Power outage - new baby beardie 😓

[ArtClassBeardie]

Hi Everyone,

I have a three-month-old bearded dragon as a classroom pet. He/she is in a 4'x2'x2' zen habitat. Unfortunately, we've been hit by a power outage for about 20 hours now, and there are widespread issues in the area. The power went out around 12:30 pm yesterday, and given the current circumstances, it might take a while for the power to be restored.

The good news is that the school has a generator that's keeping the classroom at a stable 70 degrees Fahrenheit. However, I'm concerned about my baby beardie's well-being given the circumstances. I plan to go to the school to check on them even though there's no school today.

To provide a bit more context, my beardie had only been in its new home for 24 hours before the power outage hit. It's definitely not an ideal situation, and I want to ensure I'm doing everything I can to keep it comfortable and healthy during this unexpected power outage. If the classroom has dropped below 70, I could bring him/her home and put him/her near the woodstove? With the beardie being so young and so new to this situation, I don't want to unnecessarily stress them out more.

Any advice on what I should do in this situation? Are there specific measures I should take to keep my baby beardie safe and comfortable without the usual heat lamps and equipment? I'd greatly appreciate any guidance or tips you can share, as I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by the whole situation.

 

[KarrieRee]

Hi Everyone,

I have a three-month-old bearded dragon as a classroom pet. He/she is in a 4'x2'x2' zen habitat. Unfortunately, we've been hit by a power outage for about 20 hours now, and there are widespread issues in the area. The power went out around 12:30 pm yesterday, and given the current circumstances, it might take a while for the power to be restored.

The good news is that the school has a generator that's keeping the classroom at a stable 70 degrees Fahrenheit. However, I'm concerned about my baby beardie's well-being given the circumstances. I plan to go to the school to check on them even though there's no school today.

To provide a bit more context, my beardie had only been in its new home for 24 hours before the power outage hit. It's definitely not an ideal situation, and I want to ensure I'm doing everything I can to keep it comfortable and healthy during this unexpected power outage. If the classroom has dropped below 70, I could bring him/her home and put him/her near the woodstove? With the beardie being so young and so new to this situation, I don't want to unnecessarily stress them out more.

Any advice on what I should do in this situation? Are there specific measures I should take to keep my baby beardie safe and comfortable without the usual heat lamps and equipment? I'd greatly appreciate any guidance or tips you can share, as I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by the whole situation.

Get him into a smaller tank like a 20 gallon - get some packing warmers they would use for shipping dragons - place them in the tank but make sure you cover them like w/ a dish towels or towel etc so he does not burn him self - make sure you have some digital probe thermometers in the tank so you can get ambient temps --70 is a good ambient temp for him but not ideal for basking and its not hot enough to start digestion - can you run his UVB? If so I would keep that on -- I am going to flag CooperDragon see if he can help here
@CooperDragon

 

[CooperDragon]

It's probably a stressful situation but since the heat is steady, it's probably not going to be a huge problem in the long run as long as the power comes back on within the next day or two. It's tougher with a young dragon like this, but I'd imagine they will naturally slow their systems down a bit and probably nap more often.
As mentioned, using the reptile shipping heat packs (usually 48hr runtime) works really well and I keep them on hand for emergencies and travel. It may not be easy to get them on short notice unless you have a reptile supply store in the area though. The hand warmer packets can work but they burn hotter so you'd want to put them under a towel to prevent burns or overheating.
I would probably keep everything the same tankwise to minimize stress and just try to ride it out this time. Since the temps are stable, I think moving between enclosures might be more stressful than helpful.

Another nice thing to have is a UPS (battery backup) like what is used for computer equipment. These vary in price depending on the runtime and load they need to support. A basic model designed to support a single desktop computer could be useful in future outages. These tend to work better for short outages though since the runtime is typically just a few hours. Having one of these would at least let you run the UVB or run the basking light intermittently for a while.

 

[ArtClassBeardie]

Get him into a smaller tank like a 20 gallon - get some packing warmers they would use for shipping dragons - place them in the tank but make sure you cover them like w/ a dish towels or towel etc so he does not burn him self - make sure you have some digital probe thermometers in the tank so you can get ambient temps --70 is a good ambient temp for him but not ideal for basking and its not hot enough to start digestion - can you run his UVB? If so I would keep that on -- I am going to flag CooperDragon see if he can help here
@CooperDragon

Okay thank you for responding. I'm thinking I should bring him home if it looks like it's going to be a while until the power is restored, I'm waiting until noon. His weekend tank is a 20-gallon, and I could set it up near the woodstove. We also have solar backup at my house, and I could run the UVB off of that, but not the heat lamps.
I'm hoping luck is on my side and they get the power back on at school by the end of today.

 

[ArtClassBeardie]

It's probably a stressful situation but since the heat is steady, it's probably not going to be a huge problem in the long run as long as the power comes back on within the next day or two. It's tougher with a young dragon like this, but I'd imagine they will naturally slow their systems down a bit and probably nap more often.
As mentioned, using the reptile shipping heat packs (usually 48hr runtime) works really well and I keep them on hand for emergencies and travel. It may not be easy to get them on short notice unless you have a reptile supply store in the area though. The hand warmer packets can work but they burn hotter so you'd want to put them under a towel to prevent burns or overheating.
I would probably keep everything the same tankwise to minimize stress and just try to ride it out this time. Since the temps are stable, I think moving between enclosures might be more stressful than helpful.

Another nice thing to have is a UPS (battery backup) like what is used for computer equipment. These vary in price depending on the runtime and load they need to support. A basic model designed to support a single desktop computer could be useful in future outages. These tend to work better for short outages though since the runtime is typically just a few hours. Having one of these would at least let you run the UVB or run the basking light intermittently for a while.

