Is this a crazy idea?

[sidhe]

I've been thinking that I need to have some sort of plan, for the snakes, in case we have a power outage. We mostly get them in the winter months, with ice storms and the like.

I went out today to Walmart and found these nifty little hand/body warmers, that are mainly used for hunting purposes, and figured they may come in handy in a pinch. They work when they come in contact with the air and after you shake them up a bit. Do you think these would be safe?

I would only put them under the tub and maybe use a buffer if they get really hot. Just wanted you guys to know that I wasn't thinking of using them inside his tub. Supposedly they work for 24 hours.

Sometimes it takes half-a-day to get our power working again, and I think that would be too long for my snakes (especially in winter.) What do you guys do in that situation? Would they be Ok without a heat source for 12 hours? Please inform. Thanks

[joepythons]

I've been thinking that I need to have some sort of plan, for the snakes, in case we have a power outage. We mostly get them in the winter months, with ice storms and the like.

I went out today to Walmart and found these nifty little hand/body warmers, that are mainly used for hunting purposes, and figured they may come in handy in a pinch. They work when they come in contact with the air and after you shake them up a bit. Do you think these would be safe?

I would only put them under the tub and maybe use a buffer if they get really hot. Just wanted you guys to know that I wasn't thinking of using them inside his tub. Supposedly they work for 24 hours.

Sometimes it takes half-a-day to get our power working again, and I think that would be too long for my snakes (especially in winter.) What do you guys do in that situation? Would they be Ok without a heat source for 12 hours? Please inform. Thanks

Dont waste your money on those handwarmers.They only last about a hour or two.If you want something that will work and help prevent your snakes getting sick.Take a look at www.Superiorenterprise.com, they sell hotpacks for shipping reptiles and they work.I use the 40hr packs and i see no reason they could not be used during a power outage.

[Dananyc]

Ok--get ready to hear a terrible story--a girl I know was breeding hairless rats for a little while and her little brother wanted one for a pet (he was 8, lived across the country).


She was veryyyy irresponsible and decided to try to ship a baby in non-approved packaging (because the real way to ship live was too expensive). She read that the problem with regular overnight shipping is that the cargo compartment gets too cold, so she shipped the baby in a cage with bedding, etc and one of those heating packs under the cage, in the box. She said it was glass or something so it was handled delicately. This was before 9/11 and strict screening/xrays.

Long story short the baby died because she was an IDIOT and didn't realize that when these things heat they are sucking the oxygen out of the air!!! The baby died from suffocation, as no oxygen was left in the super sealed box with the cage inside. Yikes, the mistakes non-animal people make.

Anyway, I think the heaters could work as long as they are not in the cage, can't remove oxygen from the snake's environment, and are carefully monitored---those things can get hot!

[joepythons]

Ok--get ready to hear a terrible story--a girl I know was breeding hairless rats for a little while and her little brother wanted one for a pet (he was 8, lived across the country).


She was veryyyy irresponsible and decided to try to ship a baby in non-approved packaging (because the real way to ship live was too expensive). She read that the problem with regular overnight shipping is that the cargo compartment gets too cold, so she shipped the baby in a cage with bedding, etc and one of those heating packs under the cage, in the box. She said it was glass or something so it was handled delicately. This was before 9/11 and strict screening/xrays.

Long story short the baby died because she was an IDIOT and didn't realize that when these things heat they are sucking the oxygen out of the air!!! The baby died from suffocation, as no oxygen was left in the super sealed box with the cage inside. Yikes, the mistakes non-animal people make.

Anyway, I think the heaters could work as long as they are not in the cage, can't remove oxygen from the snake's environment, and are carefully monitored---those things can get hot!

Were these hand warmer ones bought at walmart or reptile approved ones like superior enterprise sells? I doubt the rat died from the heat warmer it died from being in a cage.Boxes used for shipping reptiles properly breath plus i place a couple small holes anyway.

[sidhe]

Wow, thanks for the tips. I will be getting the ones for reptiles (shipping). That's why I love this forum...stops me from making stupid mistakes!

joepythons, thanks a bunch for the link.

[joepythons]

Wow, thanks for the tips. I will be getting the ones for reptiles (shipping). That's why I love this forum...stops me from making stupid mistakes!

joepythons, thanks a bunch for the link.

No problem thats what i am here for

[biggc1]

Get a generator.

[Nate]

I recall a few years back when my sister had an iguana. We had a pretty bad storm one winter and power was down for a few days. It was pretty cold inside and we had to find some way to keep the little guy warm.

the first thing we did was we took a water bottle and filled it with warm water. He loved it, but it didn't last very long. we had to constantly change the water almost every hour.

The next thing we did was light a fire and we all sat around the fire and our iguana just sat on our shoulders enjoying the heat.

I think the heat packs are a great idea. They do get hot, so what I personally would do is get a few rubbermaids set aside when there are storm predictions. If the power goes out, put the snakes in the tubs and put the heat packs under the tubs. Get an Acurite and stick the probe where the snake will be. If you're getting high readings, then you could try putting a few layers of newspaper between the heat packs and the tub (or inside the tub, b/t the snake and the tub) to lower the temps a little.

Hope that helps you

Get a generator.

most people can't afford one.

[lillyorchid]

It's ALWAYS a good idea to have a "back up plan!" I need to get some of those shipping heat packs just have in case something would happen. As for right now, my t-stat is plugged into my back up battery & surge protector for my computer..

[AkivaSmith]

As for right now, my t-stat is plugged into my back up battery & surge protector for my computer..

That is a great idea!!! I would have never thought of it!