Travelling

Question
I have a Syrian hamster and she's about 5 months old. I'm planning to go on a vacation for 5 days. I live in a very hot, humid climate now and I will be going to a hill station. The travel is approximately 8 hours by car. My question is, can I take my hamster with me? I really want to. Leaving her at a friends place is kind of like my last resort. But I don't know how she will take the travel.
What should I do?

Answer
Hi Akshaya

Apologies for the delay in getting back to you - I didn't have Internet access.

Regarding travelling, it is OK to travel with a hamster, providing:

the car is cool - ideally it is best to travel at a cool time of day
the cage will not be in direct sunlight in the car - when I have needed to transport hamsters in hot weather I always put the cage in the passenger footwell if I am driving or had the cage on my lap if I am a passenger.  This way I know whether or not the sun is on them and how hot it is for them.  If you put the cage on the back seat etc. you have no idea how hot it is there, or if the sun is coming directly into the car.  Also, it is vital the hamster is never left unattended - cars can heat up very quickly, and therefore it is never safe to leave an unattended animal in a car during hot weather, even for a few minutes - this means either taking the hamster cage with you (which may not be possible if you are stopping for food) or if you are travelling with someone making sure one of you remains with the hamster in the car at all times.

Hamsters can over-heat quite quickly and suffer heat stroke.  They are unable to pant, and therefore can't cool themselves down.  Hamsters who collapse in the heat must be revived quickly by puttig them in a cool area, or in extreme circumstances sprayed with cool water until they recover - then they must be given rehydration fluids.

If you are travelling in a car with no air conditioning, travelling during the hottest part of the day, or will need to leave the hamster unattended at any time during the journey, then I would recommended not taking him - he will be safer left behind.  If however, you can make arrangements to ensure that he doesn't over-heat, then it should be fine.

If you do take him, whilst it is difficult taking a water bottle on a journey as they tend to drip and leak in the cage, make sure there is plenty of 'wet' food - such as cucumber, and other fresh vegetables so that the hamster can get moisture from these.  If you stop at any time during the journey see if your  hamster will take any water then.

It is difficult for me to advise you totally on this as there are definite risks, and only you know how hot it is when you are likely to travel and details of your car etc.  If you have any doubts and you have a friend who can look after him for you, then I wouldn't risk it.

I hope this helps you.

Regards
Sheila