Question: International Shipping Help

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spaceguns

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Hopefully someone has blazed this trail and can help.

I currently live in Japan and own 2 Axolotls which i have become quite fond of. I will be moving back to the USA over the summer and am trying to figure out how to get them back with me.

Things I have done: Contacted Fish and Wildlife and gained knowledge of all the paperwork and coordination required. I feel pretty comfortable doing this for both the Japan and USA CITES requirements.

Problem Areas: Actually moving the things.
-I will be flying on United Airlines, and after contacting their PetSafe number they informed me they won't accept them (government air carrier, no real c:(hoice in this).

-Checked the FedEx website and it looks like they won't ship live fish.

Possible solutions:
-Cargo ship them via a different airline
-Use a "pet mover" service to help sort this out

Anyone have any experience/recommendations for this? Bets shipping methods/carrier for international? Exceptions to the rules I may not be aware of.
 
spaceguns said:
Hopefully someone has blazed this trail and can help.

I currently live in Japan and own 2 Axolotls which i have become quite fond of. I will be moving back to the USA over the summer and am trying to figure out how to get them back with me.

Things I have done: Contacted Fish and Wildlife and gained knowledge of all the paperwork and coordination required. I feel pretty comfortable doing this for both the Japan and USA CITES requirements.

Problem Areas: Actually moving the things.
-I will be flying on United Airlines, and after contacting their PetSafe number they informed me they won't accept them (government air carrier, no real c:(hoice in this).

-Checked the FedEx website and it looks like they won't ship live fish.

Possible solutions:
-Cargo ship them via a different airline
-Use a "pet mover" service to help sort this out

Anyone have any experience/recommendations for this? Bets shipping methods/carrier for international? Exceptions to the rules I may not be aware of.
Click to expand...

That is a guarenteed way to kill them
the package will be thrown, kicked and squashed, if delayed it will starve them.

why not carry it as hand luggage, get permission to do that
 
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I think you failed to read everything I wrote.
-Hand Luggage is not an option. Even checking them on my same flight as live cargo is not an option. I have already sought and failed to get permission from the airline I must personally fly on to do this.
 
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I would have thought any kind of air travel would expose the axie(s) to dangerous changes in pressure.

I would say a boat is possibly safer, or to try and source the axies from Australia or China.

Alternatively you might find it easier to ship eggs via cargo in a pressure and temperature controlled box such as a vacuum flask.
 
They get shipped by air all the time over here in the States. Of course, just because we do it doesn't mean it is safe. :happy: However, I haven't run across any threads yet that attribute a poor outcome simply to the fact that an axolotl was shipped by air.
 
Here'sShipping-Facts a great tutorial on shipping live fish. Pete knows his stuff and successfully ships many boxes daily- pardon the crazy colors,fonts,and possibly music. Obviously no heat packs for an axolotl, as they don't mind the cold, and use ice packs for warm weather. I don't know much about international shipping, so you're on your own there. My advice would be to ask around and see what you can come up with. I would fast the animals before shipping, and the more water the better. Lots of animals get shipped by air without any problems on a regular basis in the US, but I would look into the services offered with various carriers. I know that you can ship via USPS, and I have also used UPS. No experience with FedEX, but "Ship your reptiles" goes via FedEx. No idea if any of these are available for international shipments. Here's a quick shipping summary of how I ship animals.
 
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It will be very difficult to bring them to the U.S. You will need CITES permits, USFW permits, Inspection fees ... I think the best route would be to sell them in Japan and purchase new axolotls in the U.S.
 
UPDATE: We had to go a little bit down the rabbit hole for information, but that's what the Internet is made of. From our post, a linked thread led to an article, which led to a shipping forum on another site, which led to IPATA, which lists pet shipping companies. We've contacted several for quotes, we'll see if it goes anywhere.

Because it bears repeating, we aren't concerned about filing the correct paperwork or the inspection fees. A few years ago we had to ship two cats as unaccompanied live cargo to a country where we don't speak the language and the bureaucracy actively tries to kill your soul. That was a much bigger trial.

If they just can't be shipped or if it's cost prohibitive, we'll find them a new home in Japan. But gosh darn it, they have personality and they've become part of our family, and we would be sad to leave them behind.
 
UPDATE: Out of 8 carriers contacted, 6 said they couldn't do it and two are not responding.

One company was super nice about it and even recommended someone else, but it was the Japan office's call and they didn't feel qualified to handle shipping our critters from Japan to the US.

Delta Cargo was very helpful and gave me a quote and talked about flight options, but it would have been more than $600 (this falls into the "prohibitively expensive" category) and he couldn't actually make the arrangements from the US, it would have to be done through the exporting airport's cargo shipping department.

Having dealt with that particular cluster before – no central office, no English spoken, no building numbers, and everything is behind barbed wire and a guard booth – this is also falling into the "not feasible" category.

We gave it our best shot, but we will start looking for a good home for them in Japan.
 
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    with axolotls would I basically have to keep buying and buying new axolotls to prevent inbred breeding which costs a lot of money??
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    @Thorninmyside, I Lauren chen
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