Emergency Warm Enclosure for Power Outages

[lX V1P3R Xl]

Hello,

With this recent cold spike and blizzard, we've had a bunch of areas that have lost power for days. Luckily, my place wasn't affected (minus an internet outage but that doesn't affect my BP, just my sanity being stuck in my apt with negative temps outside... ha!).

Anyway, I realized that if the power went out for an extended peroid of time in these temps, I'd be in big trouble. What emergency set ups do you guys have for your BP's that isn't dependant on the electricity being on?

Thanks!
-Viper

[Bogertophis]

We've talked about this quite a bit here- whether for travel or power outages- it's essential to have ice chests or thick styro-foam food-shipping boxes on hand, along with cloth snake bags or pillow cases.

Then it depends on whether you have a gas hot water heater, or not- if you have hot water, those chests can be warmed efficiently with a bottle or 2 of hot tap water, & changed about every 8 hours (depending on temperature in your house, but I got thru a 4 day ice storm this way, during which my house got down to 45*).

If you don't have hot water access, use those chemical heat packs they use in shipping snakes. Neither heat source should be allowed to touch the snakes- wrap them as needed inside the ice chests, & allow for a bit of air flow too.

I hate trying to tie/untie cloth bags, so I seal them up first with a strong twist wire (zip ties work but have to be cut off), then folding that over on itself, & wrap tightly with a strong rubber band.

Having all these things AHEAD of time for emergency is key- power outages in winter are no fun. Stay safe!

Of course, if you can manage a home generator, that's the high tech, expensive option.

[Malum Argenteum]

Not sure if this is the sort of answer you're looking for, but I have a generator (Honda EU3000i) that runs most of our house through a transfer panel. It is not auto start so I have to be home to start it and flip the breakers, but as long as I have fuel for it my reptiles will be ok.

A portable power station might be an option for limited circumstances (small number of snakes, power outage for a limited time, ambient temps staying sort of reasonable and/or enclosures that holds heat properly -- so probably not fish tank cages). I have a Jackery Explorer 1000 and really like it.

[lX V1P3R Xl]

So just to make sure, you basically just have a big YETI type cooler or a big styro-foam cooler that you kept your BP's in? Placing the BP's in a snake bag and then surrounding them with bottled warm tap water? Sounds like it would work, but what about air though? Do you leave the lid cracked?

Some guys at work also mentioned those portable electric power packs that can run electric items for a while. Theoritically I could hook up the under tank heating pads to that, but I'd still be worried about how long that would last plus the ambient tempteratures at that point.

Unfortunately I'm one of the poors and don't have a house yet... haha. But I'm working on it! I was getting relatively close before housing prices exploded and left me in the dust.

[Bogertophis]

You won't be able to keep their regular enclosures warm no matter what- trust me. Don't bother trying to go there.

You need the insulation of some kind of ice chests- if using styro-foam, you can poke a nail thru a couple places for air exchange if you want. If using a solid ice chest, putting a small bit of tape in the opening so it won't close tight should be enough. Actually, when I went thru the ice storm, they got good air exchange when I had to open up to change hot water bottles every 8-9 hours- I mostly didn't open them in between that, but I was using large ice chests with about 3 snakes per chest, not crowding them.

I also did NOT "surround them with hot water bottles"- only used 1 or 2 large jars or bottles of hot tap water in the corners of each chest. You'd be surprised how well the "insulation" (of the coolers) keeps in the warmth- I also monitored the temps. & mine stayed mid-upper 70's to low 80's- they all did fine, both during & afterwards- no illnesses. (Again, use hot tap water, not boiling.)

No, I don't keep BPs, but a variety of colubrids & boas (I had a large BCI at the time, & rosy boas, etc.) Do NOT try to keep your BPs at anything close to 90*- because they cannot get away from it when it's too warm, to thermoregulate as they normally would. About 80-82* should keep them healthy & happy in an emergency (even if it lasts days).

