Frequently Asked Questions
BALLINDERRY BOARDING SMALL ANIMAL RETREAT
Looking for the best small animal boarding near me in Northern Ireland?
Well, you just found it! We are, without a doubt, the very best small animal boarding retreat in Northern Ireland. We designed & built our retreat with thorough planning and research referring to all the best practices for the highest level of animal care possible. Don't just take our word for it, check out all our pictures and videos in our gallery to see for yourself! We hear so often from all the 'pawrents' that they would like to stay themselves!! lol
Is there guinea pig boarding near me in Northern Ireland?
Yes! Here we are! We would love to look after your guinea pigs while you go on holiday, so they can enjoy their own little 5* holiday. We have huge, spacious suites with sumptuous soft luxury bedding from Cozi Creations, perfect for their delicate feet. Filled with hays trays with delicious foraging, enriching toys and chews for the teeth, and lots of cozy hiding places and mini castles to look out from.
Science Selective guinea pig pellets, unlimited hay, and seasonal vegetables are all included in our pricing so all you need to do is bring your little pets along in a suitable carrier, and we will spoil them with love and attention! The guinea pig suites are handmade by Home and Roost who are UK-based and make beautiful handmade enclosures for guinea pigs, rabbits, and lots of other small animals.
Where can I find small animal boarding near me in Northern Ireland?
We are 20 minutes from Belfast International Airport, 7 minutes from the Moira roundabout at the M1 motorway, 15 minutes from Lisburn, and 25 minutes from Belfast so we are incredibly central for most people. We also offer a pre-bookable, out-of-hours drop off/collection time (10am-11pm) for your convenience to allow you to work around your holiday plans so they start off in the best possible way! Find us here on the map
Where can I find affordable rabbit boarding in Northern Ireland?
Our pricing structure is incredible value for money, we look after your small animal in our fabulous all-inclusive 5* standard accommodation but without the all-inclusive 5* price tag. We are so unbelievably passionate about animals and we want to change the standard of boarding that has been so poor for too many years, so we keep our pricing low to enforce changes and encourage other businesses to improve their facilities.
Small animals deserve so much better and we will do everything we can to make changes to these precious little souls! Check out our price list or get in touch on our Contact Us page if you have any questions at all.
How can I book my pet in to stay for a boarding stay?
We have so many ways that you can get in touch with us, please see our Contact Us page for all the options such as email, Whatsapp, mobile number, and social media pages. We know that your time is precious, so you can send a booking request by completing a booking form, choose drop-off and collection times that work around your holiday, and go ahead and book.
We will give your booking a quick look over to ensure you have included everything and then request a £25 deposit to secure your booking. You can pay this via a safe, secure booking link we will email you to pay safely online. The remainder of the balance is due by the day before your small animal arrives to stay with us. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
small pets can get ill sometimes.
What pet care would they receive if they were to become ill during their holiday boarding?
As bunny owners ourselves, we understand the delicacy of bunny tummies and carefully monitor all guests for signs of upset. If we suspect any digestion issues, we are experienced in administering Fibreplex (a gut stimulant) and keep this on site. We regularly feed ‘Fibafirst’ sticks which are great for rabbits to increase fibre intake and stimulate digestion. If any boarder under our care becomes ill, we will seek immediate attention from our vet (Forestside Vets), discuss with owners, and take action accordingly.
Whilst in our care, we treat each visitor as if it were our own and in the case of being unable to contact the owner, we will make the decision for provision of care alongside our vet and always in the best interest of your family member.
We are experienced in the administration of medication such as Metacam and are happy to include this in our service at no additional charge. If your lovely animal has additional needs, please feel free to get in touch to discuss your pet’s needs and what we can offer.
All rabbits that board with us must have up-to-date vaccinations (against Myxomatosis, RVHD-1 & RVHD-2) & evidence must be provided upon booking on our online system.
All suites are cleaned daily and disinfected with vet grade disinfectant thoroughly between guests. Pet-safe insecticide & fly strike spray is regularly used throughout all the suites to keep everyone safe & healthy.
We cannot wait to welcome each guest into our very special home-from-home suites to be truly spoiled so you can enjoy your own holiday in the peace & knowledge that they quite possibly, may be having a better holiday than you!
Will I receive updates from you during my small animals' stay?
Oh yes, you most certainly will! We luuurve taking pictures and telling you everything they have been up to during their stay with us. Have a look at some of our lovely guests!
