Preparing for a hurricane?

I've lived in the Hampton Roads are of VA almost my whole life, so I really don't even blink when I hear about a hurricane. I'm a little further inland now, Elizabeth City NC, but now I have bp's to worry about. How do you guys prepare? I'm thinking the room temps won't drop below 75 if the power goes out. Would they be okay for a couple days with no hot spot? As long as I don't feed them? This will be my first storm in this house so I'm not sure how it is with power going out. But its in the middle of downtown, not out by itself, so I'm thinking it would get power turned on quickly. What should I get just to be on the safe side? Of course water. I'm trying to avoid a generator for now.

As long as it stays over 75 inside your good, keep fingers crossed the Europeans model holds true and this thing stays out to sea. If so just need wax for surfboards! Waves are pumping already. If it was colder you could pick up some 40hr hand warmers/ heat packs. They can keep a hotspot for you just have to monitor placement as they will start around 100 and drop to about 88 over the next two days. This one could be very Sandy like if it does merge with the high pressure before the incoming low makes it all the way across northeast.

Yep. Hand warmers. While she's really warmed up to the snakes (no pun intended), my wife was not keen on the idea of walking around with one inside a hoodie. She's is out picking them up now.

Dave

Ball pythons can weather colder temps then most people give them credit for. Many of mine have expereinced temps below 60 and even into the low 50's and are none the worse for wear. You don't want these temps for long periods of time but a day or two won't do any harm.

If you're really that worried, check out this site. -> http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/generators.htm

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Originally Posted by AKA Dave

Yep. Hand warmers. While she's really warmed up to the snakes (no pun intended), my wife was not keen on the idea of walking around with one inside a hoodie. She's is out picking them up now.

Dave

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:rofl:I wouldn't mind, but two out of three of my snakes would probably not like it too much. Guess I'll be picking up some handwarmers today. Is she just getting the regular hot hands from walmart or something like that?

The "hot hands" kind get too hot and don't last long, though they'll work in a pinch. What you really need are the ones used for shipping - they last for 24 hours and don't get hot enough to burn.

Good luck finding a generator now, the time to purchase it was last week, unless you want to drive a good ways inland.

If you only have a few small snakes you can put them into bags and stash them under your clothing to keep them warm. Since I have around 80 + an incubator I have a generator.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Good luck finding a generator now, the time to purchase it was last week, unless you want to drive a good ways inland.

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Indeed. I'm covered there so I don't worry about it that much. I'm just looking at the worst case scenario. Power in my town can be spotty in storms.

The other thing that I've done is pack my chest freezer with gallon jugs of water. The only thing in there at the moment is rats, but I don't wan them defrosting either. The ice will keep them cool for a few days and it's potable water if the neighborhood goes to hell in a hand basket. I sound like some kind of loony prepper reading this back to myself....sigh.

Dave

Yeah, the hot hands do get too warm and they don't last all that long. You might want to check these out -> http://shipyourreptiles.com/shop/heat_packs/product I like to keep a supply of the 40 hour packs on hand, Both for shipping/transporting and/or emergencies.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

The "hot hands" kind get too hot and don't last long, though they'll work in a pinch. What you really need are the ones used for shipping - they last for 24 hours and don't get hot enough to burn.

Good luck finding a generator now, the time to purchase it was last week, unless you want to drive a good ways inland.

If you only have a few small snakes you can put them into bags and stash them under your clothing to keep them warm. Since I have around 80 + an incubator I have a generator.

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Originally Posted by MarkS

Yeah, the hot hands do get too warm and they don't last all that long. You might want to check these out -> http://shipyourreptiles.com/shop/heat_packs/product I like to keep a supply of the 40 hour packs on hand, Both for shipping/transporting and/or emergencies.

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I figured the hot hands wouldn't work well. Is there anywhere locally that sells shipping heat packs that you guys know of?

If you wrap the hand warmers in a towel, they should be fine. They last 8-10 hours and are inexpensive. Just monitor the temp with your temp gun, and it should be just fine. These are for emergency situations, and will keep your snake from getting too cold. Amazon can deliver overnight, or head out to WalMart.


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Pamela and GINGER, my wonderful BP

1 dog, 3 cats, 1 macaw, 1 husband, 1 daughter, and GINGER [emoji216]


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Don't even say the "H" word. That is a crazy amount of work and potential disaster for us down here in South Florida. BTW, nightwolfsnow, I lived in Hampton Roads for a couple of years in the 90's.

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Originally Posted by pbyeerts

If you wrap the hand warmers in a towel, they should be fine. They last 8-10 hours and are inexpensive. Just monitor the temp with your temp gun, and it should be just fine. These are for emergency situations, and will keep your snake from getting too cold. Amazon can deliver overnight, or head out to WalMart.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pamela and GINGER, my wonderful BP

1 dog, 3 cats, 1 macaw, 1 husband, 1 daughter, and GINGER [emoji216]


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Oh duh amazon delivery :stupidme:. My fiance has amazon prime. Planning on going to walmart anyways to get more water and food that doesn't have to be cooked. I'll pick up some hot hands just in case. I really don't think it will be that bad once it reaches up this way. If the power doesn't go out at least I'll be prepared for next time. Thanks guys :gj:

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Originally Posted by ALBINO IGUANA

Don't even say the "H" word. That is a crazy amount of work and potential disaster for us down here in South Florida. BTW, nightwolfsnow, I lived in Hampton Roads for a couple of years in the 90's.

