Lengthy Question + Scenario Please Help..

Hey guys,

Buckle in - your in for a very long question..

I got a notice in the mail today giving me 2 days notice before they fumigate my apartment building. I have been advised that all animals need to be removed from the premises for at least 4 hours following the spraying. I have 2 cats, multiple rats, and 5 ball pythons. My ball pythons are in a rack that is way to heavy to move elsewhere.

During the times that they will be fumigating - I will be working. I am working 20 hours that day and my girlfriend will be working 16 hours. I can probably find a place for the cats to stay overnight but I have no idea what to do with my snakes..

I can't very well take them to work with me.. besides I will be jumping from 2 different workplaces. And everyone I know is afraid of snakes. Even if they weren't They would have no way to house them aside from the bins they are in.. but even then there will be no heat source for them for over 16 hours..

I have ran through a couple of options in my mind, but I need to gather more information. I hope you guys can help me.

Option 1:
Put them in my incubator..

I can probably fit them all in my incubator - even though its not set up yet.. so that at least they are in an air tight container. However.. because they will be in an air tight container they will have no source of oxygen other than whats in the mini fridge originally. How much oxygen do they need, and would 5 be able to survive on the air that is available in a 32"x19"x18" mini fridge? I would never even think about doing this under any other circumstance however Its one of these options vs. exposing them to fumigation (which will kill them..) It's also not set up for heat however I imagine they would be okay at room temp for 20 hours........

Option 2: I put them in storage in their tubs and pray they don't freeze over the 16 hour period that they will be left alone.. Its indoor storage but I don't know if they will be fumigating the storage areas...

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I have been calling all my local reptile stores and have been trying to get a hold of a breeder friend of mine to see if someone could hold them over night but so far I've come up empty handed. I'm really stressing over this so if anyone has any suggestions at all I am 100% open to ideas..

Thanks for those who have read this all the way through. I know its a lot to read,

Chris :(

Dang......if I were closer I would totally take them in for you.

I think if I were in your situation, I would put them in the incubator. But, I hope someone else has a better idea and advice for you. Good luck and keep us up to date please!

Ooh that's a tough one. Try to see if there are any animal care places around you that would be willing to deal with reptiles. It's not like they would actually have to do anything to/for them. Just let them be there.

Even a dog kennel that's indoors and climate controlled would be better than freezing and/or suffocating.

If your work allows you the time I'd even consider putting them all in individual tubs and loading them in the cab of my truck so I could go out and run the heater once and hour or so... I see you're in Toronto though so I don't know how feasable that is or if once per hour would even be enough during November.

Even if you can't leave the workplace maybe even a stack of handwarmers or something like that to keep the ambient air temp up? Would just have to be careful using something like that... and I don't even know if they displace oxygen in an enclosed enviroment.

Another idea. I don't know how feasible this is. I know around here you can rent indoor storage units. That may work for the time being, You would have to rent it for the month probably but they usually aren't TOO much. Plus you would only need a small one.

you might be able to work something out with a local vet. I live in an apartment complex as well, one time we lost power, but the office building at my complex had a generator. I explained my situation and they allowed me to set up my 2 ten gallon tanks and heat lamps there until power was returned a few days later. I don't know if you have this option avaliable or not, but it might be worth a shot.

Omg that suucks D: I'm still kinda new to this lol but I would say your incubator idea sounds like the best, but again i'm not sure on the oxygen they would need for that period either so i am sorry this is not much help D: I'm a couple hours from Toronto or i'd totally babysit for you lol, Good luck i hope it all goes well D:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

you might be able to work something out with a local vet. I live in an apartment complex as well, one time we lost power, but the office building at my complex had a generator. I explained my situation and they allowed me to set up my 2 ten gallon tanks and heat lamps there until power was returned a few days later. I don't know if you have this option avaliable or not, but it might be worth a shot.

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a vet would be my first try. try renting a room at a motel or something for the night and set them up in there, since you can control the heat in your own room

Hey PM me as your last solution if you cant find any other way to house them.. I would need to clear it with my parents, but depending on how long you would need it at my house for, it could potentially work out. Is your rack moveable? Do the tubs have locking lids so that you can transport the whole system over? I would not feel comfortable holding them without heat for over 16 hours, might not be the best idea for your snakes. Im not making any promises but if you tell me dates and times we can maybe figure something out.

