Reptile Evacuation Plan?

[Karen]

Just sort of a question put out for curiosity's sake, but how would everyone handle their reptiles if you had to evacuate your house because of some natural disaster? I've been keeping an eye on Hurricane Irene because it might hit or at least get close to where I live and I got to thinking.

I suppose one or two reptiles could go into bins, but what about those of you with large numbers of animals?

[Jeff]

I have enough bins for all of my skinks in the garage. I live in Arizona, so we don't really have natural disasters here, but I am as prepared as possible in case of something like a fire. I could quickly put all of my skinks in a bin or two to get them out of the house, and grab the bins in the garage so I could quickly separate them once they were safe outside.

[Toxique]

Yup, for mine I have a small fold up kennel for both of my reptiles. My skinker has a smaller little carrier than my ball python. Both of the travel carriers are within reaching distance of their cages, so if anything happens (say bad tornado or snowstorm) I can just pop them in and take 'em away.

[BTSspartan]

if something bad ever happend to me i would sacrifice my self for my reptile

[Spindown]

I have lots of pillowcases for my snakes but I'll have to get traveling tubs for the safety of my skinks...I live in a state where we dont have big natural disasters.

The worst we had was: 1 ever mini tornado (it took out half a car and a small shed and then was gone), a tropical storm (our mini hurricane lol), and a mini blizzard. So far the big earthquake and the mini blizzard were the worst.

I'm so grateful about where i live!

[Fatal_S]

I used to have boxes and pillowcases for my skinks ready beside the tanks for easy evac, but that was when I had fewer skinks and more room. Now I have bins on the tanks that I can grab for quick transport. But when I get my own place I'll have individual labelled boxes with supplies ready again.

[Jeff]

I have lots of pillowcases for my snakes but I'll have to get traveling tubs for the safety of my skinks...

In an emergency, pillow cases would work great for skinks too!

[ExtremeJustin]

Just sort of a question put out for curiosity's sake, but how would everyone handle their reptiles if you had to evacuate your house because of some natural disaster? I've been keeping an eye on Hurricane Irene because it might hit or at least get close to where I live and I got to thinking.

I suppose one or two reptiles could go into bins, but what about those of you with large numbers of animals?

I only have 2 reptiles at the moment. I live in Tampa so I've actually been working on a plan for that over the last couple of days. My evac site is my brother's house and he doesn't like Blue Tongues because he thinks they look like snakes I will use either a 20 Long or a bin. The other one is a Leopard Gecko so I'll just put it in a 10 Gallon.

If I had multiple BTSs I would probably have to put them all in pillow cases. I've been told that it works in a pinch. I would probably put them in pillow cases and transport them in bins.

[Linnea]

the only disaster that could happen here is a fire, as our storms are not quite as strong and we dont have earthquakes.

but if a fire were to happen during summer, i would take litchies little plastic container thing with holes on top that i got him in, with substrate, and go outside.

during winter, i dont think he would survive for many hours in -10 or -20 C, no matter what i could bring with me to keep him warm.........which is scary.

[Karen]

All sound like good plans, I'll definitely have to make sure to get a bin when I get my BTS. Better to be safe than sorry, that's for sure!

[Fatal_S]

Emergency Measures FYI:
Need to leave your house?
- Evacuating your home with reptiles? Move them to your car. Hopefully it has AC/heating.
- Stuck outside and it's too cold? Put your reptile (in pillowcase or not) in your shirt and keep yourself warm and safe.
- Stuck outside and it's too hot? More dangerous. Find shade. If possible, a water bottle filled with cold water is helpful.
- Good idea: knowing someone local who could temporarily house your reptile in an emergency. Be it friends, family, or a member of your local reptile-community.

When emergency planning, consider the most important things to take/save if you need to leave.
- In my case, it's family, then dog, then reptiles, then rabbit, then computer, then my grandma's coat.
- Try to keep things like ID, important papers, etc. in an easy-to-grab place.
- Copies of important paperwork/ID/passport/etc should be stored somewhere outside your home (it's amazing how many people don't do this). It's smart to have photos & documentation of valuables outside the home too. And/or, consider a fireproof safe for important things in the case of a fire.