# Importing pet hamsters into Cyprus



## alison3333 (Mar 25, 2010)

Hello everyone, 

I have just been lucky enough to be offered a job in Cyprus and we are moving out in August. My daughter has two hamsters and wants to know if this is possible. I have looked online and only found information on cats, dogs and ferrets.

Any advice gratefully received!


----------



## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

alison3333 said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> I have just been lucky enough to be offered a job in Cyprus and we are moving out in August. My daughter has two hamsters and wants to know if this is possible. I have looked online and only found information on cats, dogs and ferrets.
> 
> Any advice gratefully received!


The best people to ask about this would be a company such as jet set pets or someone similar. You could also contact one of the airlines to find out what their regulations are.
If you look on the sticky thread entitled useful website links there is a link to a carrier who does pet relocation.

Click on this link
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/cy...living-cyprus/37433-useful-website-links.html

Regards
Veronica


----------



## kimonas (Jul 19, 2008)

alison3333 said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> I have just been lucky enough to be offered a job in Cyprus and we are moving out in August. My daughter has two hamsters and wants to know if this is possible. I have looked online and only found information on cats, dogs and ferrets.
> 
> Any advice gratefully received!


Welcome to the forum,

Congratulations on the job. Now for the hard part - your daughter's hamsters are unlikely to find Cyprus in August very comfortable, and the stress of transporting them and the necessary expense of vet's bills etc is likely to make it a bit of a no brainer. I regret bringing my cats here as it cost a small fortune and within days were adopted by dozens of local cats and our cats find it uncomfortably hot. Hamsters are notoriously unstable in the face of stress, and their longevity isn't up to much in the first place. If I were you I'd work out a way of gently explaining that your daughter's fury friends would be better off in Blighty. Besides there'll be plenty of opportunity to adopt all manner of new pets when she gets here from tarantulas, house ghekos, lizards, scorpions, snakes, stray dogs, cats and kittens - it's a nature lover's paradise!

Good luck with the move and the new job.


----------



## zeebo (Nov 15, 2009)

WTF?? Tarantilas... scorpions... That isnt in the bleeding guide book.. are you serious? I thought the worst thing you got here was a ghelo... AAhhh


----------



## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

zeebo said:


> WTF?? Tarantilas... scorpions... That isnt in the bleeding guide book.. are you serious? I thought the worst thing you got here was a ghelo... AAhhh


The scorpions are only itsy bitsy ones and even if they sting you it isnt dangerous
The tarantulas are actually banana spiders and rarely seen away from the plantations.
Ermmmm Buttttttttt!!!!! you might like to keep an eye out for Blunt nosed Vipers.


----------



## kimonas (Jul 19, 2008)

Veronica said:


> The scorpions are only itsy bitsy ones and even if they sting you it isnt dangerous
> The tarantulas are actually banana spiders and rarely seen away from the plantations.
> Ermmmm Buttttttttt!!!!! you might like to keep an eye out for Blunt nosed Vipers.


I beg to differ - there are at least two species of tarantula on the island _Chaelopelma olivaveum _and _C. karlamani _- both reasonably beefy looking spiders that would scare the bejusus out of anyone who doesn't like house spiders, but not particularly dangerous if you happen to be bitten, although they can leave a nasty physical wound as their fangs are bigger than a viper's. Veronica is spot on about the Cyprus blunt nosed viper - should be avoided at all costs and can be fatal within an hour or two. Seek medical attention at once if bitten - antivenom is available at all emergency centres. This snake normally avoids human contact, but a curious tourist child picked one up in a country lane near Lefkara last year and was bitten. He was rushed to hospital in Larnaca - had several heart attacks on the way and only just pulled through (thank God). The scorpions are not to be messed with either. They are not the big black ones seen in horror films, but the much smaller and far more dangerous ones - a local variant of the Mediterranean checkered scorpion _Mesobuthus cyprius_. The genetic research on this species was only completed recently. It hides under stones in olive groves (or gardens of houses built on former groves). It is aggressive and does not scuttle away if disturbed but will likely sting and ask questions later, by which time it may be too late - it is lethal for smaller children and the aged. Even healthy adults should avoid being stung - the venom causes high fever, tremors, uncontrolled defecation and urination that can last for up to a week. Of course it's not in the Guide Books!


----------



## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Crikey Kimonas you know how to scare the poop out of someone. I was told the little scorpions were relatively harmless. Now I will have the heebie jeebies big style if I come across.one


----------



## judyanne (Feb 14, 2010)

zeebo said:


> WTF?? Tarantilas... scorpions... That isnt in the bleeding guide book.. are you serious? I thought the worst thing you got here was a ghelo... AAhhh


I'm now so glad we have decided not to relocate, I hate SPIDERS, even money ones. Good luck...Judy Anne


----------



## Geraldine (Jan 3, 2009)

judyanne said:


> I'm now so glad we have decided not to relocate, I hate SPIDERS, even money ones. Good luck...Judy Anne


OMG!! I had hypnotheraphy last year for my spider phobia, not a fear to have when you are doing someones garden and you come across a massive 8 legger, and find you daren't go back to collect your spade. ! This sounds like my living nightmare. Did it work,? well, only to a point, at least I don't go running around like a headless chicken, but there are spiders, and then Cyprus spiders. Ugh.


----------



## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Geraldine said:


> OMG!! I had hypnotheraphy last year for my spider phobia, not a fear to have when you are doing someones garden and you come across a massive 8 legger, and find you daren't go back to collect your spade. ! This sounds like my living nightmare. Did it work,? well, only to a point, at least I don't go running around like a headless chicken, but there are spiders, and then Cyprus spiders. Ugh.


