No power

[evanmendez]

Well power went out in my house and it's cold outside.It might be like this for awhile since the roads are frozen and they can't come fix it .its also not getting warm any time soon.might be like this for 4 days,what could I do? And ice is coming down off and on.he has no source of heat ,and also no uv .id put him next to the window but it's cold and there's no light coming through. Any suggestions ?

 

[MSAquatics]

I have a generator I can run my whole house off of. Investing in a generator is a must with aquariums and chameleons. You could go pick one up to run space heaters and anything else through extension cords. Mine plugs into an outside outlet and runs through my circuit breaker panel. I shut the main 100 amp breaker off to the whole house, and then turn on the breaker to the generator and it back feeds the power through its breaker. It cost about $300 to have the panel wired to run the whole house.

Good luck,
Leland

 

[werecat]

I'm no expert but I think he can get by for a few days without UV. The heat is a bigger problem. I think many people in cold areas keep heat packs on hand for such emergencies. Are you able to get out of the house or are you stuck? If you can, go out and buy some heat packs. You could place them near the cage or wrap them in a towel and place in his cage. Also, some people have generators for emergency but that doesn't help you now.

I know many species can handle as low as 50 degrees at night but not sure if that's safe for several days. What species do you have and where are you located? For now maybe cover the cage with some blankets to keep any remaining heat in. I also read once of someone letting their chameleon hang out on them for warmth. Your body heat may be the warmest heat source right now. If you are able to get out you could go to a hotel, or friend, or family member's house with your cham. Also try searching the forums for "power outage". There might be some other creative ideas.

That's all I can think of. Hopefully others here will have some ideas. I wish you luck!

 

[ridgebax1]

I think it could depend on how old your chams are and how many you have. If you can get to a store you could get heat packs. I think they would be ok without UV for a few days, but make sure they have water. I would not push eating either since they need UV to digest their food. But I am fairly new to chams and have not encountered this problem. They do make heat packs for shipping that stay warm for a few days so you might want to get some of those for the future. You could put the cham in a smallish container with the heat pack like when they ship them.

 

[JohnDoe]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/bad-winter-advice-94590/

Check out this thread same conversation. In the mean time i would put up blankets on the windows, and try to insulate the room as much as you could, if you are not going to try the heat packs or hot water. This is something everyone should plan for. The most i have heard is a pet carrier with heat packs in it. You will have to gifure something out. good luck

 

[evanmendez]

He is a panther chameleon a year and a half old,I never bought heat packs because I live in Dallas tx and it never gets like this,and I'm stuck home so I can't go anywhere , I've put blankets around the cage already .id put him on my body for heat but he always gets uneasy and tries to get away from me,and I don't wanna stress him out.

 

[werecat]

Ok, just keep an eye on his temps. If they drop too low you may have to use body heat anyway (even if it makes him uneasy) but use it as a last resort. I agree with the member who said to back off on feeding. Do make sure he gets his water though. I hope that this does not last too long for you.

 

[werecat]

Oh, and since he's an adult he should at least be a little less sensitive to temps dropping so that's good!

 

[evanmendez]

Thanks guys

 

[Texas Ranger]

If you can and still have hot water put it in zip lock bags and and put them around his cage that will help keep that area warm or just fill up what hot water you have left in a bucket next to his cage or since you do not have heat packs another thing you could do is pack him like when you ship or receive a Cham in the mail. And do the same place a hot bag of water on the out sides of the box so it keeps the box warm but check temps with your thermostat so he doesn't get to warm he could handle being in the shipping box for 24hrs if need be. I am about a hour south of you and luckily we still have power but I always have plains just in case.