what should i do if i lose power with ike?

[oncebitten]

I live in houston and i am worried about losing power. How can I make sure the snakes maintain heat with no electricity? Also friday is feeding day and not quite sure if i should feed tomorrow or wait to see what happens. I know all we will probably get is alot of rain and wind but just want to be prepared.

[snakecharmer3638]

I don't know if you are in a position where you can use a gas powered generator but it might be something to consider. Other than that I have nothing.

[qiksilver]

I don't know temps in Houston, but does it even go below freezing? I would imagine that temps should stay stable in your house. They won't die if they're at slightly below optimal temps for a bit. After all Platty daddy in his shipping to the US was cold as ice when he arrived and he bounced back. Healthy snakes are quite resilient.

[starmom]

I'd hold off on the feeding until you see what Ike is going to do.

If you don't have a genny, I suggest getting those instant heat warmer packets. They come in different hour time lengths. I have 3 hour ones that heat up really quickly that I put into a tube sock (so the snake doesn't get burned) and put into the tub. While that is keeping snake warm, I also activate one of my 24 hour or 48 hour ones to replace the 3 hour one with.

Take care.

[oncebitten]

no it does not get cold here at all it is always hot and humid. How much are those heat things and where can i find them? My home is generally about 78 or 80 degrees at all times so i hope that helps.

[qiksilver]

If your house is always 78 or 80 I'd leave them to fend for themselves heatwise, they'd be completely fine. They'd probably even be fine for a few days, but I'm assuming a power outage would only be a few hours to a full day tops. You can get heat packs just in case for emergencies but I'd only use them if it dropped to 70 ish or lower.

[Muze]

Your temps should definitely be fine for them for a while without power. However, I would probably hold off on feeding since it may not be hot enough for them to digest properly. I had to consider the same things down here in Florida when we thought Ike was going to hit.

The heat packs are awesome advice too. I only have one of those on hand, though (the 40 hour kind). I will be stocking up on them very soon. Reptile Basics has them for $1 each + shipping.

Good luck!

[Freakie_frog]

I can tell you during Katrina I just opened the windows and let them get the fresh air and it stayed around 91-95 in that room and 78-80 at night for weeks without power you should be fine remember they are wild animals and are very resilent. Best of luck to ya!

[Nate]

Yeah it's summer...i wouldn't be too worried....well, I wouldn't be too worried about lack of heat... Too much maybe.

[Sonya610]

If it drops a bit at night, open the windows during the day to let all the heat in and seal it up as best you can at night to maintain it (even blankets over the windows). And maybe use this to come up with a plan for the winter.