Keeping Warm

[pogismom]

We have some nasty wintery weather heading our way here in the south. We are concerned this may knock out our power since our lines are above ground and our neighborhood is surrounded by trees.

We do not have any back up system in our house aside from a gas fireplace that is more decorative than a heating element.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep Pogi my little juvie warm in the event this happens and his UVA & Heat lamps are shutdown?

I thought about putting him in a small critter cage with lots of fleece blankets.

 

[sirenique]

I live in the northeast and have dealt with ice and cold related power failures a few times now. The best advice is to get a generator so you can still run the lamps, but let's face it, they're expensive for many of us to invest in for an event that may happen only once a year.

If the power loss is temporary (say 4-6 hours), grab some cozy heat-trapping blankets, lay Pogi on your sternum, and get those covers snuggled up around the both of you to maintain heat. There's nothing you can really do about the UVA/UVB bulb at this point, so focus on keeping him warm. Your body is an excellent heat source! If you can't use your own body, I've placed some chemical hand warmers in a small cardboard box before, covered the warmers with a few layers of sheets or blankets so that the heat is radiating, but not direct and placed my beardie in there. This will prevent your beardie from getting any burns, but will allow him to still keep warm.

If you're looking a sustained power loss of more than 24 hours -- and judging on the traffic issues I saw in the south the last time you guys had harsh weather -- a generator is the way to go. Get one before the nasty weather moves in, since you know traffic is going to be impossible during the weather. This article has some other great suggestions you can consider. I am lucky enough to have an exotic vet nearby (20 min drive) that I can go to in the event of a sustained power failure, even if the drive is long and difficult to make. I've also gone to friends or family that live in safer areas or have a generator prior to bad storms to avoid this issue; my neighbor is even great about calling me when I'm gone for the night and we experience power outages at my apartment complex so I can come home and keep my beardie warm. A support system is a great thing!

 

[Ralis]

We're due a snowstorm in the north east as well. My battle plan is to put Gorbash in a shoebox with some small towels and those air activated hand warmers. It's only a short term solution but it should keep him warm enough.

I heard that you shouldn't feed them during power outages as well because they can't get their body heat high enough to digest. Is this true and how does that affect babies and juvies who need lots of food?

 

[Missi]

We lost power overnight last week with the ice storm , luckily ( not really since it was 3am) we knew about it because our smoke detectors went off because of the power failure .

I got up and made a warm sleeping bag type thing with some hand warmers wrapped up and hand towels , I put Jim inside and he was fine until the morning and we had power back on .

 

[pogismom]

These are all wonderful and helpful suggestions! Thank you so much!!! We already woke up to about a foot of snow n it is still coming down along with sleet. Not looking good for us to go anywhere. Our cars n tires aren't equipped to ride in the snow n our roads are already blended in with the lawns. I don't have those heat Warner's but will definitely be investing in some. Will end up doing the body heat thing if power goes off. True bonding moment with Pogi indeed!