# Shipping?



## reeserueryn

I was wondering if anyone could enlighten me on the requirements for shipping mice (throughout north America specifically) How are they packaged and all? What kind of health checks must they pass etc? I was considering more small scale. I know people have gotten one or two mice shipped to them from the US to Canada I was wondering how hard it would be for me personally to ship a mouse?

EDIT: I just re-noticed the transport section sorry guys. If you could still help I would appreciate didn't mean to place it in the wrong place though :/


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## Laigaie

Hi!
Sorry for not chiming in sooner, and if you've found this info elsewhere, I'm both glad and also sorry for dredging up and older thread.

I've shipped across the US in both directions and to a breeder who then drove them into Canada. The process is pretty simple.

1. Figure out what you want! Seriously, don't do anything else until you know what you want. Shipping is going to run you 150-200 USD, so you don't want to have to do this twice!
2. Find a breeder. You need someone who breeds what you're interested in, is willing to ship, and is able to get you the number of mice you're looking for. You can post here, post on Facebook groups, or join a club. I don't know that there's a CAN mouse club, but there are at least three active in the US right now. Fancy Mouse Breeders Association has the largest number of mouse-breeding members, last I checked.
3. Get a shipping crate shipped to your breeder. The go-to crate is the Taconic Transit Cage. Your breeder might already have one they're willing to sell you or loan you. Otherwise, they're often on eBay, Craigslist, or in a pinch you can buy directly from Taconic. You want the low-lidded cage with dividers and filters.
4. Based on when your breeder will have the right mice, find a plane trip that gets the mouse from as close to your breeder as possible to as close to you as possible. You can call airlines to arrange this. Delta has the best programs, but a few other airlines will ship mice, too. If using Delta, ask for the Rodent Rate. You CANNOT ship unless it is between 50 and 85 at every single stop along the way. Too hot or too cold and the mice will be injured or die.
5. PAY YOUR BREEDER! You do have to pay the breeder for the mice, their gas, and the flight itself. The breeder will pay for the flight when they arrive at the airport; you cannot pay the airport ahead of time.
6. Once everything else is ready, the mice go into the crate with bedding (paper shreds are ideal, but aspen is fine), a vegetable-based water source like cucumber or celery, and food. Your breeder will use zip ties to close the crate and tape or tie on a baggy with additional food and zip ties in case some airline person decides to inspect the mice. It does happen. They are also very rarely sent through Xray machines. It won't hurt anything, but if you're concerned, you can ask the breeder to write on the container that Xray is not okay. Your breeder shows up to the airport half an hour before the flight, gets everything set up, and goes home.
7. Pick up your mice! Get to your airport early! Go to the cargo desk and let them know you're expecting LIVE ANIMALS and what flight number they're arriving on. Bring more vegetable water for the mice, and pop cucumber or celery into the bin when they show up.

That's it. No vet required. No health documentation. Nothing.

If you're bringing them across the border into Canada, they may be inspected again, by hand, by an idiot American border guard (the Canadians seem too chill to care). Make sure you are present while he is doing this, so no mice escape or are injured.

If you're shipping them directly into Canada, you'll have more trouble finding connecting flights that can handle pets in the cargo hold, but there are no import requirements for pet rodents.


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