Post by stellamaris on Jan 8, 2023 17:15:52 GMT -8
In case it might help other gerbil guardians with their travel plans, here's how it went for Scooby and me:
Last summer, I did a bit of a 'road test' with my 1 1/2 year old gerbil to see how well he'd travel. He rode in his travel bin on the front seat of the car. We car-camped (I have a Honda Element) the first night. It only got down to 60 F (15.5 C), but that seemed too cold to me, so I put a couple of hand warmers up against the outside of his tank where he usually nests. He did fine; he seemed to enjoy the warmth and didn't come out of his nest for 12 hours! We spent two nights in a motel, then three nights at a friend's, before heading home (5 hour drive; 2 hour ferry). That was the warm-up for this winter's trip.
At the end of December, Scooby was almost two, and we headed out via 2-hour ferry ride (hand warmer near his bed), and 5-hour drive to a friend's house where we stayed 3 nights. Then an 8-hour drive to a funky motel, and another 7-hour drive the next day to our destination. After I got us settled in, it took Scooby 3 days before he relaxed enough to let me pet and scritch him, and 6 days before he felt settled enough to crawl up my arms to play in his playpen.
While 'on the road', he didn't eat much of his block, so I gave him more treats (veggies, nuts, mealworms, etc.) than usual. After we'd been settled a couple of days, he started eating normally again.
Neither of us is looking forward to the return journey, but we'll be here a month or two, so I'm sure we'll be recovered by then!
If anyone has any great ideas or fun stories about traveling with gerbils, let me know!
not sure I'd want to do that much! 
), late 70s
