*** Winter Storm Warning *** ...... How do you protect your snake room ??

My g/f and I were just talking about this snow storm that is expected to smack the Northeast this weekend, and it came to our attention we still have not invested in an emergency power supply to plug our thermostats and incubator into in the event power goes down for several days. I plan to put an electric oil heater in the center of the snake room to keep the ambient temp in the room up, but ofcourse I am going to need a way to power my three thermostats for my snakes, my thermostat and fan on my incubator, and also the heater for the ambient temps. I am looking at generators and what not now trying to figure out what is good enough and pushes enough power to take care of all the above items. So I thought this may be an interesting thread to see what everyone's "Plan B" is, in the event mother nature gives us a rough time. What do you use and what's your set up in such an event?? ****** Story's of past experiences welcome :gj: ******

I don't have nearly as large a collection as you so when there was a winter storm and we were pretty sure we would get a blackout I read somewhere that putting your snake in a separate box and putting those hand warmer packets like you'd use when you ski in with it it'll keep the temp fine. The power never went out so I never had to try that and not even 100% sure that that's an ok thing to try so I'd be interested in what other people do

I generally don't lose power where I am and if I do, it is usually only for 6 hours at the most. Except a couple months ago where I lost it for about 18 hours. For me, its just Mr Heater in the snake room and wait it out.

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Originally Posted by imitha

I don't have nearly as large a collection as you so when there was a winter storm and we were pretty sure we would get a blackout I read somewhere that putting your snake in a separate box and putting those hand warmer packets like you'd use when you ski in with it it'll keep the temp fine. The power never went out so I never had to try that and not even 100% sure that that's an ok thing to try so I'd be interested in what other people do

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The hand warmers that we use for outdoor activities like your talking about get to hot for snakes (at least direct contact) I assume this could be manageable with several layers between contact of the box and the hand warmer but would take some experimenting

I'm old fashioned. Wood burning stove to the rescue. Gets the snake room up to about 80 and can keep it there quite easily. Even with no power, it'd be enough for them to get by. I have a small generator in the garage as well.

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Originally Posted by imitha

I don't have nearly as large a collection as you so when there was a winter storm and we were pretty sure we would get a blackout I read somewhere that putting your snake in a separate box and putting those hand warmer packets like you'd use when you ski in with it it'll keep the temp fine. The power never went out so I never had to try that and not even 100% sure that that's an ok thing to try so I'd be interested in what other people do

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NOT "hand warmers"!! They get way too hot and they only stay hot for a short period of time...neither of which is any good for the snakes.

You should go to ShipYourReptiles or any other shipping supplier and order real Heat Packs. They come in different measurements and you want 40 Hour Heat Packs, minimum. They also come in 60 hour and 72 hour versions. Any of those will work. They should be ordered in advance to have on hand when an emergency hits. You can't find them at your local pet store or Wal Mart.

I have a buddy heater in the snake room, keeps the room at 80, and I have a generator for the rest of the house that allows us to keep running the essentials including the incubator and for our personal heat a wood stove, between all that I am prepared.

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I have only lost power for more than a few hours once in twenty years, so I just ordered some heat packs for insurance.

I plan on getting a generator at some point down the road.

I'm in western Pa, so I understand your concerns with this weekend. Looks like either of us could get it really bad, or really bad. LOL.

Here are some ideas:

1. Personal computer battery backup (UPS) depending on how much you run off of one of these, and it's size, it could last 5 minutes, or maybe a couple of hours.
2. Quilts. covering your racks/enclosures with some good old-fashioned quilts would be a good insulater to keep some heat in. I think for an hour or two, this would be a viable solution to keeping some heat retained. even better if you have them warmed up to room temp before the heat goes out.
3. Kerosene or propane heaters. You have to be careful with these, obviously, but some of them are safe to use indoors and are fairly inexpensive. I wouldn't leave them unsupervised at all, but they could work in a pinch.
4. Generator - really the best solution in my opinion...
5. I hadn't heard of the heat packs mentioned above from the reptile shipping places, but I'll definately check them out to maybe have some on hand.

