Possibly moving... with 16 animals...

hrl20100 · 03-20-2016, 12:32 PM

So basically I might be moving in with my boyfriend at his parents house. They have a converted summer house in the garden and we'd be living there. I have been told that all my animals can come too. I have 3 rabbits (one is very old...) 3 guinea pigs, 8 rats and 2 hamsters.

I don't know how we are going to manage to move them all without causing them loads of stress! The rats have a very large (and very heavy!) cage. If possible I want it to fit into my dads van without having to dismantle it, I have lost the instructions and putting it back together again will be a struggle.

The rabbits and guinea pigs will live outside and have access to an large open avairy (it has finches in but they have their own rabbit that runs around in it sometimes) so they will alternate days/times to go out for a run around.

My boyfriend has a dog (not very well trained) and he has never met my animals before because dad hates dogs so he's not allowed to bring him round here. I worry that my animals are going to get stressed out because of the new envrionment, the actual journey/transport and because of the dog!

Any ideas on how to make the move as calm as possible for them all?

flowerfairy · 03-20-2016, 12:51 PM

I would move them all first. I did that when I moved here with 8 rabbits, 2 guinea pigs, 2 hamsters and 2 dogs!

As for his dog, can you put the hamsters and rats somewhere high enough that the dog cannot get to them?

My dogs dont worry about the rabbits any more, they live in a shed/aviary set up in the garden. Our collie used to be ever so interested in them but not any more. Make sure that they have lots of lovely hiding places to help them feel safe.

Best of luck with the move. ps The more organised you are and the more help you have the better!

Piebald · 03-20-2016, 12:59 PM

First of all congratulations on the move! How exciting you are starting a new chapter in your life

Your animals will have to cope.
I would work on familiarizing smells. You can start that now. Bring some smells from the garden house into your room. When you move, I would move some familiar things first. You could do simple things like leave some tissues in the garden house, and then bring them back to your hammies for bedding. Leave some rattie toys over there and then bring them back. You get the idea.
For moving day recruit lots of help and friends with trucks and see how much you can do at once. It will be stressful so just accept that!
Best of luck!

hrl20100 · 03-20-2016, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flowerfairy

I would move them all first. I did that when I moved here with 8 rabbits, 2 guinea pigs, 2 hamsters and 2 dogs!

As for his dog, can you put the hamsters and rats somewhere high enough that the dog cannot get to them?

My dogs dont worry about the rabbits any more, they live in a shed/aviary set up in the garden. Our collie used to be ever so interested in them but not any more. Make sure that they have lots of lovely hiding places to help them feel safe.

Best of luck with the move. ps The more organised you are and the more help you have the better!

We have to redecorate the room first, so once that is done we shall move the animals in! I don't know much about the space we have to work with, so am not sure where all the hamsters are going to go. The rats cage can't be moved on top of anything due to its huge size and weight. Its on a stand and is quite tall, so if they did get scared they can easily run away to the top level where they will feel safest. Ideally I would want the hamsters on top of something, like a chest of drawers, something quite tall so the dog doesn't knock the cages off! (He is an english bulldog, about a year old. Very clumsy and very excitable!)

Not sure if the dog is staying in the house in his crate at night, or if he is also moving into the summer house with us...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piebald

First of all congratulations on the move! How exciting you are starting a new chapter in your life

Your animals will have to cope.
I would work on familiarizing smells. You can start that now. Bring some smells from the garden house into your room. When you move, I would move some familiar things first. You could do simple things like leave some tissues in the garden house, and then bring them back to your hammies for bedding. Leave some rattie toys over there and then bring them back. You get the idea.
For moving day recruit lots of help and friends with trucks and see how much you can do at once. It will be stressful so just accept that!
Best of luck!

Thankyou! I am excited, but also kind of nervous! It will be a complete new start for me. He lives an hour away and I know no one over there, nor the area very well at all! I will have to look for a new job and be completely independent... Here I rely on my dad quite a lot, its going to be so strange without him! I'm also going to have to find a new place to ride at, which is going to be so weird because i have ridden at my local stables since I was two! I know everyone there so well, and the horses! I think it will be tough at first, but once I am settled I know I will be just fine

I love those ideas about familiarizing them with the smells before they even move in! Really good idea, thankyou!

Piebald · 03-23-2016, 12:01 AM

It's good to stretch your wings. Two things will happen that sound incompatible - you will find out some stuff you've been missing, and you will learn to appreciate some stuff you left behind. It's all good though.
I would suggest but I don't see how you could do it, to set the animals aside somewhere quiet until all the moving disruption is done and then move them. The activity combined with the unfamiliar ups the stress some. However, just do the best you can. The most important thing is you will stay the same.

hrl20100 · 03-27-2016, 01:00 PM

There might be a problem with the hamsters...
My boyfriend has two hamsters, and I have Flump and Hugo, which makes 4 hamsters. My boyfriend wanted to make a shelving unit and have all the cages on shelves in the room. But he says that my hamsters cages are way too big... (He has his in little petshop cages) so I don't know what will happen with my hamsters. He might want me to downsize their cages, which I don't know if I want to do that... They are used to their big cages, I was even going to buy Hugo an Alaska cage so he could match Flump's cage cause his cage is ugly. Now I don't know if I can do that... I don't want to downsize their cages... at all!

I don't know what i'd do... but if he really wanted me to get them into smaller cages I might think about rehoming them both, or one of them if he really wants me to downsize their cages... :'(
I can't keep hamsters in tiny cages, I just can't...

CMB · 03-27-2016, 01:17 PM

Hope there is enough space, so your hamsters can keep large cages. Would be nice if his hamster had a upgrade and have cages as big as yours.

Piebald · 03-28-2016, 01:42 AM

I agree it's not fair to down size your hammies. You'll just have to put your foot down. Hurmph. Easy for me to say. I'm sure you'll do what's best for everyone.

Pebbles82 · 03-28-2016, 03:14 AM

The hamster cages aren't too big - the shelving unit is too small! I don't envy you - men can be very single minded sometimes. If we get in a stalemate situation I sometimes say something like "we'll have to agree to disagree on that one - you use small cages if you think that is right, I think a minimum cage size of xyz is right so we need to find something that will suit both of us".

How about - a long low shelving unit, for his cages, that will stand a detolf on top, that you can divide into two for your two hamsters? Sounds space-saving to me

And it'll look really nice on the wall (tell him that!)

hrl20100 · 03-28-2016, 05:14 AM

If he insists on me downsizing their cages I might rehome them... I can't downsize the, not when they are so used to their big cages! That will be a horrible and very hard decision, something I will not take lightly! So I hope it doesn't come to that

I'd rehome them to someone who will keep them in their big cages and will give them lots of love. But only if I have to! I want to keep my babies!!! And their cages!

Going to order Hugo's alaska next week when I get paid so we'll see what happens from there.

I love that idea about the shelving unit for his cages with the detolf on top! Don't know how well that idea will go though...