Pet Travel Advisors is a door to door bird and exotic pet transport service. We move parrots and other birds, along with reptiles and small mammals, within the United States and internationally, wherever airline and destination rules allow. The job covers the eligibility check first, then the CITES paperwork and any import permit, the health certificate and its USDA endorsement, a container the airline will actually accept, collection from your home and delivery at the other end.
These moves turn on the species and the destination together rather than on either alone, so the first thing we do is tell you whether yours is possible, and the honest answer is sometimes no. Licensed and insured, with the same door to door process we run for dogs and cats. Request a quote and we will map the route and the paperwork before you commit to anything.
Most pet shippers move dogs and cats. Birds, reptiles, and small mammals are a different job: fewer airlines will carry them, the paperwork often includes wildlife permits on top of health certificates, and temperature planning matters even more than it does for a dog. We coordinate these moves door to door, within the US and internationally.
Every species travels under different rules. These are the groups we handle most.
African Greys, Amazons, macaws, cockatoos, budgies and more. Leg band or microchip identification, CITES permits where the species needs them, and an airline-approved enclosure.
Taken on case by case, depending on airline acceptance and destination rules for the species. Tell us what you have and we will give you a straight answer.
Often lighter on permits than birds, but carrier acceptance varies by airline and route. We confirm eligibility before anything is booked.
Only a handful of carriers accept birds and exotic animals, and almost always as manifested cargo rather than checked baggage. Availability depends on the species, the aircraft, and the season, so routing is set by which airline will say yes, not by which fare is cheapest. This is the single biggest difference from dog and cat moves: the flight options are the constraint, and everything else is planned around them.
Nearly every parrot is protected under CITES, the international convention on trade in endangered species. The whole order Psittaciformes is listed, and only four species sit outside the appendices: the budgerigar, the cockatiel, the rose-ringed parakeet and the rosy-faced lovebird. Many other exotic species are listed too. For protected species the move usually needs a US export permit, a matching import permit at the destination, and proof the animal was legally acquired or captive bred. The usual veterinary requirements sit on top of that.
Identification has to be consistent across every document. Most parrots travel with a closed leg band, and some countries prefer or require a microchip. Some destinations restrict certain species entirely or require quarantine in approved facilities, so eligibility is the first thing we check, before any booking.
Birds and reptiles tolerate a narrower temperature range than dogs and cats, so the season drives the plan. In summer we work around airline heat embargoes with early departures and cooler routings; in winter the priority is short ground time and direct flights. A route that works in October may not exist in July, which is another reason to start early.
IATA publishes container requirements by species group, and a bird container is not a small dog crate. The ventilation has to be sufficient without leaving a gap a determined parrot can work at, and a bird that can reach the mesh with its beak will spend the flight trying. Perches suit some species and become a hazard for others in turbulence. Many birds travel better in a darkened container, because low light lowers stress in a way that no amount of space does.
Reptiles are a different problem again. The container has to hold a stable temperature without a heat source the airline will not accept, which usually means insulation and mass rather than anything powered, and the substrate has to stay put through handling.
We build the container to the species and to the carrier’s own additions rather than to a general chart, and we confirm it with the airline before travel day rather than discovering the answer at the counter.
On a dog move you can usually book the flight and sort the paperwork alongside it. On an exotic move that order will cost you money.
A CITES export permit and its matching import permit are issued by two different authorities working to two different timetables, and neither is quick. The airline side depends on which carrier will accept your species on that route, and that answer is not permanent. So the order is: confirm the animal can legally leave and legally enter, then confirm which carrier will take it and on which aircraft, then set dates.
Booking travel before the permits are in hand is the most expensive mistake available on this kind of move, because the permit will wait for you and the ticket will not.
An exotic move answers to two authorities that do not talk to each other. CITES governs whether a species can cross a border in trade at all, and it applies to the animal wherever it is going. The destination country then applies its own import rules on top, and those are about biosecurity and local law rather than about conservation.