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Originally Posted by T_Sauer

My g/f and I were just talking about this snow storm that is expected to smack the Northeast this weekend, and it came to our attention we still have not invested in an emergency power supply to plug our thermostats and incubator into in the event power goes down for several days. I plan to put an electric oil heater in the center of the snake room to keep the ambient temp in the room up, but ofcourse I am going to need a way to power my three thermostats for my snakes, my thermostat and fan on my incubator, and also the heater for the ambient temps. I am looking at generators and what not now trying to figure out what is good enough and pushes enough power to take care of all the above items. So I thought this may be an interesting thread to see what everyone's "Plan B" is, in the event mother nature gives us a rough time. What do you use and what's your set up in such an event?? ****** Story's of past experiences welcome :gj: ******

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Of everything you listed the incubator is most at risk. The snakes can survive for a while at room ambient if you can maintain 75*F. I wouldn't feed until after the storm passes; if the power goes out then empty snake bellies are a good thing.

The problem with the incubator is that digital thermostats may not "like" generator power as it can be dirty, so make sure you have a surge protector between the generator and the thermostat, and check it constantly.

Personally we have a backup generator that powers the wood stove blower so the house stays warm, and we moved a cord of firewood into the garage last night so we won't have to dig it out of the snow - one forecast has us getting 45 inches of the stuff! At least I won't have to worry about keeping the refrigerator and freezers running, Mother Nature is taking care of that.

We had a generator till it got stolen last year, so right now we gather all the animals in the room with the wood stove. Its a large stove and has gotten the room to over 80 degrees. We lose power a lot, mainly when the wind is blowing, and it can be out for days, so we really love that stove. I will have to replace that generator soon.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Of everything you listed the incubator is most at risk. The snakes can survive for a while at room ambient if you can maintain 75*F. I wouldn't feed until after the storm passes; if the power goes out then empty snake bellies are a good thing.

The problem with the incubator is that digital thermostats may not "like" generator power as it can be dirty, so make sure you have a surge protector between the generator and the thermostat, and check it constantly.

Personally we have a backup generator that powers the wood stove blower so the house stays warm, and we moved a cord of firewood into the garage last night so we won't have to dig it out of the snow - one forecast has us getting 45 inches of the stuff! At least I won't have to worry about keeping the refrigerator and freezers running, Mother Nature is taking care of that.

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You have brought up something that I was overlooking or had not thought of at least .... I know that the snakes can do ok for a little while with ambient temps down to 75 ..... But as I was reading your post it hit me .... What about gravid females? How will that temperature change effect the eggs that a female is still carrying and not laid yet?

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Originally Posted by JLC

You should go to ShipYourReptiles or any other shipping supplier and order real Heat Packs. They come in different measurements and you want 40 Hour Heat Packs, minimum. They also come in 60 hour and 72 hour versions. Any of those will work. They should be ordered in advance to have on hand when an emergency hits. You can't find them at your local pet store or Wal Mart.

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Do they ship to Canada? I need to get something like this for back up... Luckily it's been pretty mild this winter!


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All are good options above. I know this might sound archaic, but an array of small candles do wonders for heating a small space like a snake room in an emergency situation. The key is to have an insulated room in the first place to keep all the heat in. Tea candles are exceptionally cheap and can be arranged on aluminum foil baking trays, and placed next to the snake enclosures. You would be surprised at the amount of heat that a few dozen small candles can emit. In a pinch this can keep your temps up until power returns.

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Originally Posted by ratchet

Do they ship to Canada? I need to get something like this for back up... Luckily it's been pretty mild this winter!


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SYR does not ship to Canada. :(

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Originally Posted by Reinz

SYR does not ship to Canada. :(

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Dang. :(


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Originally Posted by T_Sauer

You have brought up something that I was overlooking or had not thought of at least .... I know that the snakes can do ok for a little while with ambient temps down to 75 ..... But as I was reading your post it hit me .... What about gravid females? How will that temperature change effect the eggs that a female is still carrying and not laid yet?

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They would need to be warmer or risk slugging out. Put them all into their own rack(s) and give them belly heat.

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Originally Posted by ratchet

Do they ship to Canada? I need to get something like this for back up... Luckily it's been pretty mild this winter!


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Do you have a Canadian version of Amazon.com? They have them here if you put "shipping heat pack" in the search function, you can find the 40, 60, and 72 hour versions to buy.