure out the logistics closer to the time we go over.

Thanks for your kind advice. Rani, I would love some rat resources for when I get back over

[vandemanrats]

Hey all, ive had experience with this exact problem, I took Bipolar Bear to Melbourne (ferret) as pet therapy for a little girl over there and i had a very huge discussion with the Boat staff as i had concerns with how Bear would go. You see Bear is a registered pet therapy animal and therefore technically has the same rights as guide dogs, Tell that to the boat staff!! Apparently he could not stay in the cabin with me as i had to get written permission from the guide dogs of Tasmania ans that is the only company associated with the spirit, as Bear is a ferret and not dog i couldnt get permission.

As such Bear had to travel in the kennels, but this wasnt so bad, he was in one by himself with no other dogs cats etc around, they were all placed at other sections so their noise would not stress him plus they allowed me to spend as much time as i wanted with him, Security checked him every hour and if he showed any signs of stress they would let me know immediatly so i could go to him and give hima cuddle to settle him down. They even took him treats during the night. As a result bear survived the trip and i think i was more stressed than he was, i went to get him out when we arrived and he just wanted to stay asleep in his carrier and couldnt figure out why i woke him up lol. So travelling on the boat is pretty good if you explain that you have concerns about other "prey" animals being near your pets.
Hope that helps a little bit for you anyway.
Regards
Nikkie