Power Outage - How should I heat the reptile tanks?

Hi everyone,

So I need some help figuring out alternative ways to heat my Leopard Gecko and turtle tank. My house lost power Saturday night. I already had a stock of emergency heat pads, but I don't have many left because they only stay warm for 9 hours. My house is already about 55 degrees inside so its getting pretty cold :\ I have been heating the turtle tank by warming up water by the fire and adding that to the water in the tank, but it is starting to not work very well. Im going to try to find some more heat pads at the store today, but I have to conserve my gas because alot of the gas stations don't have gas anymore. Can you guys think of any other way to heat the tanks? I was thinking maybe using tea lights somehow? I have a reliable way to measure temperatures. Any ideas would be a huge help because im worried about them getting cold.

 

Oh boy. I have had a lot of experience with power outages... Oye. 1st - if possible try to get the 36-40 hour heat packs. (http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...king-material/-/disposable-40-hour-heat-pack/) I have about 60 of them on hand right now, when I get down to 20 I usually order more, they're cheap and their awesome for shipping as well as if power outages happen!

Other than that, is there a way you can move the tanks to at least the same room where the fire/heater is? That would help with their ambient temp. Reptiles are pretty hardy, but 55 degrees is way too cold for them, if you would at least move them near the fire the ambient temps would hopefully be in the mid 60s... they can survive that for a couple days.

Some other things you could try would to be actually putting them in smaller containers, like a cooler. Heating a small insulated area is much easier and keeps the heat better than trying to heat their entire tank. Good luck and keep us posted! Hope you get power back soon!

 

Thank you so much for the reply, I am definitely going to look into ordering those when I get home. They are a good price too.

So I have my gecko in a small sterelite bin wrapped up in blankets with the heat packs which has been easy to heat so far, but the turtle tank is giving me issues. I'm not sure if I should just dry dock him at night when I cannot keep pouring water in the tank. Last night the water in the tank was about 80 at 11pm, but this morning at 7am it had already dropped down to 62. I have had better luck keeping him in the big 40 gallon tank because the water cools down slower, but it is still cooling too quickly for my liking. I am trying to find someone with power or a generator to take them, but no luck so far. Everyone is out of power.

The fireplace is kind of a catch 22. It is in the living room with big wrap around windows, so even with the drapes down the fireplace does nothing to help heat the room, it just keeps the temp from dropping even lower than it already is. We have just been using it to heat water. UGH, this is such a pain in the butt. I wish I was more prepared! I thought I was in the clear because I had a bag of about 25 of those heat pads, but it turns out that they are cheap and arn't lasting long enough. I'll keep you guys updated. I'm really hopeing that someone gets their electricity turned on soon so I can evacuate them, haha.

 

If the fireplace isn't warming the room, I wouldn't move the herps in there just yet. Small animals are pretty sensitive to smoke, so I wouldn't expose them to it if it's not actually warmer in there. Tea candles won't put off much smoke, but they won't put off much heat either...I'd definitely order some of the longer lasting heat packs that stikypaws linked you to as soon as you can and keep utilizing those as you are now. Wal Mart or similar stores should also sell similar heat packs that people put in their pockets during the winter to warm their hands. You can pick up some of those if you are unable to place an order before you run out of what you already have. They don't last long, but they still work as a temporary solution. Dry-docking the turtle is a great idea. In fact, I'd just move him to a small, well-wrapped sterlite bin/rubbermaid container like you've done with the leo (or a cooler, like stikypaws said), with a shallow water source for drinking only. You can actually keep him like this until the power comes back on, not just overnight. (Aquatic turtles with RIs or fungal issues are often kept completely dry until the problem has cleared, so don't worry, he will be okay without his swimming area for a little bit.)

Best of luck! Hopefully you will have power back soon. Last year when there was a power outage, I had to keep Loki in my shirt all day, do I know how stressful it is when your herps are without regular heat, lol. =P

 

Ok, everyone is finally safe, we got our power back on. Of course the utility guys had to wait until I had sent my turtle across town to someone with a generator, but I am not complaining.

I have to admit how surprised I was by how many heat packs I needed. I was so under prepared, although I don't know what I would have done without those cheap hand warmers! I am definitely investing in some of the good heat packs you guys mentioned. I'm thinking a stash of 60 sounds pretty good right now : ) That would definitely reduce my stress level, haha.

 

When our power went out my little python spent time in my sweatshirt pocket and that worked well - but those heat packs sound like a great idea for longer outages. Enlighten me, however, what sort of heat packs should I look for? I am newly back into having reptiles - and it is such a joy! There are a number of things now available that I was unaware of or did not exist when I last had them.

It is also great to have so many women involved! I cannot tell you how much that means to someone who has known only men to be interested in the reptiles I loved!

 

http://superiorshippingsupplies.com/the-store/33/10/shopbrowse/page-1

The above link, and the one Lauren linked to earlier has good heat packs for the job. You're looking for the ones that are 40+ hours, typically meant for shipping live animals. The benefits of these is they're peak temeprature is fairly low (100-120 degrees) on the surface, so its not dangerously hot, and they will produce heat for much longer than your typical hand warmers that only last ~5-10 hours on average and are usually even more pricey.

Glad the power's back on Jess! = )

 

Just as long as you know that once you have them your power will never go out again right? LOL. Glad it's back on!

 

Oh, of course! With my luck, the heat packs would probably expire before the next storm : )

 

yea for toasty warm reptiles! glad your power is back!

 

Glad your power is back and everyone is okay! thats always my biggest fear living in NY ! lol