General Care Discussion :: What if I lost power?!!

[ytse411]

Hey! I'm outside of Albany (Sch'dy-ish area), and we lost power for 3 days. I came home Fri 12/12 and rushed over to Sylvia's 150 gal tank - the water was in the 60's!! I immediately freaked out - she was moving all slow like and slloowwlly turned her head towards me in the dark and looked at me like "uhhh....[!!!] mom!!"

Fortunately I had another house to stay in (Saratoga - who knew THEY had power for once!) and dragged her baby tank- 29 gal - and set up shop for her that way. Checked on the house frequently (fat cats - they were fine) - and the water got to the 50's, at most. I feared the worst - an ice skating rink in the tank, then expansion resulting in the glass cracking. Ugh. The house only got to the 30's one night so no issues...phew!

This was the first time I've lost power for more than several hours in my life. A neighbor had a wood stove and offered to take care of her for me! Very sweet, but I was a panicky mom and needed to keep an eye on her, and I knew I could plug in a heater in her small tank. Good thing that small tank was fine - it hadn't held water for 10 years, and 8 of those my anole lived in it!

Didn't take as long as I thought it would to bring her main tank's water back up, phew! However, if it happens again? Dunno.... bring her to the neighbors house - a close-by wood stove is better than nothing in an emergency for warmth?

[marisa]

If Sylvia's a healthy adult, a temp in the low 60's will slow her down a bit, but shouldn't hurt her once the water is warmed again. My RES will do fine in temps that are in the mid - upper 60's.

If the trip was a long one, I'd be more hesitant to take her out in the cold than keep her where she was. If it happens again, and you're at home, cover the tank to help keep in the warmth and, if you can, wrap it with something like a blanket to insulate it from the cold.