We got snow here in Oklahoma early this season. I am in a remote area and it is not uncommon to have power outages during the winter. We run kerosene heaters and bundle up. What do I do to keep Digger, my Russian tort, warm for a couple days?
Power Out - ?
- Thread starter RainsOn
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I keep a supply of those hand warmers around along with smaller boxes they can fit in, so I don't try to heat a large area. I use towels, newspapers, and sheets for wrapping/insulating those boxes in. The handwarmer I place in old socks, pillowcases or under the containers I have the animal in. If you have ice chests or other insulated boxes those are good to place the smaller containers in.
Being you have a Russian, it's nice because they can take a bit more cold then some other varieties.
Being you have a Russian, it's nice because they can take a bit more cold then some other varieties.
Prairie Mom
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This is such a great question! Thanks for posting this. I'm eager to read what members say on the subject.
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If you have a source for heating water, such as a wood stove or a hot water tank with a pilot light (those are disappearing!) then fill any bottles or jars with hot water. Plastic soda bottles work. Instant hot water bottle. Good idea to insulate with a towel and use a small area instead of trying to heat a large habitat.
M
Maggie Cummings
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That's what I use for the smaller guys. But what in the heck would I do with Bob? The power went out and in less than 2 hours his shed had dropped 25 degrees. It was 23 outside. In his case that still left his shed's ambient temp at 65, but what if it's off for hours? This paycheck I'm getting a remote temp gun...
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Woodstove? Generator? A smaller area that can be insulated & warmed without him bulldozing his way out?
Prairie Mom
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Woodburning stove etc is great. Sadly, that remains on my wish list. I've been wondering if there are small space heaters that run on batteries?? If there is such a thing, I imagine we could crate a larger tortoise near a space heater. I'll have to investigate this a little more.
this is exactly what I do. Except I order 40 hour heat packs from LLLReptile instead of hand warmers.
http://www.smarter.com/se--qq-battery+space+heaters.html
Apparently, there's a whole market for that! Could come in very handy...
What do you do if your tort is hibernating? Would power outs affect their core temp enough for them to be seriously disturbed?
As long as they are in a location that doesn't freeze it will be ok.
I was given a small generator, I have yet to use it but I have it in case. We don't have harsh winters but the generator can come in handy for my pond,
Kyle
Kyle
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Thanks for checking this out for me, Delaney! I looked briefly on Amazon and couldn't find anything that doesn't require electricity. This one should work really nicely in an emergency! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Indoor-Conv...m-Garage-/251624790790?_trksid=p2054897.l4275 I'm going to look into those 40hr heat packs too!
Your welcome! Targets sells them too, but they were a lot smaller than could help with a 100pd tortoiseThanks for checking this out for me, Delaney! I looked briefly on Amazon and couldn't find anything that doesn't require electricity. This one should work really nicely in an emergency! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Indoor-Conv...m-Garage-/251624790790?_trksid=p2054897.l4275 I'm going to look into those 40hr heat packs too!
Prairie Mom
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Target too, huh!? I had no idea. You must be a good shopperYour welcome! Targets sells them too, but they were a lot smaller than could help with a 100pd tortoise
I think I need Santa to bring me one of those bigger space heaters
We have a wood stove so I mean I dont have many worries, my cousin who also has a russian, brings him in a plastic container near the fireplace (glass doors closed of course) and honestly if one of us lost power significantly long I'd probably send Nank on a cousin "vacation" or offer for her Rafael to come over for a while (she's the only one I REALLY trust to sit Nank, but for weekends my dad's great about feeding him). Anyways before I get more off topic I have no idea how i'd deal with power outing in an apartment (probably send him here or to my cousin if it was cold enough) but I have thought up the hand warmer idea, so I'm glad people do that. I mean if i got really desperate I could go a little crazy and curl myself up in as many blankets as possible and share my body heat or go heat up my car (lol yup i'm crazy in case you didn't know)
We've got wood heat for us and a huge generator we can literally “plug" our house into. This powers all our torts as well as our aquariums and most importantly, the satellite tv. We live on a well with a 1200 gal holding tank so even water is not an issue for us. Remember to have a car charger for your phone so you can stay up to date with the forum as well.
Just a suggestion, I would do a trial run of that generator to make sure it works. You don't want to be in the middle of an emergency and realize it doesn't work or you don't know how to make it work.
It's always best to do practice runs of any emergency.
We have a small generator that will run the torts shed. The rest of us will have to hunker down with them. Within the next two years we will be getting one of those whole house generators that automatically comes on when power fails. At our other building, we never lost power, at our new place here, we have no idea if power is lost often or not. Hopefully not.
