Power Outages

[Blackenedsabbath]

The power is scheduled to go out for 3 hours on Monday in my area, and I'll be staying home with Pancake during that time to make sure he stays nice and toasty. But this got me thinking, would a bearded dragon be okay if the power randomly went out while they're alone?

 

[CooperDragon]

Yeah for a while. Especially indoors. If it gets too cold they instinctively slow their systems down and sleep similar to brumation. It's best that they don't have this happen but they're pretty tough and can handle cold temps for a while. Especially if they are indoor daytime temps which don't usually get low enough to be harmful.

I live in a storm prone area so I have my lights hooked up to a computer server battery backup which provides a few hours of light runtime. Good for storms and short outages but it's also good to have an emergency kit set up with fresh water, long runtime reptile shipping heat packs, fleece blankets, activated charcoal, canned food such as repashy grub pie, etc.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Stay home and when the power goes out, wrap yourself and the dragon up in something warm , with the dragon close to or on your skin (tummy , chest) and keep it there til the power comes back on.... you are the best heater for a dragon.

Human body temperature is very close to the perfect temperature for a bearded dragon.

There are 12V heatpads , these are an option, simply install it permanently with a 12VDC power supply ( a deep discharge battery with at least 18 AH capacity ) which set up to continuously charge while there is AC power and will provide power for a long time for a 12V heat pad , even a regular heat pad or CHE on a 12VDC / 120VAC 60Hz converter like people use in camping.

These are pretty cheap to but are easy to set up :
https://voltage-converter-transformers.com/collections/power-inverter-12v-dc-to-ac-converters/products/df1753-500-dc-to-ac-power-inverter-500-watt

I'd have the CHE controlled by a switching thermostat so it is only on if the temperature falls below 18 degC (say) and to turn off if the temperature is higher than 30 degC say , as the backup / blackout heating for the viv.

ie

This way the backup CHE wont come on while the regular basking globe and the regular CHE (on an AC circuit) are working.

 

[Blackenedsabbath]

I've read that hand warmers are helpful too to help keep them warm, what safety precautions should be taken with those? During the scheduled outage (and any others that occur while I am home) I'll definitely let him use my body heat since he likes being cuddled anyhow

The heating pad thing is a good idea too, I'll have to take a look into those. But overall if the power went out without me knowing while I'm out of the house he should be okay?

 

[CooperDragon]

Just put them under a towel or blanket and they won't wind up getting too hot. And yes if the house is at a reasonable indoor temperature it shouldn't cause any problems.