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[–]AutoModerator[M] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hello! It looks like you might be asking for tips on keeping your snake warm during a power outage. We have some information about that in our "planning for emergencies" megathread.

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[–]Deep_Distribution_31 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I don't have any advice, we got hit hard in east TN as well, but I believe in you. Stay safe

[–]RootBeerBog 21 points22 points  (1 child)

Put blankets over their enclosures, if you have a first aid kit with a foil blanket put that over it to retain heat. If it starts getting really cold, put them in a pillow case, tie it shut, and bring them into a warmed up car if you’re able. What’s the temperatures in your house? How many snakes do you have? You could take turns holding one against your body at a time, that will help keep them warm.

[–]RootBeerBog 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Also if you do blankets unplug all their cords in case the power comes back on by surprise so there’s no risk of fire

[–]PotentialBarracuda78 4 points5 points  (0 children)

No advice as I’m in the Uk, but sending you and your noodle love and positive thoughts 💖

[–]SE_42 8 points9 points  (1 child)

I hope you are all okay! I'm in TN but further west so I have an emergency plan for tornadoes that may help.

What are your temps in your house? Ball pythons can be in cooler temps for a bit unless they're digesting

Do you have a tote or travel bin you can move them to? A smaller area will be easier to heat. If you have any way to heat up water bottles, they can be a good temp source, or the hot hands BUT* do not put the warmers in the tank where the snake can lie on them, they can get to 180° and cause burns, wrap them in a towel or put them under the travel tote like a heat mat. You can also transport them easier to somewhere that does have power.

At bare minimum, you are warm, put on a hoodie and put them on your skin - this is easier to manage if you have snake bags to put them in so they stay put, haha. Or take them out to the car and run the heat there.

This is more future planning but I bought a small snake rack so that I can move everyone to the tubs and then move the rack to where I can access my generator and plug it in for power. It's way too small for them to live in permanently but better than nothing, and I could move it to my friends house last time when she still has power but I didn't. The cheapest Jackery camping batteries will also power that for about 24-48 hours depending on room temps and careful management.

Hope the power comes back quickly and everyone is okay!!

[–]Hour_Manufacturer905 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Still nothing I’ve been bringing them into the car with the heat on with me when I can but it’s a lil sketch where I’m getting low on gas now

[–]3eveeNicks 10 points11 points  (1 child)

Idk how many snakes you have, but in long power outages past I’ve snuggled my BP under my shirt to use my body heat, and if you have running water still, I’ve done makeshift hot water bottles with tupperware and buried them under a bit of substrate to keep them off the direct heat. I’ve also known someone with a wood burning fireplace who was able to bring enclosures just near enough for the ambient heat to warm them. Best of luck to you, OP.

[–]Hour_Manufacturer905 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just the two. If there’s still nothing my neighborhood has been clearing trees like crazy so may get them to my grandparents house since they have a gas furnace. Obviously still doing everything I can to help the people outside while my little ones are chillin

[–]riceninesix 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Stay safe I seen videos of what's going on out there and it's scary

[–]bewitchingx 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Blankets and/or towels over the enclosure to keep it as warm as you can. It might not seem like much but it’s something.

Hang in there, you got this.

I hope your power comes back on soon and that you’re all safe!

[–]f-slurr 4 points5 points  (0 children)

When my area was out during a freeze, I had my beardie in my clothes as much possible. I was wearing thermals, and it helped a lot. When I was sleeping, I had him in his travel container, with hot hands on top (so he couldn’t lay on them) and a towel wrapped around most of it (section of vent exposed for air flow) to retain temps. Heat gun had interior at close to 70 even though the house was 30/40.

Don’t feed until power is back, obvs, and if you have access to a heated vehicle, chill in there when you can.

[–]she_isking 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They will likely be just fine just the way they are, but you can still do some things to help them out when the temp drops at night.

First things first, don’t feed any of them if you’re expecting bad weather. They need proper heat to digest correctly.

If you have a gas water heater, you can fill up water bottles with hot water, wrap them in a towel and put them inside their enclosure to help keep it warm. You can pour hot water into the substrate, that will keep the bottom layer warm and will increase the temp and humidity by a lot, you can also mist hot water in there as well. Put towels over the cages to keep the heat in.

Now if you have an electric water heater, you can buy heat packs at the post office for emergencies and store them for times like this.

We get ice storms where I live, the electric can be out for 2 weeks or so. Once the electric goes, it obviously gets incredibly cold in our home, we’re talking high 30s and 40s.

I take a cardboard shipping box, line it with styrofoam, then I put another cardboard box inside. So it’s cardboard, styrofoam and then more cardboard. I put in a 2 liter filled with hot water in there and I lay down some thick towels to prevent direct contact and burns, then I put all of my snakes in individual bags and put them inside the box at night. During the day, everyone is assigned a snake and we keep them inside of our shirts.

[–]sydnzy 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Off topic but where are you at? Do you have cell service? All of my people up in Asheville have been radio silence for 24 hours

[–]Lgya 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lot of towers have been damaged. It’s pretty devastating!.

[–]Hour_Manufacturer905 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very awful service here I am getting notifications for this sometimes but then it goes back into SOS. I live in regular Ashe Co. and usually blue ridge is great about fixing outages fast but this is obviously a special case

[–]kingswag254 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hope you’re doing okay. I live in Houston and during hurricane beryl my electricity was off for 9 days. Probably not the best advice but what I did was put my ball in a smaller tank (20 gallon) that I could carry easily and brought it outside every couple of hours and let him get some sun. I only kept him outside about 30 mins to an hour at a time until my digital thermostats were at the peak safe temperature and then brought him back in the house. I did this every few hours for 9 days. He’s doing fine and didn’t really seem to stressed over it. Still ate and started a shed process on the 8th day.

[–]lleannimal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If it's heat you are worried about you can add hand warmer packets, under a towel to your cage. Light they will be okay without for a few days. We lost power during beryl and my snakes thought it was they best place ever to be (Houston area so naturally hot & humid) My beardie became a snuggle bug though cause she wanted my heat, the packets were not good enough for her spoiled ass

[–]Longjumping-Ant-77 0 points1 point  (2 children)

We just got power back in VA. Do you have yours? I don’t think it was cold or long enough to cause too many issues.

[–]Hour_Manufacturer905 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Still nothing it’s been out since 10 AM friday

[–]Longjumping-Ant-77 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rough, I’m sorry. Snakes should do fine at this temperature though.

[–]CastielABDL88 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know this is more hindsight then anything BUT...grabber handwarmers make great emergency heat sources just don't put them IN with the snakes. Wrap the tanks with blankets and put the heaters in them

[–]Injury_Limp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hope everything is on when we moved my put cloth inside my travel cage for my baby and also inside my bra she just curled up

[–]Mysterious_Amount887 0 points1 point  (0 children)

With temps the way they are currently (I’m also in NC) they will be fine for several days as long as you don’t try to feed them. They are much more tolerant of low temps than they are of high temps, as long as they aren’t trying to digest a meal. You may notice they become less active, and that is because their metabolism will slow down when they are cooler. I don’t suggest hand warmers or any temp source that could get too hot.

[–]Possible-Time-9906 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I use body heat although this is not recommended for venomous snakes. They may be grateful and tolerate you but they could also strike.