>
>I do not believe that gerbils have to have a certificate of health to cross
>state borders. A few months ago I was looking into buying a pair of
>gerbils from across the border in Canada. I checked with the US border and
>the inspectors. They said that there were restrictions on many animals and
>would have to check with their head office, to find out about gerbils
>specifically.
Hmmm... That's odd. I just finished a trip from Alaska to Arizona with 2
ferrets, 2 rats, and 8 gerbils. I needed a health certificate for all the
animals. The Canadian officials in the Yukon checked the health
certificates carefully but never asked for our I.D. The vet in Fairbanks,
AK charged us for 2 health certificates ($8 a piece). On one health cert.
she had the two ferrets listed and their rabies' vaccination information.
The other health cert. had all 10 rodents listed. The certificate
essentially listed the animals and had the vet's signature certifying that
the animals were free of any communicable disease.
Entering the U.S was no problem. The border patrol just asked a couple of
questions and waved us on through. There was no agricultural station
entering Oregon and Arizona. We avoided the agricultural station in
California by taking a small mountain road into the state intead of I-5.
My opinion: feel free to travel across state borders with gerbils (except
into California). Beforehand, get a health cert. from your vet. Add the
cost onto the purchase cost of your gerbil. Remember that you should be
able to put several gerbils on one health cert. (At least, we were able
to!)
Deb Adams
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