Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i am worried about my small collection every winter in the event of a power outage which has happened before thankfully only a few hours. any suggestions that are affordable in case this happens? thanks in advance.

I have ran into this problem a few times for more than a few hours. Most of us are not able to provide our collection with a back up power supply like a generator, which is the best solution, but I found the best thing to have are shipping heat packs. Luckily I had quite a few when the power was out for more than 5 hours in the night here in So Cal. Night temps in the winter here do not drop too low with out power but 60-70 temps for 5 plus hours is definitely not good. If anyone has any other solutions I am all ears.

I turn on my generator
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You might be a ball python fanatic if you subconsciously convert the price of virtually everything in to units of piebald ball pythons

I've had the same question/fear about backup heat in an emergency situation for a moderate-size collection. I've scoured the web looking for threads on this topic and found several, but a lot of the discussions were limited at best.

What kind of generator are you using? I'm not looking for a brand necessarily - but are you using a large backup unit or is it a portable gas powered model?

To go along with the original post- I would also appreciate any advice and/or suggestions anyone has for backup heat during adverse weather conditions.
Thanks in advance,
John
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John Woolard Reptiles

I use a gas powered backup generator. It wouldn't be enough to power the whole house, but it'll take care of the snakes and the fridge. And they're pretty affordable and easy to use. I got it when we had an ice storm and the power was out for 3 days. Had eggs in the incubator and luckily I got the generator in time and they all hatched.

Hi,

A standard 5000w gas generator (Home Depot, Lowe's) for around $500.00 will power your home's furnace, sump pump and fridge during a power outage. Those are the only items that you need. Hooking individual cage heat elements is a waste of time. All you need to do is keep the air temps in a comfortable range (high 60-low 70s) with your furnace and the snakes will be fine. I have been doing this for over ten years here in Buffalo and I typically don't even bother powering up the generator until the outage surpasses the 5 hour mark. Balls are very tough snakes, so being cool for several hours hould not harm them at all if they are in good health to begin with. Good luck.

Will

PS - add some fuel stabilizer to the generator tank, as it may be a long time between starts (hopefully) and you want it to start on the first pull.

I do nothing. Luckily, I haven't had an outage that lasts more than 12 hours, but when the temps outside get to -25 in the winter here, I thank my lucky stars that my house is insulated.
Snakes can handle the cold for a 12-24 hour outage.
Cold won't kill 'em, heat will.
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www.strictlyballs.ca

Depending on the size of your room, you'd be amazed how much heat a few candles can generate. Our power went out for 5 days a couple of years ago and I heated the room with a bunch of candles set in a rubbermaid with a couple of inches of water in it so that there wouldn't be the chance for a fire. I used the big candles...circumference 8" or so? The ambient temp in the room was 78 degrees.
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"He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he can never lose." (quote from Jim Elliott, "Shadow of the Almighty"

If you have worried this much about it then it would be worth it to pick up a small portable generator. You can find some decent ones brand new for around 700 bucks and they will run whatever you want fairly easily. Granted it won't run a warehouse full of snakes.
Remember in an emergency you are really only trying to keep the room warm, I wouldn't worry about the hot spots too much unless its getting to be about that third day or so. So for a few hundred bucks its worth the piece of mind knowing you have that back up.

Hello,

I had a major (5 day) power outage during the infamous October storm of Buffalo in 2006. I would have turned on my generator, but I was on Grand Cayman Island on my honeymoon. What a buzz kill that was - we were having drinks at the teaky bar and watching the weather channel when they break into a bulletin about a major, surprise ice storm in Buffalo. My new wife said the color just left my face and she knew at that moment that the honeymoon was over. Anyway, the knucklehead that I entrusted my collection to wimped out and refused to leave his house to check on my animals. At that time, my collection was in the basement of my home and all of my herps (monitors, balls, boelen's, & carpet pythons) were at 40f for five days. On the fifth day, I was able to persuade a distant cousin to come over and turn on the generator... and the power came on several hours later.

When I arrived home the next day, I immediately checked the snakes and found them resting warm and comfortable. I inspected them often for the next couple of weeks, but to my shock not one of them developed a respiratory infection. They all pulled through fine, 300 pythons (babies to adults) and not one of them got sick. I did have some losses though, about 20G worth of python and monitor eggs that were in the incubator at the time. Even in the incubator though, I did have survivors. Surprisingly many of the ball eggs hatched even after spending 5 days in near freezing conditions. These animals are a lot tougher than we give them credit for being.

Power outages of several hours will not harm anything. However if your experiences with electrical interruptions span days not hours, then I would purchase a small generator ($350-$500) and know the procedure for hooking it up to your home's heat source. Any electrician can show you how to do it in about 5 minutes, just make sure your main breaker is off before you hook anything up. You don't need to heat individual cages, just keep the air temps in the home comfortable (high60s-low70s)and the snakes will be fine. Good luck.

Will

Another good option is a portable ventless gas heater. Mr. Heater makes one called the "Portable Buddy". You can get them at any WalMart or Lowes and they do a great job.You can keep your rooms at 85 degrees for up 100 hours on a 20 lb Propane tank. They are made for indoor use and are relatively safe.
Holloway Herps

Hi,

I did look into those, however I consulted a couple of HVAC and home inpection guys that I know of and they unanimously said don't buy into the whole "ventless" thing. Any time combustion of a gas is used (such as propane) to create heat, there will be exhaust gases that need to be removed or carbon monoxide and other harmful, byproducts will be present. Unless there is a seperate storage tank to house the byproducts of combustion, exhaust gases will remain even though they may be in minute quantities. I personally don't want any risk of carbon monoxide exposure (I've killed more than my share of brain cells already) in my home or snake house. In fact, my mom recently purchased a home with a ventless gas fireplace and the home inspector told me in no uncertain terms to $h!t can the fireplace and cap the gas line well before she moved in because it was dangerous. Good luck.

Will

I use a "Night Hawk" carbon monoxide detector with a built in alarm.I have been useing the ventless gas heaters since 1992 and have never had any problems at all and think they are the perfect solution to TEMPORARY power outages . My two cents !!
Holloway Herps

Hi,

I imagine any risks would be small, otherwise they would not have been in production for all of these years. I also agree that as long as you have a carbon monixide detector with an alarm, your safety concerns would be covered. I was not trying to imply that ventless heaters are not a viable option, as they clearly are, as long as the safety measures you described are in place. I was just reporting what was told to me by some of the folks in that particular (HVAC) field. Thanks.

Will

I have a ventless gas fireplace in my house, which we use regularly. We always crack the door to our sunroom just a bit and turn a ceiling fan on, and we have a detector in the same room-we've never had an issue. that being said, I do have a generator on standby in case of an emergency.
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www.jasonrbartolettreptiles.webs.com

those were some great posts! thank you all for your help and still cant believe the luck on the poor guy on his honeymoon sounds like my luck! that was an amazing story! happy holidays!!

Hi Jason,

As long as people use the safety measures that you and Holloway mentioned, I imagine there would be no need for concern with ventless, gas burning heaters, especially if you keep the room ventilated. Afterall, they would not have been in production for decades if they routinely killed people. I was just trying mention that these devices have been flagged by some HVAC industry pros in my area because of the potential (like with any combustion device) of causing carbon monoxide issues with folks who don't take the necessary precautions, such as a carbon monoxide detector/alarm. They are certainly a viable option for those who are careful. Thanks.

Will