What do you do when the power goes out?

[alienpenguin]

Hi everyone. I have been lurking for a while because I'm doing extensive research before I get round to purchasing a ball python. One question that really worries me is what do you do with your snakes if there is a power cut? I live in the North of England in a rural area and though its normally quite good the power does go off about 3-5 times a year, normally this lasts just minutes but if there is a storm power can go off and be off for a day or too while it is freezing. Does any one have any tips or solutions for what they do with their snakes in a similar situation?

[cchardwick]

I use a generator something similar to this one and use it with a bunch of extension cords and power strips. You can pick one up for about $300 on ebay with free shipping. Personally I think everyone should have one along with several five gallon cans of gas. I like the 5000 watt versions, enough power to run my lights, fridge, freezers, fish tanks, and even run power to my snake hot spots. You could even power a laptop to watch movies and run either a small space heater or a halogen light for heat.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DuroMax-XP48...MAAOSwqu9VSPfv



Speaking of being prepared, I also have about a dozen of these oil lanterns. With some models you can actually cook food on them. They burn for a very long time on a very small amount of fuel and put out a lot of light and heat, you can buy them new for about $30 each.

https://www.lehmans.com/product/diet...black/lanterns



And don't forget to stock up on some food. The easiest way is to buy one or two extra cans of pork and beans every time you go shopping and put them in an emergency food storage area. I think everyone should have enough food to last several weeks, that's about 50 or more cans of food per person. And get a few 5 gallon bottles of water and you will be prepared for anything! Up here in the mountains we have been known to get six feet of snow at a time and can't get out for weeks at a time, so being prepared is a necessity.

[L.West]

I also have a generator. Recently had to use it for a day. Saved my snakes - best purchase ever.

The only negative is that you cant leave the generator running unattended so i would need to miss work but some things you cant a avoid

[Ba11er]

not sure if cost or space is an issue but you could probably get some batteries hooked up to run just your snakes essentials in case of an outage. Kind of like a UPC or battery backup people have for their computers.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I have a generator for the important things (incubator, fridge, freezers, lights)

I have a buddy heater for the snake room, maintaining the room at 80.

And I have a fire place for the rest of the house.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[alienpenguin]

thanks everyone. I would rather get a contingency plan in case of power cuts set up at the same time I set up the rack or vivarium (haven't decided which yet) before I bring any snakes home because sod's law says if I don't there will be a power cut immediately and as winter temperatures go into minus degress (celsius not fahrenheit) it would definitely kill the snakes.

[bcr229]

For a short-term outage putting the snakes into a bag + bin for security and then stacking them in a small room where you run a non-electric heater is fairly easy. If your bathroom is big enough to hold the stack of bins then the heater can serve the dual purpose of preventing your water pipes from freezing up.

Longer term plans range from using a generator to relocating everything to a friend's house or hotel.