emergency bug out bag planning

[hdochow]

Hi all. I live in a tsunami zone on the Oregon Coast. We were briefly under a watch the other day due to the earthquakes near New Zealand, and it made me realize I need to add items to our bug out bags to care for our new bearded dragon. (I have the things we need for ourselves and our parakeet to cover a week long evacuation.) Already on my list are some 40+ hour heat packs and a small carrier like the ones people use to take cats on airplanes. Any other ideas/suggestions?

 

[CooperDragon]

The heat packs and the carrier are both good. I'd go with the 72hr uniheat packs. They are good for a year or so, so keep an eye on the expiration dates to make sure you always have good ones. They really do stay warm for several days.

Having some small fleece blankets on hand like the ones that PamperedBeardies makes is also good. They are soft and washable.

Having a bag of cleaning supplies can be helpful. Things like a spray bottle of vinegar, F10, some paper towels, waste bags, etc.

If you want, you could have a portable basking setup ready. You can set it up next to the carrier in a hotel or temporary spot. An adjustable lamp stand, dome fixture, and mercury vapor bulb along with an IR temp gun should do.

Keeping some bags of frozen veges/greens may be useful if you aren't sure if you'll have access to food for a while.

 

[kingofnobbys]

For quick bugout in emergency - tornado, hurricane, earthquake, flood, tsusami, insurrection
calico bags or cotton pillow cases are ok to place the pet lizards into to help them travel stress free , I'd have some converted tubs stashed somewhere that are quickly accessible to put in the car or trailer ( will be handy to put other bulky stuff in too while bugging out )
https://www.petwave.com.au/breathable-calico-bags-for-insects-and-reptiles-wi
these are standard kit for local snake catchers here in Australia .

I'd set up some 120L to 130L tubs complete with 12V DC or USB powered heatpads each & Exo Terra NanoHoods with a 26W UVB200 CFB in each.

like

https://www.bunnings.com.au/montgomery-clear-modular-storage-container-128l_p0219788
These are big enough even to keep a full grown bearded dragon in for weeks even if necessary.
57cm high ,so the 26W UVB200 mounted in a NanoHood under the lid will be perfect distance for adequate basking for UVA and UVB when the dragon is ontop a jumbosized hubbahut
77cm long and 40cm wide is enough space for an adult CBD to maneuver about and perfect for hatchling CBDs and juvenile CBD to about 12 months old or so.
These tubs can be set up as long term rearing tanks and stacked.
Access is by uncliplocking the lid and simply lifting one end enough to slide partly off.



I use a similar set up for my water skink and for my hatchling and juvenile bearded dragons , in my case I mount the Nanohood inside attached under the lid
procedure
> unscrew the 4 screws that hold the nanohood reflector in place , lift the reflector out
> place the tub lid upside down on a suitable surface that you wont mind drilling into , locate the upside down nanohood where you want it ( I suggest on long centreline and 1 hoodwide from one end of the lid ) drill suitable sized holes through the top of the hood and through the lid to screw 4x M4 hex head self tapping screws into )
> screw the M4 hexhead screws into place hand tight - to avoid splitting plastic in lid
> replace the reflector and screw unplace
> install UVB200
the cord will need some clothtape to hold it to underside of the lid and will drape over the top lip of the tub when the lid is on and cliplocked in place.

Mini version ( 29L EWS tub )

Fluffy was moved back into this when her tank mate who shared a 120L tub with her died , this is my original skink rescue/hospital tub . Fluffy is an adult eastern water skink , she's 13" TTL and 35g.
At one stage I had 2 adult eastern water skinks and juvenile eastern water skink ( a little boy ) sharing the same 120L tub.
The little male was chased relentlessly the younger adult female so he was moved into the 29L tub , and was fine for couple of months til one day he took advantage of my having the lid off to remove his water dish to clean it and he surprised me by leaping up to the rim of the open tub and then climbed out and went off exploring ( disappearing under the fridge in the kitchen , and then finding is way outside where he spent winter , and is now back inside visiting ( see lounge lizard photo other day ).
The younger female Gutzy died over winter (thought she had gone into brumation when she didn't do her customary TV watch, begging for crickets and pool splashing each day , til I started smelling that smell) , at that point I moved Fluffy back unto the old 29L tub , and gave the 120L tub an thorough F10ing incase what ever took my girl was contagious. That 120L tub is now in storage in my garage for if I ever find someone who has some captive bred baby eastern water skinks or maybe a pair of baby shinglebacks ( a M+F pair would be nice ).
Fluffy was rescued about 5 years ago . So she's getting quite old for a water skink , about 7 years old .


