Shipping Your College Pet

Many colleges within the United States allow pets in their dorms. So you will need to know about shipping your college pet. Knowing the basics of pet travel can be very helpful and professional pet shippers can arrange every detail of your pet’s relocation to and from college.

Most of the pets allowed are small, though some campuses will allow dogs and cats. But since we usually talk mostly about dogs and cats, lets find out a bit about other small creatures. Most college pets are fish, birds, reptiles and small mammals. So you can imagine the rules for transporting exotic pets, like these, will be a bit different.

Some airlines might welcome certain exotic pets, like birds and small mammals to travel in the cabin, but other animals like fish and reptiles might not be allowed in cabin and will need to travel in the cargo section. Most airlines don’t allow you to make reservations and space is limited in the cabin, so to be sure your pet is transported adequately we recommend the help of a pet shipping expert. Your pet will be taken care of by professionals along the way.

Your small college pet will need to be in good health before travel. The requirements for health certificates and vaccines will vary by state. Another important factor will be weather your exotic pet falls under the CITES category. Most exotic birds (such as parrots, cockatoos and macaws but excepting budgerigars and cockatiels) are protected under the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as well as the United States Wild Bird Conservation Act (WBCA).

This means there might be some restrictions as far as where you can take them. Our pet shipping experts can help you figure out all the details. We also suggest locating a Veterinarian that specializes in small animals, rather than just dogs and cats, to ensure the health of your pet throughout your stay in college and the relocation process.

You will also need a small pet shipping crate, it needs to be airline approved and secure. Our team of pet shipping experts can help with the purchase as well as customizing a travel carrier for your specific pet. Birds, small mammals, fish and reptiles being shipped all have different crate requirements, and need different things to be comfortable during their relocation.

Taking on the responsibility of a pet is a life- long commitment and as such all these pets will need to travel once again when college is done. Some pets travel with their humans back and forth every semester. So knowing all the details is important and budgeting is too.

While we don’t expect you to choose a college only based on whether they allow pets or not, we thought we’d share a list of some of the most pet friendly colleges in the US. And lastly, if you decide that the responsibility of a pet will only add to the stress of college life or that you might be too busy for a pet, then you might look into programs that have puppy days or volunteering at a local shelter to get your pet fix. Either way best of luck in college!