Okay, I just read this after posting to Karrie. I will call my pet store to see if they carry the reptile shipping heat packs, and I will definitely order some to have on hand in the future. I'll keep him in his current tank as long as possible.
I'm still planning to check on him today to make sure the classroom is still at 70. Luckily it hasn't been super cold outside during this rain/wind storm. Thanks so much for a speedy reply!

 

[CooperDragon]

The advantage to having him back home would be that you could keep a closer eye on him. If he is used to being transported in the smaller tank, that may not be as stressful as if it were a new place. These guys are generally pretty tough so I'd try to keep him comfortable but not let it stress you out too much. Think of it like a cold front went through their natural habitat and it's cloudy for a few days. They'd be likely to hunker down and wait it out.
The heat packs I'm thinking of are 72-hr UniHeat brand. If you have a solar power supply you could use that to provide some intermittent light similarly to how I mentioned using the UPS. The problem with the basking lights - as you were saying - is that they have a pretty large power draw and won't have a very long runtime. I would be more worried about getting that set up if the temperatures were dropping down near freezing.

 

[ArtClassBeardie]

The advantage to having him back home would be that you could keep a closer eye on him. If he is used to being transported in the smaller tank, that may not be as stressful as if it were a new place. These guys are generally pretty tough so I'd try to keep him comfortable but not let it stress you out too much. Think of it like a cold front went through their natural habitat and it's cloudy for a few days. They'd be likely to hunker down and wait it out.
The heat packs I'm thinking of are 72-hr UniHeat brand. If you have a solar power supply you could use that to provide some intermittent light similarly to how I mentioned using the UPS. The problem with the basking lights - as you were saying - is that they have a pretty large power draw and won't have a very long runtime. I would be more worried about getting that set up if the temperatures were dropping down near freezing.

He is super new. I just brought him to his new enclosure in my classroom on Sunday. So he hasn't been to his 20 gallon enclosure at my house yet.
Should I try to keep him in the classroom until then if the heat stays at 70? If my classroom has dropped down to 60 should I just bring him home and keep him here until after break?
My plan was he would come home with me on Friday and spend ten days over break in his 20 gallon tank at my house. Then he would go back to his classroom enclosure after Christmas break.

 

[AHBD]

Good advice so far. I would say that you might as well bring him home sooner than Friday if your house has a guaranteed heat source until the regular power is back. Was there an estimated date for your area to get the power back on ?

 

[ArtClassBeardie]

Good advice so far. I would say that you might as well bring him home sooner than Friday if your house has a guaranteed heat source until the regular power is back. Was there an estimated date for your area to get the power back on ?

No estimate from the power company yet. We live close to the coast in Maine, and we were hit hard by high winds all day yesterday. At this point, there are a lot of variables, and I'm trying to decide what will be the best thing is to do for him. If my classroom is colder than I thought, I'm wondering if I should just bring him home.

 

[KarrieRee]

No estimate from the power company yet. We live close to the coast in Maine, and we were hit hard by high winds all day yesterday. At this point, there are a lot of variables, and I'm trying to decide what will be the best thing is to do for him. If my classroom is colder than I thought, I'm wondering if I should just bring him home.

I would so you could keep an eye on him ---

 

[AHBD]

I think so too, take him home. Then when you get him set up post some pics here. A tip for if you use any heat packs, when you get them out of the package you shake them, that activates the material that produces the heat. Once you feel it warming up you wrap it in newspaper and tape it. That keeps it heated better and keeps the dragon from potentially getting burned. If the heaters are just under a towel the b.d. can still get under and next to it, so it's best to lightly wrap them. A 40 hr. pack gets warmer than a 72 which doesn't heat up very well but is O.K in a pinch.
You probably won't need them as long as you keep your car in the mid 70's during the drive and your house is warm near the wood stove.

 

[ArtClassBeardie]

He's at my house now in a cat carrier. He has his bed in there, and the temp is about 77.
His enclosure at school had dropped to 65, and he was still sleeping in the same place as yesterday.
When I picked him up, he hissed at me, so I think he's still okay though, lol.
He seemed to enjoy the car ride at 85 degrees. Me, not so much haha.
Should I try to feed him? He hasn't eaten anything since Sunday when they fed him.
I can't put him in his 20-gallon as it's in a colder part of my house; he is as close to the woodstove as possible now in the carrier.

 

[KarrieRee]

He's at my house now in a cat carrier. He has his bed in there, and the temp is about 77.
His enclosure at school had dropped to 65, and he was still sleeping in the same place as yesterday.
When I picked him up, he hissed at me, so I think he's still okay though, lol.
He seemed to enjoy the car ride at 85 degrees. Me, not so much haha.
Should I try to feed him? He hasn't eaten anything since Sunday when they fed him.
I can't put him in his 20-gallon as it's in a colder part of my house; he is as close to the woodstove as possible now in the carrier.

Move your 20 gallon if you can and get your tank set up - you can try feeding him he may not eat anything being his temps are not up to par-

 

[AHBD]

Lol, you were very self self sacrificing to go on that hot car ride.
You can offer 1-2 insects, nothing bigger than the space between TBD's eyes, that's VERY important with a baby. If the insects are very small you can offer 2-3 . Can you post pics of TBD, also the insects and his carrier ?

 

[ArtClassBeardie]

Here is his 20 gallon Thrive enclosure. I have the 24-watt T5 Arcadia UVB on for now.
I had to set it up quickly, I used clean towels for the bottom until I can get another Zen mat. I didn't like the reptile carpet that came with the tank. The little bed he's on will go back and forth to school and home. I wanted something I could wash and would be familiar to him in both enclosures. Currently, it's at 80 degrees on the side closest to the wood stove.