Ventilation
take an electric soldering iron and make 100 holes near bottom of one end of the tub
make 100 holes near to top of the tub at the other end.

minimalist electric heating - either a 7W AC film style heatpad ( sandwiched between 2 layers of ceramic floor tiles or a 12VDC heatpad ( to run directly from a 12V car battery or 12V powertank or a 12V solar panel .

Strongly suggest a simple thermostat to ensure you can maintain a suitable POBT for the dragon, I set my thermostats to 36 degC , the thermostat will ensure the heatpad will NEVER overheat if short (failure) happens to the heatpad's internal temperature limiting cct , the thermostat will sense overtemperature and cut the current.

or

https://www.amazon.com.au/Reptile-Tank-Heating-Pad-Waterproof/dp/B07KXDCCCL/ref=sr_1_24?dchild=1&keywords=7w+heat+pad&qid=1615185560&sr=8-24

 

[hdochow]

Thank you both for the detailed responses. I've got myself a little list going and will be working on getting things as money allows. This is worst case scenario planning, so here's to hoping I truly never have to use these things!

What would you suggest for lighting when there is no power? Is there really anything portable that is adequate? Right now all I can think of is to get him out into natural light every day and hope the evacuation isn't for very long.

 

[CooperDragon]

Natural light is great when the weather allows for it. They (Especially adults) do pretty well without lights for a while really. In an emergency situation as long as you have a way to warm them up if they get too cold (more of an issue in winter) then they'll be OK.

Since my area is prone to tornadoes and power outages, I have my enclosure lighting connected to a UPS designed for a computer server and that gives me several hours continuously if needed. Handles most brief outages with no problem. I also have a boat battery that I keep charged and connected to an inverter which can run the lights for a while. It is on a cart and is portable. For longer durations, a generator would really be needed.

 

[hdochow]

Is there a general conversion somewhere on how much time outside equals this amount of time under a proper light set up?

I did buy one of the fleece blankets from PamperedBeardies. I have a sewing machine so I plan on making several more in case they get dirty. I wanted to buy at least one though to use as a template and help support their rescue. It comes with 2 heat packs so even better! Do you know if the different hour heat packs give out different temperatures? Or are they the same temp lasting different amounts of time?

I really like the idea of the UPS. Is there a specific one you suggest, or are they pretty much all the same? We have a lot of short power outages here, too (Oregon Coast winter storms!) so I think getting one would be money well spent.

 

[CooperDragon]

There are some general numbers floating around but I don't really buy into it as a realistic conversion between sunlight and artificial lighting. They tend to bask for a few hours each day and then kind of move around to different levels of heat and UVB. If your UVB output is similar to what you'd get on a sunny day (this varies depending on season, time, etc) then they'll usually enjoy an hour outside. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

As far as I know, the heat packs that are designed for shipping reptiles are a lower heat output and run for the time advertised. The hand warmer heat packs tend to be quick burning and hotter (so best to wrap them in a towel to prevent burns). I've used the 72hr ones camping and they really do stay warm to the touch (not hot) for several days. Easily enough to heat a pet carrier in a tent overnight with cool temps.

I tend to use APC UPS systems in most of the servers I work on (I'm a computer engineer). They aren't cheap by any means, but they are high quality. The APC website has runtime calculators that help match the best fit based on the wattage you plan to draw from them. They have a range going up from desktop backup systems that are good for low draw in short outages, up through server grade setups that will run for hours even with a relatively heavy load. These tend to have higher quality electronics that help to protect server and network equipment from surges as well as network connectivity and monitoring software etc that aren't necessary for keeping the lights on.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Pretty handy to have a small solar panel in the kit

smallests I have seen with a useful W output is 12V 60W Solar Panel + Anderson Plug Cable,
https://www.sunyee.com.au/products/60w-solar-panel-12v-mono-generator-caravan-camping-battery-power?CAWELAID=120075310000000144&CATARGETID=120075310000014021&CADevice=c&gclid=Cj0KCQiA-aGCBhCwARIsAHDl5x_UG1cbPVBjrEi_ZmDmAzbVlyjbfGc8-cA5PsCC77kkasbg7rWnQy4aAt7NEALw_wcB
would be enough to power a 7W heatpad and a 26W UVB200 in a dragon's bugout tank

I'd go for a 120W to 160W solar panel , if you want to run other stuff too ( ie , can also use it when camping and in emergencies to keep a 12V battery charged ( so you can run a fridge )) .
https://www.catch.com.au/product/teksolar-12v-160w-solar-panel-anderson-plug-cable-camping-charge-4790191/?sid=Product%20page%20Recommendation&st=59&sp=26

Add a 12VDC to AC inverter to take power from the battery and you have a portable emergency AC power supply .