Hey guys,

Thanks for all your support and suggestions! I will try to respond to each one in a few minutes. I am trying to get a hold of local breeders via email to see if they would be willing to hang onto them for a night. Wish me luck! :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by heathers*bps

Dang......if I were closer I would totally take them in for you.

I think if I were in your situation, I would put them in the incubator. But, I hope someone else has a better idea and advice for you. Good luck and keep us up to date please!

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Will do! And thank you for your input :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ezekiel285

Ooh that's a tough one. Try to see if there are any animal care places around you that would be willing to deal with reptiles. It's not like they would actually have to do anything to/for them. Just let them be there.

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I've been trying to do this even though the thought of boarding them with other BP's from various sources is unnerving the idea of them dying on me is worse lol. Thanks for the suggestion - I am absolutely going to try for this option.

Thanks :)

Keeping my fingers crossed for you!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by devildog_dk

Even a dog kennel that's indoors and climate controlled would be better than freezing and/or suffocating.

If your work allows you the time I'd even consider putting them all in individual tubs and loading them in the cab of my truck so I could go out and run the heater once and hour or so... I see you're in Toronto though so I don't know how feasable that is or if once per hour would even be enough during November.

Even if you can't leave the workplace maybe even a stack of handwarmers or something like that to keep the ambient air temp up? Would just have to be careful using something like that... and I don't even know if they displace oxygen in an enclosed enviroment.

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Great suggestions. Unfortunately I don't drive (I work across the street from my apartment during the nights but unfortunately I am not allowed to leave the property :( ) I may be able to sneak over and get them in their cages between shifts however :D I didn't even think about that one.

Unfortunately I won't know exactly what time the sprayed since no one will be home and I don't want to risk coming home after an hour to put them in their tubs :(..

Thanks :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

you might be able to work something out with a local vet. I live in an apartment complex as well, one time we lost power, but the office building at my complex had a generator. I explained my situation and they allowed me to set up my 2 ten gallon tanks and heat lamps there until power was returned a few days later. I don't know if you have this option avaliable or not, but it might be worth a shot.

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This is a great point. Unfortunately I won't be able to bring them to my regular vet but I am going to add reptile vets to my list of people to call. Thank you so much.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Missy_Misfit

Omg that suucks D: I'm still kinda new to this lol but I would say your incubator idea sounds like the best, but again i'm not sure on the oxygen they would need for that period either so i am sorry this is not much help D: I'm a couple hours from Toronto or i'd totally babysit for you lol, Good luck i hope it all goes well D:

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Thanks for the support :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mattchibi

Hey PM me as your last solution if you cant find any other way to house them.. I would need to clear it with my parents, but depending on how long you would need it at my house for, it could potentially work out. Is your rack moveable? Do the tubs have locking lids so that you can transport the whole system over? I would not feel comfortable holding them without heat for over 16 hours, might not be the best idea for your snakes. Im not making any promises but if you tell me dates and times we can maybe figure something out.

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Thank you so much for your offer!! That is more than kind of you! I will keep you in mind if all else fails. My rack is not move able but I may be able to pull my PVC enclosures out of storage and hook them up. I will keep you updated. Thank You!!


I don't know why I didn't think of the PVC earlier. I am glad I have you guys throwing me suggestions - It's reminding me of options I didn't even think about.

Thank you everyone for your input and support.

No problem, hope you get this figured out. :)
Let us know what happens!

Great news guys!!

One of the local breeders I have been doing some dealings with has agreed to take them in!

Thanks to all of you for your continued support and ideas. They are much appreciated.

Chris.

update: They got to my buddies house okay :). Which is good considering its 32 degrees today (or 0 Celsius ;) ). Now I am running around my house cleaning and wrapping all the enclosures with plastic wrap LOL.

What a pain.. rats are being donated to a rat rescue (boooooo), and the cats are either on their way to my parent or the in laws in the morning. Its funny how little energy snakes take to babysit, and yet everyone volunteered to babysit the kitties. LOL

I'll let everyone know when everything has settled.

Cheers.

Hey guys,

So just wanted to let everyone know that I brought them home and they seem to be doing well. i ended up hooking back up all my PVC enclosures and retired my rack for the next few months in case this happens again lol.
Thanks for all the help and support!

Cheers.