Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So hurricane frances is getting close, im in jacksonville florida so hopefully it wont be too bad, but i just want to be prepared. What should i do if the power goes out? Also any other tips and advice...please help
-----
1.1.1 Timor Monitors(Varanus Timorensis)
1.1 Tremper Albino Leopard Geckos

Just having gone through hurricane Charley, I know how you feel. Fortunately for me, I was in Florida and my animals were in Wisconsin. First make sure to find a shelter where you can bring animals. I have done the following preparatins for my animals:

1. I have rubbermaid boxes with airholes lined with a little bit of substrate suitable for the type of animal. I have large rubbermaid containers, lined with the sherpa dog rugs on the bottom and a box of 100 heat packs which last 60 hours in which I put all the small boxes.

2. Each box is clearly marked with the type of animal it is, both common and scientific names. I have the animal's requirements on the card as far as food, basking, etc.

3. My name, address, phone numbers, vet, etc. is on the card.

4. The card clearly states "Non Venomous" and warns if the animal may bite.

I only had to use this system once when a tornado was going to hit our area, and fortunately it was only for a few hours. I have frogs, a turtle, monitors and uromastyx so each container was a little different. I'm sure there are much better suggestions out there. My biggest worry would be long term if you do not have a generator. My power was out for 13 days in Florida, so I would have had to hook up my cage lights to the generator. Good luck and keep safe.

Pam

I'm in Daytona Beach, and was without power for 5 days. I doubt that the shelters will take reptiles; check forst.

What I did after Charley was fairly simple. Don't feed heavily, if at all once the power is off. They can't digest without basking temps. They really do fine without food for longer than you think. If you can get any sort of battery operated light/heat source, rotate it between your enclosures to give them some heat.

I did not think about the heat packs; you can bet I'll have some on hand after this; that is, if I have a home left to house anything!

Leslie

It's 91 degrees outside, why worry about heating them? Without the a/c the house will certainly heat up as well.

I am more worried about them getting to hot then cooling them off.

Good idea not to feed them during this time though. Just keep giving them water. I will be misting my cages to keep them cool.

Good luck to the rest of you that are like me and in the path of this storm.

Take care

Hope everyone down in Florida stays safe...I will be thinking about all of you.

Pam

In Florida you won't need the heat, but up here in Wisconsin I always have the heat packs just in case.

Pam

In Florida you don't have to worry about heat much as long as you are not feeding or running ac .

If you have a plastic bin or styro box around drill some drainage holes into the bottom of it and some holes into the sides for vents . Fill it with some cypress mulch dig a little hole into it . Put the monitors into seperate bags and lable them . Place the bags into the holes you have dug into the mulch and cover them lightly with some more mulch . put the lid on it and tape it down (make sure you mark live harmless lizards on the box ) This will keep them from getting dehydrated and will help to insulated them a bit . YOu can leave them like this for almost a week and they should be fine where you are at .

Most shelters will not allow you to bring in an animal .
If you have been advised to leave you house because of the storm and you can't take them with you . Place the box into your bathtub and place a mattress over it (alot of people have survived in their bathtubs under a mattress when their roofs have been blown away )If you have been asked to evacuate in your area please do so even if it means having to leave your lizards behind (people really don't understand the power of a hurricane untill they have been in one )

We always keep a case of heat packs around for when we have power failures but as long as you are not feeding or running ac you shouldn't need them . You will need clean water though . After a storm it isn't safe to drink the tap water because of the high bacterial counts .

Good luck ,
Stella St.Pierre
-----
Stella St.Pierre
www.bluetegu.com