As we get ready to move to CH, my husband and I are doing research on bringing the 'family' over. We have our information for our pet dog lined up, and now we are trying to decide what is best for the rest of our animals.

We have 3 frogs and 1 red-tail boa constrictor.

Now, I'm hoping to find some information that will tell me that I can carry-on the frogs with me in the cabin of a plane - if they are all 3 together (in separate containers) in a cat-carrier or box or something. They're all small.

But the snake - I'm wondering if anyone has any experience moving large reptiles? She's 6 years old and 7 feet long, and very quiet-natured, but because of her size I'm guessing she's going to be in the cargo hold.

I don't want to leave her, as we've raised her, but we have to do what is best for her health. Also, boas are in appendix II of CITES, which means that bringing them in is 'controlled'???

Blerg.

Any opinions or suggestions? Anyone have any experience with this?

Thank you!

No experience, but some useful links for a start:

http://www.bvet.admin.ch/themen/hand...x.html?lang=en

Application for a permit ( MS Word Doc )

FAQ ( PDF )

Import Regulations of Pets ( PDF )

Living & Working in CH ( PDF - look under Other Imports - pets )

A thread on snakes

Good luck.

My corn snake was flown over from England with his previous owner. I only know that it wasn't a drama paper-work-wise, and the snake travelled really well in a crate in the cargo hold.
Bring her, then maybe breed, they could use some fresh genes here.

I flew over 2 dogs, 2 giant african land snails, 1 corn snake and 1 goldfish (!) back in July.
BVET - as referenced above - are your best bet for requirement information.

It was not a hassle paperwise - you need an import permit. Once you've filled in the form they will issue it immediately via email.
BVET staff speak perfect English and are very prompt in replying to requests for information. They also have much of the information in English on the website.

I would recommend you use a proper carrier service that will deliver the animals to your door once in Switzerland to avoid any stresses with being kept in kennels etc.

Our carriers kept the snake, fish and snails on their offic desks to keep an eye on them for the few days before they flew out.

As far as I am aware you will not be allowed to take any of your animals in the cabin.

Sx

You will need a USDA stamped health certificate for the EU (filled out by your vet), as USDA stamped airline health form (filled out by your vet), and an import permit from the Swiss, and a CITES export permit from the US.

NB. The import permit from the Swiss is only valid for 3 months. It can take at least that just to get a CITES permit. However, ask the BVET for an import permit and tell them what it's for and that, when you are ready to import and have all your other docs, you will need to have your permit re-issued.

Also, you WILL need a CITES permit. We argued long and hard with the US FWS about appendix II animals. We had a couple of knowledgeable people argue with them that their interpretation is incorrect but to no avail (big surprise). It will take at least 3 months to get from the time you submit your paperwork.

Also note that the airlines will not transport animals if the temperature on the tarmac is too hot or too cold. Thus, if you got your CITES permit issued to you in a few months, it will be the winter and you probably couldn't get your animals to be transported on an airline until the spring. I think the tarmac temp can't be below 45 F or something.

I haven't been successful at this yet, we are just getting our docs together for the CITES permit now (note that you will need chain of ownership papers proving things like the animals were bred domestically and not imported, etc). We are trying to import two male eclecutus parrots.

thank you guys, that's helpful info...

We brought our cockatoo home from Japan so I know all about CITES. It took several months to get the paperwork in order. The difficult part was on the Japanese side. Our cockatoo was a rescue, the place where we got her was closed down. The avian vet in Japan tried to help us with the paperwork but the Ministry in Japan kept coming back to us with more and more questions. Luckily we had some Japanese colleagues helping us get through the paperwork. The biggest question was her origin. She was bred in captivity and this had to be proven. Fun stuff.

But there were challenges here too. When they translated the species name from Latin to German, they didn't get it right, and this was significant because it meant a different kind of permit (wildtierhaltung) and conforming to certain cage requirements. This mistake only surfaced once we were here and were ordered to buy a certain size aviary. The aviary manufacturer pointed out the mistake. It took months to sort out. I went through hoops until the Kantonal Vet authority admitted they got it wrong and finally sent us a letter.

The laws for keeping parrots have been toughened so be sure you know what you are expected to conform to. Birds must be kept in pairs....so at least on this you are okay.

Also, parrots are noisy. I hope you have a house as apartments and parrots don't work.

Good luck with your plans. By the way, our cockatoo flew in the cargo hold from Japan in a Wingabago carrier. These carriers are fantastic.

__________________

Good to know that having two parrots makes us conform to the law! We had no idea about that one. No one at BVET ever mentioned that. That's what makes this process so hard. No one ever gives you the right info or enough info. You could literally be at the airport ready to go and someone will say 'Oh, didn't we tell you that you need blah blah blah? So sorry, but you're 100% responsible for having everything right'.
We don't have our own house but we live in a brand new building that is basically a huge concrete block with rather thick walls. It's pretty quiet around here.

I just wanted to follow up -
My boa constrictor is staying with a 'long-term snake babysitter' back in the states.

My three frogs arrived safely last week - we sent them with AARK Air and all we needed was import permits - which AARK Air took care of. All I had to do was pack them for transit. Apart from the stress of moving my little guys, it was actually pretty easy. I went to the reptile shop in Jona yesterday, and now we're all set up.

Moving frogs:

Does anyone have any experience going the other way? we want to bring our corn snake back to the US and I can not seem to find the info re whether it is easy to import it into the US, and what we need to do. Thanks for any thoughts!

I'm trying to bring my cat with me when I move to Switzerland at the end of May. I got her a rabies booster and a micro-chip, and had her vet fill out the "Veterinary Certificate for domestic dogs, cats and ferrets entering the European community for non-commercial movements" but the vet didn't know what the serial number was supposed to be.

I e-mailed BVET and they told me I needed an 'official' vet to fill out the form. I haven't been able to find any, though. One vet I spoke to said they've always left that blank for customers going to other countries, and never heard of any trouble. Is the official vet the person who inspects my cat at the airport? I e-mailed BVET again last week to ask, but haven't had a reply.

I'm also curious about this carrier service idea. My cat has flown with my in the cabin many times, and I had planned to do that again, or have her in the cargo hold, if necessary. What are the prices like for such a service?

Also, about the import permit mentioned: is that just for exotic animals? BVET told me I just needed the vet certificate filled out and to call ahead to make sure a Swiss vet will be at the airport when I arrive to do another inspection.

Lastly, does anyone know if there are restrictions against bringing cat food into the country with me? My cat needs a special diet because she has pancreatitis, so I'm not sure I would be able to buy the right food the day I arrive. Plus, with the trip being most of a day, I need to have some food for her in her kennel.

Help with any of my questions is much appreciated. Thanks!

Is this thread dead, or am I just too impatient?

I'd guess that no one has responded to your cat question because you have tacked it on to a thread about reptiles and exotics.

There have been numerous threads about importing cats into Switzerland. Here are a few, to get you started:

Importing a Cat to Switzerland

Importing a cat or dog from the USA

Has anyone travelled overseas with cats?

And, straight from the horse's mouth - or in this case, the BVet's:

http://bvet.bytix.com/plus/dbr/default.aspx?lang=en