No power for 48 hours

[lkwagner]

Lost power last night and won't get it back till tomorrow. High 43 today. I have 3 sulcatas and know it's going to get too cold for them. And suggestions on how to keep them warm?
My only other option is keeping them in Rubbermaid bins at my parents so they can have their lights, just was hoping it didn't have to come down to that. Already have to deal with clothes molding in the washer and my freezer and fridge going bad :/

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

Blankets, lots of them. Even old clothes. Do you have hot water? Is the gas still available? Hot water bottles and blankets is my first thought. Or soda bottles filled with hot water maybe?

 

[lkwagner]

Good idea I will try that. It's already 60 in my house :/

 

[N2TORTS]

*Generator*

 

[lkwagner]

If I had a house I would have a generator, I'm only 20 trying to finish school living in a townhouse

 

[lisa127]

I always keep a good supply of 40 hour heat packs in my house for the reptiles. If a storm is coming I set up bins and have a couple of heat packs ready for each bin per animal.

 

[N2TORTS]

For emergency situations like your encountering and if very concerned, here is a hot tip …..run down to your local sporting goods, Army Supply, Camping joint…out West a chain we have is called Big 5 . You can purchase “heat packs” ….This is how we ship torts when weather gets a bit chilly. The larger heat packs can last up to 12 hours and DO provide a nice warm setting without the “ burn” . Not knowing the size of your torts , you might also consider during these times to get a cheap insulated cooler (ice chest) layer the bottom with towels and a few heat packs, crack the lid so torts can have air ….and you WILL provide a warm hold for these couple days.
J~
PS: your doing GREAT….college and a townhouse? …..I think I lived in my car the first year of college…
Keep up the studies and good luck!

 

[stinax182]

just fill up some water bottles or anything that can hold water and keep it next to them. adding blankets will only help in keeping the added heat stay longer because they are cold blooded. unless they are newly hatched i feel they can survive this no worries.

 

[Tom]

You can use hot water bottles and handwarmers for a few hours, but not for two days. They do have handwarmers that last 48 hours, but the air in your house will still be too cold.

Blankets will not warm and ectotherm, though they can slow down heat loss. Again this might help for a power loss of a few hours, but not for 2 days.

You need power. Generators work just fine in condos, apartments, tents, or any other dwelling. I don't know why living in a townhouse would preclude you from generator use. If a generator is not an option, whatever your reason, then your tortoises need to be moved to where there is power and heat.

 

[N2TORTS]

Good advice Tom ....
and for the OP ....."They do have hand warmers that last 48 hours, but the air in your house will still be too cold." ....True ~ but that’s why you buy a several of them .... and crack open what you need , saving others and add during this time.
I also might add..... true there should be no problems running a generator ....even inside a condo **BUT BEWARE** ... a common mistake is not ventilating the room ...
You can’t trust your senses for protection from carbon monoxide; this deadly gas is invisible and odorless. When buying a generator, also buy a battery-operated carbon-monoxide alarm. It works like a smoke alarm, sounding an alert if carbon-monoxide levels become dangerous.

 

[lkwagner]

Thank you everyone for the help!!!! I really appreciate it. I was using hot water bottles and my big one burrowed down into some blankets. It was working okay but just like tom said only for a couple hours. Would of sucked putting up with that for 2 days!!!
I got lucky, the power is back on a day and a half early!!!! Guess it helps being on the same grid as 3 schools lol
Hopefully this thread will help others if this happens to them :/ will def be more prepared now that it's getting cold thanks again everyone!

 

[AnnV]

No generators indoors please..... ppl die from running generators inside.
Glad the crisis is over now, anyway.

Are you in the midwest lk?

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

Yay for power back and super yay for this learning curve for all to read and learn from. And THAT's why we love this TFO place! : )

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

No generators indoors please..... ppl die from running generators inside.
Glad the crisis is over now, anyway.

Are you in the midwest lk?

Ditto 100%. Balcony with door closed and windows closed. And use a cm detector.

 

[sibi]

Get to a walmart or any pharmacy where there are those heat pads that you crush and they generate heat for 48 hours! If the stores are closed, do you have those thingies that you light up to heat or reheat food? If you can heat up some water, you'll be able to do those things with the bottles.

Just to let you know, last week, my babies almost froze to death in my new shed that I had prepared for them. When the circuit tripped, it was sometime in the middle of the night. By the next day, the shed was 52 degrees, and the torts would not move and had their eyes shut tight. I thought they were dead. If you have to, take them to your mothers or someone who has electricity. It's just not worth having those babies freeze like that, even if you have warm bottles and lots of blankets!

***Sorry, just read the first post, and I immediately wrote this thinking the outage was still in effect. But, there are some ideas you can get if this should ever happen again.

 

[argus333]

no power here last yr for 18 days temps in 20's at night and had a 9 inch snow storm during the outage. buy a generator! even a small one. also you'd be amazed how warm a small room like a bathroom with 5 big candles can warm up. i heat my house and my reptiles with a wood stove so no big worries.

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

no power here last yr for 18 days temps in 20's at night and had a 9 inch snow storm during the outage. buy a generator! even a small one. also you'd be amazed how warm a small room like a bathroom with 5 big candles can warm up. i heat my house and my reptiles with a wood stove so no big worries.

Okay, California chick just passed out. If you don't mind me asking, where is here?

 

[Yvonne G]

Oh, man...I would be S.O.L. if my power went out for any length of time.

 

[TommyZ]

Re: RE: No power for 48 hours

no power here last yr for 18 days temps in 20's at night and had a 9 inch snow storm during the outage. buy a generator! even a small one. also you'd be amazed how warm a small room like a bathroom with 5 big candles can warm up. i heat my house and my reptiles with a wood stove so no big worries.

Okay, California chick just passed out. If you don't mind me asking, where is here?

If im not mistaken, Argus lives here in NJ, hes down the shore a bit from where I am. The 18 day power loss was surely a result of hurricane Sandy. Some folks had no power here for a month.

 

[deadheadvet]

Reptile people have to prepare for all possible contingencies. Power outages are always our worst nightmare. Keep this in mind and make arrangements if a generator is not possible to weather the storm in the event of a power outage.