EARTHQUAKE WORRIES

Hi! Coming from California, I bet at least alot of you have heard of the recent earthquakes. I was just wondering what everyone else does to not worry so much about their beardies left at home. Today I was totally not worried until the Aftershock from the 7.1 earthquake today. I bet it also doesn't help that I have a horrible fear of earthquakes. Anyways, what do you guys do?

Your dragons are more likely to come through a major earthquake if they are housed in a good strong timber viv.
Chances are not so good if it's made of glass.

We get earthquakes here in Australia too , but most dragons that are kept as pets are housed in timber vivs here rather than converted fish-tanks with mesh tops.

Unless the quake is a major one ( more powerful than magnitude 7 , where buildings are likely to collapse or a tsunami or landslips are likely as a result , the most serious issues will be :
>>> falling tipping over of heavy objects outside the viv onto the viv , and inside viv (some logs and décor can be heavy) ==> injured reptiles (broken bones and crush injuries)
>>> the viv or it's stand being upset and tipping over
>>> extended periods of power loss ( meaning no heat in cold areas )
>>> forced / mandatory evacuations where there is no provision for reptilian pets (meaning they are left without food or care until the order is lifted).

Did your dragon display any unusual behaviours prior to the quake ? (sensing the infrasound and electrical fields that can be created as stresses build prior to these events .)

I suggest if you are in an earthquake prone area, and you have hatchlings or juvenile pet dragons , you should always have a bottle Repashi GrubPie on hand as an emergency protein / food source if it becomes impossible find live feeder insects after a major quake for perhaps several weeks if there is a lot of property damage and roads are closed to all but local residents (this is a situation that can last many months while emergency services restore utilities, demolish dangerously damaged / written off buildings , and people are repairing their homes (once the insurance comes through).

You need to secure them to the wall somehow, as you should do with all large furniture items.

If you have a glass tank, your best bet is to secure the stand it sits on to the wall with earthquake straps, and find a way to potentially lock the tank to the stand. Or, you can get high strength steel wire to wrap around the tank, and secure that to the wall if you are really concerned about it. you cn get surprisingly thin braided steel line and depending on how you do it, you might not even hardly see it wrapped around your tank (if it's tucked up to the top where the plastic casing is.)

A glass tank will be no more dangerous than a wooden tank unless the tank falls, or if something falls on it. The advantage a wooden tank has, is usually the lighting is securely mounted to it. So you'd want to figure out a way to also secure your lighting.

This is all good timing to focus on earthquake proofing your home, knowing where your water and gas shut offs are, and preparing for what you need to do, if one strikes hard where you live.

We moved into a new home last year, and it was a nice reminder for us that we have done nothing to prepare for what to do if a quake hits us hard. So it is good to create a plan of action.

-Brandon

Thanks