Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We recently had a major storm in the northwest (I live in the Seattle Washington area). Winds knocked out power to at least a million homes in this area on the night of 12/14. My power was back on by the morning of 12/16. Other homes are still without power. During that first day I started to worry about our pets, as temperatures were at freezing. I realized how unprepared I was for this kind of situation. I knew that our dogs and cat would be fine. I was a little worried about the birds and the cornsnake. It was our bearded dragon that I was really concerned about. It was extremely cold in the house and I had no way to warm him. I packed up the kids, the dogs, birds and beardie...off we went to a hotel. Luckily, my power was back on the next morning. It's going on 5 days for some people. Please give me some ideas on how to be prepared for this type of emergency in the future. I'm thinking of buying a generator, but want to know what other ideas you have. Also...for other readers that might find themselves in this same situation...please be prepared. It was a horrible feeling to know that my beardie was cold and I couldn't do anything to help. Thanks

Hi
yes buy a generator .
now you can buy them cheaper and if emercency there is during a storm you cant buy one be prepared ,you also can use youre fridge and tv and lightning .
byeeeeee
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www.dragoncave.nl

I don't even have a bd yet, so I'm not in a position to give you any advice. I just wanted to send my well wishes to you during this awful storm. I'm not sure what kind of generator you're planning to get, but you probably want to invest in a carbon monoxide alarm too.

Stay safe.

Mark

Buying some kind of generator is pretty much the best thing to do to prepare for unexpected storms, whether in the winter or summer (houses can get pretty hot without ac in the summer). There are also those eliminator power supplies used for cars and garages to run power for a short period of time (I think they are basically big rechargeable batteries) you can plug small things into, like heat lamps.

What kind of generator (ie how much wattage it can dish out) depends on how much wattage your heat lamps, uvb bulbs, under tank heaters (for snakes etc) require to run effectively. Most devices have a wattage rating on the cord or bulb. Just add them up, and get a generator that is capable of putting out at least that amount. Space heaters could also be used (on a generator that is) but remember most of these suck out alot of wattage (1200 depending on size of the unit and space to heat). If going with a space heater, its best to put it in a small room, with no or as few outside walls as possible. Put everybody and every pet in that room to keep warm. A large generator may be necessary if you experience very cold temperatures to heat the house and prevent pipes from freezing etc.

Another solution are 48 hour heat packs used for shipping reptiles (or even hand warmers, but most hand warmers only have at most 5-8 hours of heat). Hot water bottles could be used in a pinch, if you have a gas or propane hot water tank. Wrap bottle or heat packs in a towel and place in bearded dragon tank or snake tank. For snakes I suggest moving them into smaller cages or pillow cages (knotted to prevent escapes) and place the wrapped heat pack or water bottle under the pillow case. This way less area to warm and the reptile can be comfortable.

Remember most generators need gas, propane or kerosene to run, so it should be outside, not inside the house (fumes, carbon monoxide etc, can pose a health risk to you and your animals)
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PHLdyPayne

Thank you all for the advice. I plan on getting the heating packs right away and invest in the generator as soon as I can. I was lucky to regain power within 40 hours. My heart goes out to the large numbers of homes in this region who have been out of power for 6 days, and may not get it on for another 2-3 days. You have to figure that many of those homes have reptiles, as well as other pets. I found this story on a website that I could really relate to (it's on a much larger scale). It is www.anapsid.org/winteremergency.html Again - as always - thanks for being there! I had one co-worker offer the following advice..."you could just let this one die and then buy a new one." I won't even mention the words and finger gestures that came next!!!