Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is my first time posting. Hi Ig owners.
To Melissa, just wanted to let you know my girl "Iggy" recovered well from the kidney infection you personally helped me through back in May, 2002. She recently went through a new trama, well since Oct of last year. We were in the path of the Cedar fire and had to evacuate her, along with a dog and two cats at 2am. She was not a happy camper being snatched off her branch at that hour of her beauty sleep. I had to cram her into a cardboard packing box, as I had no carrier for her. (Note to ig owners: make sure you get one for just such an event.) She escaped in the car twice while we were evacuated. It has taken her until a few days ago to act normal and nice to us again. She was really shaken up. The smoke and soot was and is still a problem when the wind blows. I had to make sure she had lots of baths, since the air was so dry. I wanted to share our experience in hopes it might help others in the future. A couple of key things to know in the event of an emergency. Have a carrier for each pet you own, don't forget to grab pet food. Get water bottles. Bring leaches. Be mindful of how long your pets have to stay in the car. (When your house may be burning down you might forget about them, I tended to them to help me keep my mind off it.) Remember that when you return home, the pets have been through a lot too and may not be friendly for a while and will want to hide. Give them lots of love, they'll come around...eventually! BTW we did have fire damage to our house and all of our back yard, but we were really lucky! Iggy is turning 4 this month, I guess I have been doing something right!

Wow, what a story! It's great that you were able to get all your pets out in time...

We had a power outage for a couple of hours the other night, and while that's nothing compared to a wild fire, it did make me think about my emergency preparations.

First, hot water bottles did NOT work the way I thought they would. It was difficult to fill them without getting the fabric on them wet, which just made the iguana colder when he sat on them. It was also not possible to get them nearly as warm as they needed to be. The tap water just wasn't hot enough, and of course the stove and microwaver weren't working. Also, my iguana was easily able to avoid lying directly on top of them, which was their warmest spot.

So my contribution to this discussion is: Buy chemical handwarmer packets. LOTS of them. You can get them at hunting stores, Walmart, The Outdoor Store, etc.

It took about six to get a lukewarm iguana back up to an acceptable temperature, much more than I thought it would. I used up more than half of my supply! I put each one in a sock under, around and on top of him, so he couldn't avoid them.

Also, get a container for your iguana with some insulation. A carrier is great if you can stay in the car with them for a long time, but if you can't, it is very hard to keep warm. I have a canvas bag that zips up. Bud is used to it, and it really stays warm enough when I have a blanket at the bottom and then socks with hand warmers in them. It's dark, so he just goes to sleep, which also stops him from being scared. I think he feels secure in there. I know some people use Rubbermaid containers with holes drilled in them.

Lastly, if you have one of those "in case of fire, save my pet" stickers on your front door, keep it current. It would be terrible to have a firefighter risk his safety for a pet you no longer have.

Just my 2 cents...

Thank you Girl for the reminder about the "Save my pet" stickers!!! As someone that is dating a firefighter I find he goes into a burnning house to rescue an animal and not finding one more often than not because he sees the sticker, only to have the owner tell him the pet has been dead for a year or even two years.
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Heather, Vern, Andy, Router, April And OODLES of fish

Girlzilla,

Your advice was right on the mark. Good for you, hon! You did a service by posting that.

A good insulated carrier could be made out of a cardboard box with cut-to-fit foam panels inside.

Totally agree on the hand warmers. These are pretty cheap and can be found in any store that sells outdoor gear, even Walmart, and many other stores. They are also handy for you too! For those who suffer from lower back pain, try tucking one inside the waistline of your pants - they are fantastic.

I'm originally from Buffalo, New York - the snow capital of the world. One thing we Western New Yorkers are absolutely never without in the wintertime is Sterno (and booze). I had a kind of fondue pot (not really for fondue - more for keeping a dish warm at a buffet), which had a place for a Sterno can underneath. You could cook in it or boil water, in an emergency. What I would do when the power failed was heat water in it with the Sterno and pour the water into liter soft drink bottles, and then wrap the bottles in towels. This kept Green Guy reasonably warm when the power went out.

A well-cared for, healthy iguana can survive short periods of time being colder than you would wish. Green Guy, my two cats, my dog and I slept one night when we were traveling in a rusty 1988 Ford van at 9,000 feet in the mountains of New Mexico in a blinding blizzard, the winds of which were so strong they rocked the van and I was afraid we'd be blown off the mountain! We were stuck by the blizzard in a remote area and there were no motels, so we had no choice. Green Guy came through like the champ he is. I wouldn't recommend this for an iguana whose health is compromised.

Hugs,
Amy and Green Guy

I am glad that your ig and other family members are alright. Gosh, that is really scary. I can't imagine what it would be like. Sounds like you give your critters a lot of tlc. It also sounds like they helped you through the ordeal too. I just wanted to say that I am sorry to hear about your ordeal, but it is good that you turned it into a learning matter. God bless.

JS
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JS

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

Aviatorlady,

SOOO glad everything turned out all right!! That must have been so frightening for you.

Do you fly? I fly too, on my student ticket (no bucks to meet the FAA requirements for my test!)

Many hugs, and am so glad you and your pets are all right!

Amy

Hi Amy,

I have a pilots license but haven't flown in a couple of years for the same reason, too expensive. But it's my passion and I plan to go back to it in the future.

To everyone who responded,

Great advise! I did not have to worry about Iggy getting cold, because at the time it was in the 90's in Ramona, CA. I had to park the car in the shade and make sure she didn't get too hot. We had the windows on one side of the car cracked open, but the smoke was really blowing. My biggest concern for her was humidity. Not only for her but all of us. I was applying chap stick and eye drops every couple of hours. It felt like my face was going to crack and fall off! Imagine how Iggy must have felt. We were able to get back home by 4pm the next afternoon, so she got to soak in her tub for the rest of the afternoon. I thought she wouldn't eat for days, however, she surprised me and ate a large dinner. The biggest problem was her disposition. She would try to bite us every chance she got. She succeeded a few times and drew blood. We used to let her free roam, but not during this period of practically stalking us. As I said in the first post, she has just recently come around and we have been letting her free roam again. It took 6 months for her to come around!