We also like to post videos and photos on our social media for our followers to coo over! (We do not include any personal details of the pet owners for security reasons).
How do you keep your small animal boarding so clean?
With lots of trial and error over the years with our own pets! We have now perfected the art of getting our boarding sparking clean, in the shortest amount of time possible, to have even longer snuggling sessions! We recorded one of our very many cleaning sessions in our blog for you to see how we do it and also listed links to some of the items we use that you can buy directly from Amazon to use for your own small animals.
Where can I leave my rabbit when I go on holiday?
With us! We have 7 beautifully designed, contemporary suites for rabbit boarding in Northern Ireland. We have 4 huge indoor suites with their own personal, secure outdoor play areas with solar lighting which they have access to 24 hours per day, and a large duplex 2-story suite perfect for 3 or more bonded bunnies to enjoy, all in our insulated, heated, double glazed boarding retreat. All suites are filled with luxurious, pet-safe enrichment toys, chews, castles, and soft furnishings. During their stay, they will get to use our large Omlet Zippi run on own lawn too! Check out some of our guests enjoying themselves!
For bunny rabbits that are the outdoorsy type and normally live outdoors at their pawrents house, we have 2 huge, walk-in, covered, and secure outdoor rabbit suites that include a 2-story, 6-ft-long handmade, insulated hutch which is the largest rabbit hutch on the market, this opens out to huge walk-in runs which they have 24-hour access to, with solar lighting, castles, tunnels and lots of enrichment to enjoy. Please see our gallery for pictures. Book online via our easy online booking service or ask us any questions, any time via our Contact Us page.
Where can I find reliable small pet boarding near me in Northern Ireland?
At Ballinderry Boarding Small Animal Retreat we know how important it is to feel like you can depend on whoever looks after your small animal while you go on holiday. With every contact you have with us, whether that be our website, our social media, WhatsApp chat, FB Messenger, or by talking to us on the phone, we want you to trust in us to take the very best care of your small animal so you can enjoy your holiday, completely stress-free, safe in the knowledge that your pet is having the time of their life!
Our retreat is located at our home where we (Nathan & Denise) live with our two children, our house bunnies, Tilly & Dexter, our guinea pigs, Maple & Waffles, our dog Rufus and our cat, Ralphy.
We have 24-hour access to our boarding and we spend lots of time interacting and nurturing your pets so they settle in quickly and really enjoy their time with us. We have security cameras and lights all over our site for everyone's safety. The boarding has double-glazed windows & doors and is locked securely at all times. We are also fully insured by Protectivity pet boarding insurance. You can contact us in lots of different channels on our Contact Us page. During your pets' stay, you receive regular updates and photos too for you to enjoy on your holiday.
Is there a luxury pet hotel for rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and CHINCHILLAS in Northern Ireland?
We are the very definition of a luxury pet hotel....look us up in the dictionary and you will see us there......! We are in Ballinderry Lower, Co Antrim, just 20 minutes from Belfast International Airport and very central to all the major towns (Belfast, Lisburn, Antrim, Craigavon. Newry, Ballymena, Dungannon, Coleraine, Londonderry/Derry, Bangor, Enniskillen, and beyond), in Northern Ireland.
We understand how important your animals are to you, we have 6 of our own and they are truly a huge part of our family, we couldn't imagine life without them, so when we designed and built our boarding, we thought of everything possible that would create an amazing experience, to set us apart from all the rest, not just for your pet, but for you too. We go above and beyond to ensure you have a fantastic experience with us. We are responsive, reassuring, and easy to get hold of, and know that how we treat you is a reflection of how we treat all our boarding guests, with love, integrity, and kindness.
What are the best-rated small pet boarding services near me in Northern Ireland?
Having only opened in July 2023, we have already racked up quite a number of 5-star reviews from our fabulous customers & won Pet Specialist of the Year for Small Animal Boarding!
Check out our reviews page, on our Google business profile and on our Facebook profile.
Is there anything else that we need to know about your boarding facility in Northern Ireland before we plan our next holiday?
Not really! Only that we are simply the ultimate, most passionate, small pet sitter, don't believe us? Check out our customers ' five star reviews on google or facebook. Our small animal boarding service is family run and your little furry will be in safe hands while you are away on your own relaxing holiday.
We promise that you will be able to holiday worry-free with a sound peace of mind knowing your family VIP is having a ball!
Should you need any advice or further questions please contact us at enquiries@ballinderryboarding.co.uk.