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I'm sure everyone and their momma is at walmart in Florida right now. I've lived in Va Beach, Norfolk, Newport News, Suffolk, and have worked in Chesapeake and Portsmouth. Its nice to be out of the big cities now.

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Originally Posted by AKA Dave

The other thing that I've done is pack my chest freezer with gallon jugs of water. The only thing in there at the moment is rats, but I don't wan them defrosting either. The ice will keep them cool for a few days and it's potable water if the neighborhood goes to hell in a hand basket. I sound like some kind of loony prepper reading this back to myself....sigh.

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Naw, it's a good idea. In fact the less airspace you have in the freezer the more efficiently it runs so you may want to leave the water jugs in there all the time to save on electricity.

You can also turn the t-stat on it down to the lowest setting, and do the same for any other refrigerator/freezer in the house. The colder it is to start out, the longer it will take food to thaw.

Yep. I added a few more just for that reason.

Dave

Good idea with the freezer, another thing you can do is get some dry ice. Some grocery stores sell it in Florida if not a quick search should turn up something local. We fish and camp for extended week log trips and the coolers with the dry ice always last. Can't imagine the smell of a bunch of thawing rats, baitfish are bad enough lol.

If you have any way to heat water(gas stove, etc) then you can always use hot water bottles IF the temps are so low that you're worried over the snakes.

Also, if you did have a way to heat them, cornbags are awesome. I heat them up in the winter for myself and they stay warm a long time and you just reheat them when they cool.

Both of those rely on some sort of heating though.

If you fill the freezer, and don't open it, it should be good for a really long time.

I agree that balls can handle a brief cool temperature for a day or two. I live in New England and we lost power during the big snow storm last winter and my snake was fine for that couple of days. It got very cold in our house (low 50s) I used hand warmers the last days but the first 24 hours I worked all day and came home very late to no power. He still had a warm spot with the hand warmers but the air temperature in his enclosure was high 60s. He did not develop a RI or anything. Africa has a cold night here and there so as long as it is not long periods they will be ok. I have a few reptiles so I do not have a generator but for the people with big collections it is well worth the money. :rolleyes:

The only thing that's gas is the central heat, electric stove. I ended up getting the hot hands toe warmers because it says their average temp is 97 degrees and the hand and body ones were saying 138 degrees or something like that. I still don't think the temps will drop low enough that I'll need to use them. I fed everyone tonight so they won't need another meal until after the storm.

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Originally Posted by nightwolfsnow

The only thing that's gas is the central heat, electric stove. I ended up getting the hot hands toe warmers because it says their average temp is 97 degrees and the hand and body ones were saying 138 degrees or something like that.

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Bear in mind that those toe warmers are designed to be used in a low-oxygen environment, such as the toe of your winter boot. When allowed to run in the open air they get very, very hot. If you do plan on using it I would wrap it in something like a washcloth or a clean sock, secured with some rubber bands to ensure the wrapping can't come off before putting it in your BP's enclosure.

I have a propane heater that is designed for indoor use that I use when the temps really start to drop (I'm in North/Central NC, and most of my power outages are ice-related so it gets cold pretty quickly). The thing is, you have to be there to check on it every half hour or so to make sure things are well ventilated and it's working properly. It can keep a poorly insulated room at about 70 until you run out of fuel.

I don't have a huge amount of snakes (and most of my herps are temperate species that can range into Nova Scotia, so a temp drop doesn't really bother them that much) and I've put them into their travel containers and placed them near several gallon jugs filled with hot water and put a pretty heavy blanket over them... kind of creating a water jug fort. It works for several hours keeping the temps inside the containers at around 70-75 (the last place I lived had HORRIBLE insulation and would end up close to outside temps inside a couple hours, so you might not need that).

I also keep a supply of the hunting chest warmers that are designed to last for like 12 hours. My power is usually back on pretty quickly, so the only time I've used those was putting one on myself and basically cuddling my turtle till the power came back on.

We now have a 20% chance of rain lol. So I should be alright.

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Originally Posted by nightwolfsnow

We now have a 20% chance of rain lol. So I should be alright.

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I hope things go well for you, sounds like it will. But you might want to take this time to prep for the next time, because there will ALWAYS be a 'next time'.

The best way to use the Hand Warmers is to not use them. Seriously. Before the next big storm scare that threatens your electric, go to TSK or SYR and get some shipping heat packs.

If you absolutely have to use them, do so very carefully and monitor the temps. Don't put them in a position your snakes can come into contact with them. They can spike up to 163° and no one wants to have a poor baked snake.

Check out the item specifics.
http://www.warmers.com/hothands-extr...rmer-40-count/

This was such a non event in NC. :rainon:

Dave

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Originally Posted by SmoothScales

The best way to use the Hand Warmers is to not use them. Seriously. Before the next big storm scare that threatens your electric, go to TSK or SYR and get some shipping heat packs.

If you absolutely have to use them, do so very carefully and monitor the temps. Don't put them in a position your snakes can come into contact with them. They can spike up to 163° and no one wants to have a poor baked snake.

Check out the item specifics.
http://www.warmers.com/hothands-extr...rmer-40-count/

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Yeah they get ridiculously hot. I've already ordered some shipping ones for next time. :gj:

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Originally Posted by AKA Dave

This was such a non event in NC. :rainon:

Dave

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It really was. I woke up this morning and it was sunnier than has been in the past week lol.