Gerladine I have been here over 5 years now and only ever seen one large spider.
It was running across a road in Tala village as we were walking back from a restaurant. A Cypriot lady came rushing out of her garden yelling hysterically and jumped on it.


----------



## theresoon (Apr 11, 2008)

Ok I have only been here for over a year but grew up here and never saw anything larger than a house spider, which is actually supposed to bring good luck. On the other hand living in a desert, I have come across cobras.


----------



## Geraldine (Jan 3, 2009)

Veronica said:


> Gerladine I have been here over 5 years now and only ever seen one large spider.
> It was running across a road in Tala village as we were walking back from a restaurant. A Cypriot lady came rushing out of her garden yelling hysterically and jumped on it.


John likes to put them outside, while I prefer the 'vac method', then I perversely watch them spinning around the cylinder.


----------



## theresoon (Apr 11, 2008)

theresoon said:


> Ok I have only been here for over a year but grew up here and never saw anything larger than a house spider, which is actually supposed to bring good luck. On the other hand living in a desert, I have come across cobras.


And my sister was bitten by a scorpion.


----------



## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

I'm not sure that this is actually helping our original poster regarding her daughters pet hamsters


----------



## judyanne (Feb 14, 2010)

*Spiders*

:focus:


Veronica said:


> Gerladine I have been here over 5 years now and only ever seen one large spider.
> It was running across a road in Tala village as we were walking back from a restaurant. A Cypriot lady came rushing out of her garden yelling hysterically and jumped on it.



Are there any of these things near he actual coast, or are they more inland...thanks scared


----------



## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

judyanne said:


> :focus:
> 
> 
> Are there any of these things near he actual coast, or are they more inland...thanks scared


There really isnt anything to be scared of.
It is no different to going for a stroll in the countryside in the Uk and coming across an adder there. How many people have you know that to happen to?
It is simply a matter of putting things into perspective.
A snake will do its best to get away from you if it hears you coming. A spider will also try to get away. Mostly you won't see any spiders bigger than the normal UK house spiders.


----------



## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

*Cicadas and preying mantis*

If you hear a high pitched noise in the trees it is cicadas. They are totally harmless but flaming noisy and ugly suckers.
Thats picture 1
Picture 2 is a preying mantis on my garden fence.
We get a lot of them and I rather like them. They look like little aliens


----------



## judyanne (Feb 14, 2010)

:behindsofa::behindsofa::behindsofa:


Veronica said:


> There really isnt anything to be scared of.
> It is no different to going for a stroll in the countryside in the Uk and coming across an adder there. How many people have you know that to happen to?
> It is simply a matter of putting things into perspective.
> A snake will do its best to get away from you if it hears you coming. A spider will also try to get away. Mostly you won't see any spiders bigger than the normal UK house spiders.



Thanks Veronica, still saving to come over just my husband and me, and of course my adorable cat SPARKY!!!


----------



## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

judyanne said:


> :behindsofa::behindsofa::behindsofa:
> 
> 
> Thanks Veronica, still saving to come over just my husband and me, and of course my adorable cat SPARKY!!!


Thsi is my cat Kitty. She turned up at our patio doors two years ago a terrifed skinny little thing. Now she is completely in charge of the house


----------



## judyanne (Feb 14, 2010)

Veronica said:


> Thsi is my cat Kitty. She turned up at our patio doors two years ago a terrifed skinny little thing. Now she is completely in charge of the house


Your Kitty looks adorable Veronica, she was lucky to find you. Will send you a oicture of Sparky once I know how. Think I would adopt all the cats when I come over. What is the weather like at the moment. Thanks Judy


----------



## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

judyanne said:


> Your Kitty looks adorable Veronica, she was lucky to find you. Will send you a oicture of Sparky once I know how. Think I would adopt all the cats when I come over. What is the weather like at the moment. Thanks Judy


The weather is glorious.
Still cool enough to be comfortable but lovely and sunny. Some coptic storms are due to arrive soon though.


----------



## judyanne (Feb 14, 2010)

*Storms::*



Veronica said:


> The weather is glorious.
> Still cool enough to be comfortable but lovely and sunny. Some coptic storms are due to arrive soon though.


What are coptic Storms!!!


----------



## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

judyanne said:


> What are coptic Storms!!!


Sandy rain that blows in from Egpyt. Everything ends up covered in red sand.


----------



## judyanne (Feb 14, 2010)

*Storm*



Veronica said:


> Sandy rain that blows in from Egpyt. Everything ends up covered in red sand.


Thanks Veronica, now I know.

Will be in touch again soon, we are coming out to Cyprus for 2 weeks beginning of October as we have not been out for 2 years. Take care...Judy


----------



## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

judyanne said:


> Thanks Veronica, now I know.
> 
> Will be in touch again soon, we are coming out to Cyprus for 2 weeks beginning of October as we have not been out for 2 years. Take care...Judy


I am sure there will be lots of questions you will have before then and there is always someone who cna answer most of them on here.
October is still lovely although not much green after a hot summer. Weather wise apart from now October is one of my favourite months.


----------



## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

theresoon said:


> On the other hand living in a desert, I have come across cobras.


? in Cyprus I didn't think you got Cobras here. 

:focus::focus::focus:


----------



## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

Has anyone got anything to add to the discussion about importing hamsters to Cyprus? If not I think I will close this thread as its going off the subject. :focus:


----------



## theresoon (Apr 11, 2008)

BabsM said:


> ? in Cyprus I didn't think you got Cobras here.
> 
> :focus::focus::focus:


In the desert, not here. Sorry I was trying to add this to a previous message but it didn't work.


----------



## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

theresoon said:


> In the desert, not here. Sorry I was trying to add this to a previous message but it didn't work.


LOL I thought you were!


----------

