Power Outage Questions

Hey all, recently a tornado came through my area, taking out parts of the power grid. We didn't realize the damage would be as severe as it was, and it looks like we will not be getting the power back until Sunday evening. This presents a problem for my blue tongue skink. I know handwarmers and stuff can be used to maintain heat, but I don't know how often I should try to warm him up. The ambient temps in the tank are mid to high 70s and drops to the 60s at night. He ate on Sunday/Monday and pooped already before the power went out. Could he possibly be ok with these ambient temps till Sunday? If he won't be how often should I try to warm him up and for how long?

Oh, yikes! Sorry about the tornado & glad you're still in "one piece". I'm not personally up on BTS- if they're like snakes, when it's too cool they tend to go off eating & start thinking about brumating, & some snakes are difficult to convince to resume eating when it warms up again. No idea if that applies to a BTS though.

But what I can tell you is that it's very hard to keep his regular tank warm enough- in an emergency (like an ice storm, which I have done!) it's much easier to keep reptiles in minimal space (like an ice chest or thick styro-foam box- the kind they ship frozen food in) with something to keep them warm. It's all about insulation- you might instead insulate his tank & only allow minimal air flow. (heat rises up & out easily)

IF you have a hot water heater that runs on gas or propane, you can heat reptiles very well with jars or water bottles filled with hot water. You'll need to refill them when they cool off, obviously, but in an insulated chest, they take about 8-10 hours to cool off. If you keep him in his tank, it depends on how well you insulate it as to how warm he'll be- but even if only one area is kept warm, that he has access to, that should suffice- he'll have the option. At least Sunday isn't too far off, & you can probably allow more of a nighttime temperature drop?

Again, I'm not up on keeping BTS, & I don't know what temps you normally keep him at, but our member dakski is, & he should be around sometime soon- hopefully he'll offer some advice too. https://ball-pythons.net/forums/member.php?49533-dakski

Sorry about the Tornado and damage! WOW. Scary.

I think he will be okay until power comes back. DO NOT FEED him, but offer some water.

They are pretty resilient, the BTS. I think he will be okay as long as you wait to feed until you're pretty sure power is on sustainably.

Warming him up won't hurt, but I would give him 85-90F warmth for a few hours a day, if possible. If he still has undigested food, this will help him poop it out.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Ok so assuming that this is accurate: https://reptile.guide/blue-tongue-sk...ature-Gradient

Quote:

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A temperature gradient of 75 to 88 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal, with a basking area of 90 to 100 degrees being optimal.

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It looks like your skink will need to spend some time outside in the sun to get his vitamin D3, as long as it's not too terribly hot out there. If it's a comfortably warm day that will help him digest any remaining food.

Rather than trying to heat your skink's enclosure at night, I would put it into a long, low tub with a secure lid - something like this:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hefty-13-Ga...Lid/1000505517 - you may have to get a strap for around the middle of the tub.

Then put the tub with the skink under your bed covers with you. Your body heat will keep it warm but not overly hot, and if your skink makes a mess it won't get all over your bed/mattress.

And FYI, I did the same sort of thing ^ ^ ^ during an ice storm that knocked out my power for days, with a BUNCH of snakes! :rofl: Put them in cloth bags (for security & comfort), then into ventilated plastic "critter cottages" (crush-proof!) & put them ALL under my comforter with ME for a heat source overnight, until I could make better arrangements the next day (that's when I switched to hot water bottles for warmth in ice chests). When we care about our pets- we do whatever it takes to keep them healthy & safe. -I'm sure people who don't like herps would find this anywhere from "weird" to "terrifying"-but oh well. :rolleyes: Just ONE skink? Piece of cake! :D