The two can disagree in the direction that surprises people. A species can be entirely legal under CITES and still be prohibited at the destination because it is treated as an invasive risk there, or restricted to holders of a license you would need to hold before the animal arrives. Some countries add rules at the state or provincial level underneath the national one, so the answer can change between two addresses in the same country.
This is why the first question we ask is the species and the destination together rather than one and then the other. We would rather tell you in the first week that a move is not possible than find out in the sixth, and on this kind of move the honest answer is sometimes no.
Three things account for most of the trouble on an exotic move, and none of them happen in the air.
The first is a permit that is correct but late. CITES paperwork moves at the pace of the issuing authority, and urgency does not change it. The defense is starting earlier than feels necessary.
The second is a carrier changing its mind. Live animal acceptance on a route is a commercial decision, not a standing commitment, and a species accepted in spring can be refused in July on the same route for temperature reasons. We hold a second routing in reserve on any move where the first one is the only one.
The third is the container. Refusal at check-in is nearly always ventilation, a fastener, or a gap, and all three are confirmable in advance. Confirming them is most of what coordination actually buys on a move like this.
Most of our bird and exotic moves leave from major US gateways with live animal cargo facilities and fly to Europe, the United Kingdom, the Middle East, and Asia. Domestic moves across the US run year round. Moves into the US work too: some bird imports include a quarantine stage on arrival, and we build that into the plan from the start.
Two honest notes before you plan. Australia is effectively closed to pet bird imports, so a household moving there usually cannot bring a bird, even when the family dog can travel. And some countries restrict individual species rather than whole groups, which is why the eligibility check always comes first. Our destination guides cover country rules for dogs and cats; for birds and exotics, ask us about your specific route.
Every exotic move follows the same backbone. Here is the process from first message to delivery day.
We confirm the species can legally enter the destination and that an airline will carry it. This is always step one, before any money changes hands.
CITES permits where required, the veterinary certificate for the destination, and identification that matches across every document.
A travel enclosure that meets the airline’s container rules for the species, with time for your pet to get used to it before the flight.
We book the routing, manage cargo check-in, and stay on it until your pet is accepted for the flight.
Customs clearance, any required quarantine stage, and delivery to the new home.
Bird owners: our parrot shipping guide shows this exact process applied step by step.
There is no standard rate card for exotic moves, and any site that quotes one flat number is guessing. The price is driven by the species, the enclosure, the route, and the permits involved, so we quote each move individually. For a sense of how pet flight pricing is built, our pet shipping cost calculator shows how the fees stack up on dog and cat routes; bird and exotic moves follow the same logic with the permit work added.
Send us the species, where you are moving from and to, and roughly when. We will come back with a straight answer on feasibility first, then a plan and a quote. Request a quote and we will take it from there.
Yes, where the species and destination allow it. Protected species need CITES export and import permits, and some countries restrict certain species or require quarantine in approved facilities. Eligibility is the first thing we confirm. Our parrot shipping guide covers the process step by step.
Internationally, birds move as manifested cargo with the small number of airlines that accept them. The holds are pressurized and temperature controlled, and the airline’s live animal staff handle loading and unloading.
A veterinary health certificate appropriate to the species and destination, plus wildlife permits where the species is CITES listed: a US export permit, a matching import permit, and proof of legal acquisition or captive breeding. Requirements vary widely by country, which is why we build the paperwork calendar per move.
Earlier than a dog or cat move. Permit processing alone can take weeks to months depending on the species and destination, and flight availability is thinner. As soon as a move is likely, start the eligibility check.
We take these on case by case, because airline acceptance and destination rules vary sharply by species. Send us the details and we will give you a straight answer on whether and how it can be done.
In almost all cases, no. Australia is effectively closed to pet bird imports, so families relocating there generally cannot bring a bird even when their dog or cat qualifies. If your move includes both, we plan the journey for the pets that can travel and give you a straight answer about the ones that cannot.
Last updated 8 September 2026
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