The best thing you can do is have these supplies at the ready. I can't stress that enough, & hey, ice chests are handy anyway. Many times you can find the stryo-foam boxes practically given away in thrift stores too, fyi. Heat packs or hot water...either works fine.

In fact, may I suggest that you try this out ahead of time. Because the amount of heat needed (or achieved) will depend on the size of the ice chests, etc.
I had no time to test this ahead of time- I'd never experienced an ice storm before, & didn't expect the power to be out for days. I was actually lucky- some lost power for weeks from that awful storm. My snakes were more comfy than I was- every time I opened the ice chests, I wanted to crawl inside, if only I would have fit. No, my power went out in the middle of the night, & suddenly I had to figure out what to do by flashlight. Much better to be prepared.

[lX V1P3R Xl]

Good thing you woke up and realized the power was out!

I'll look into an ice box or styro-foam case. I'd like to get prepared for a power outage situation as well. That's why I decided to ask the question here after the power got cut for so many people here during the storm this weekend. I thought... "what if that was me? I'd be in big trouble right now". I figured there would be people here that had already thought the situation through and/or had to deal with an actual scenario.

Thanks!

[Bogertophis]

Good thing you woke up and realized the power was out! ...

FYI- At some point there's no sleeping through an ice-storm. The sound of trees & branches crashing to the ground sounds like a war-zone. But I was naive, & at first I thought the power would be restored much sooner than it was.

The first thing I did, actually, was put all my snakes into containers & under my down comforter with me for warmth, lol. By morning, though, it was time to get serious.

I actually didn't lose any food either- I put frozen foods in a large ice chest on my sheltered but freezing front porch, where nothing thawed, & I kept cold foods from my refrigerator in my laundry sink in the garage, because my garage stayed a fairly steady 40*. After a day or so, I even collected some icicles off the house & added them to the ice chest of food outside, but nothing got even close to thawing in the bitter cold. (That cooler was packed pretty solid too.) It was a lot of work, but with no power & nowhere to go, there's nothing else to do anyway. I hope you never experience that. But be prepared anyway. I heard thru the "grapevine" that some people lost large collections of snakes (or most of them) from that ice storm.

If you've only got one or a couple snakes, you can always bag 'em & keep them in your shirt for warmth. I've done that in a pinch too. Any port in a storm...

[bcr229]

If you have a larger collection or giant critters that just won't fit into a styrofoam cooler, have a plan to move all your snakes into one room (whether in their enclosures or smaller tubs) and put something like a Mr. Heater Buddy or Big Buddy in it to maintain room ambient temp. Get a CO detector as well even though these propane heaters are rated for indoor use. The smaller Buddy heater on the low setting is also useful for running in bathrooms or your kitchen near the plumbing so your water pipes don't freeze.

If you have a larger/more open floor plan or your snakes are in a large basement then a kerosene heater would work.

[Malum Argenteum]

I'd recommend checking state and local legislation before using an unvented heater. They're illegal in a lot of situations in my state, and if anything goes wrong in an apartment setting (harm to other tenants from fire or combustion byproducts) the legal repercussions could be severe.

"The State of Wisconsin prohibits the use of unvented heaters and fireplaces in single-family homes built after June of 1980, and all commercial buildings, apartments and condominiums regardless of construction date." (source)

[lX V1P3R Xl]

I'm Wisconsin as well. I only have the one BP though. I considered getting another about 10 years ago but decided not too because hopping around appartments with multiple reptiles would be a pain. Plus, most places aren't thrilled when I tell them my species of pet haha. I've never had to pay extra in rent though like dogs/cats which is nice. To this point, I'm glad I just have the one. Maybe when I'm finally able to get a house I might step things up a bit but I'll revisit that when the time comes.

I usually bag her and keep her in my shirt/jacket when transporting and preheat the car. It's very rare though that I have to transport. Pretty much only when moving for the most part.