Be prepared for winter weather!

TiyahLove

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I know a lot of members on this forum are people that have recently gotten their first tortoise, and a lot have had tortoises for years. The weather hitting the east coast right now has inspired me to create this post to help those with new tortoises be prepared for the cold weather and power outages for a lot. All of what I am going to advise if from my personal experiences of dealing with snow storms and power outages.

First of all water and heat are the essentials you need to make sure are provided throughout the cold weather. From personal experiences of having a well, many people with well water should prepare by getting multiple jugs of water, fill all water bowls, and fill all of your misting bottles with water and frequently top these off with water as needed to ensure that you have water to last multiple days if you lose power.
If you are expecting a power outage or not make sure you have a back up method of heating. I have a generator thankfully or else my zoo would surely die, many don't so make sure you have a backup method for heat. Space heaters work well, but make sure they aren't radiating any harmful fumes. Another method that I favor is heating pads, again heating pads won't work unless you have a generator.

Make sure all your food items are well stored and that you have stocked up on these items in case you get snowed in for longer than intended. If you lose power and have no way of storing these items you can place them in an air tight and water tight bag and store them in the snow. Make sure it is an air tight and water tight bag so no bugs or anything from the elements can damage your food items.

I can't stress enough how much water is needed, I repeat make sure all your water bowls, misters, and extra water containers are filled up and frequently topped off. This is one of the essentials in your tortoises life and without it you can have an ill tortoise. Water is just as important as heat so make sure you always have a backup plan in case you lose power at your household.

Always prepare for the worst even if the worst doesn't happen because you never know and it is not worth the risk.
 

Len B

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Great advice, We had an ice storm hit us in Calvert County Maryland 20 years ago during the 1994 Olympics, this new storm is traveling the same path as the 94 storm but it must be colder down south than it was in 94 because the ice didn't start building up until Eastern Tenn, and then there was a narrow band of very heavy ice that hit us. We were without electric for 13 days, we have a well system with an eighty gallon storage tank, which was a blessing, a couple things to think about, if you have a storage tank turn the water supply off to each toilet and use melted ice or snow to flush, and if it is legal or you think you can get away with it, a shotgun and bird shot is a great way to keep any large trees that may be hanging over your house from having ice buildup to the point of snapping and doing damage, the shorter the barrel the better the pellet spread, IT WORKS. Back in 1994 everyone said that that storm was a once in a lifetime ice storm, I hope it was.
 

TiyahLove

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I know Atlanta is supposed to get it bad this time around. At least 1/2 inch of ice and widespread power outages for days. I know a guy that's been breeding ball pythons for a lot longer than me and he lives in Atlanta, called him up last night to make sure head his animals where doing okay. He doesn't have a generator, or backup heat of any kind.
 

Jacqui

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Filling bathtubs with water is another good place to store water.

Len I had never heard about the shooting the trees bit, nice to learn that trick.

If you all need more thoughts, there are many many threads already out there on what to do incase of loss of electricity and other emergencies.
 

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