# Snow/Ice storm coming..



## jdlover90 (Jun 14, 2010)

I'm afraid my power may go out if we get an ice storm like the weather channel is predicting. Where's the best places to get some heating pads, or hand warmers? What is the best thing I can do for my hedgie in case this does happen? Hopefully it doesnt..

:?


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

A backup generator is the ticket,of course not everyone has those lol. A portable propane heater or a kerosene heater will keep one small room warm.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Any hardware type store will have hand warmers. Outdoorsy type stores will have them as well. There MAY be some in Walmart type stores as well, but probably harder to find, although probably cheaper. 

If the electricity does go out, just put your hedgie in a pet carrier with the hand warmers. It's easier to keep a small space warm, than it is an entire cage.


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## smhufflepuff (Aug 28, 2008)

Assuming the storm is predicted to hit soon, the easiest/quickest thing to do is get to a place that sells those chemical hand warmers - sporting goods stores typically have plenty. But you can also find them in KMart, WalMart, Target. And ususally (but not always) drug stores... wait... you CAN find them in drug stores - sometimes the standard variety; but almost always the version that has a sticky side that you're supposed to apply to your sore, aching back. They're near the heating pads and first aid supplies. If you go the drug-store route, just make sure the warmer is NOT medicated or scented. 

Make sure you have something in which to place the warmer (like a fleece sock), so that hedgie cannot get directly at the warmer itself. 

Another thing that will help is to have hedgie in a smaller space than usual. For example, it's much easier to keep a cat carrier warm with the hand warmer than it is to keep an entire C & C cage!

With more time, you can do things like get snugglesafe discs. You can buy the chemical warmers that last 20, 30, 40, and more hours (the sporting goods ones usually last only 4-8 hours). You can make nifty sacks into which you can place the discs or warmers. Buy that generator Larry was talking about...


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

There is also this thread about emergency heating that I found extremely helpful:

http://hedgehogcentral.com/forums/viewt ... ?f=8&t=325


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

I'm going stay warm too :lol: so I just heat the room for me and the hedgies with a propane heater. Those snugglesafe disc need to be warmed in a microwave so if you have no power they are not much good unless you can take them somewhere that has power.


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## StinkyHedgie (Jan 15, 2011)

ugh don't remind me about the snow storm I'm down here in south eastern Wisconsin and they are predicting a history making blizzard  

I have those "blatters" that you can fill with hot water or cold water and microwave...also i know walmart and walgreens have the hand/boot warmers too just in case.....

I'm praying that our electric doesn't go out....it didnt go out with our two F2 tornadoes that went by earlier in the winter and I live almost right next door to our power grid....

But i would go out now before it starts hitting bad....they say it should hit us sometime tonight, and with the conditions we are expecting all of us in the area might be trapped indoors until thursday....


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## jdlover90 (Jun 14, 2010)

StinkyHedgie said:


> ugh don't remind me about the snow storm I'm down here in south eastern Wisconsin and they are predicting a history making blizzard
> 
> I have those "blatters" that you can fill with hot water or cold water and microwave...also i know walmart and walgreens have the hand/boot warmers too just in case.....
> 
> ...


Yeah, I'm in St.Louis, Missouri so it's coming real fast! It's supposed to hit later too for us, but I'm so nervous about the power going out. Not only do I have a hedgie to keep warm, but I have 2 hampsters, 3 dogs, and my mom has a few fish tanks -- some who need warmer water, while her goldfish like cold water. And I got an F3 in St.Louis earlier in the winter, it was quite frightening but it hit 10 minutes away from me. This weather is crazy.

>< 
Thanks you guys for telling me what to do! I have a bit before the storm comes, even though cars are already icing over, so I'm going out with my boyfriend in a few minutes to buy some heating pads, etc.


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## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

The solar blankets that come in emergency kits (look like a giant sheet of tinfoil) will help to keep warm air in. If you don't have that, even blankets work.

A pre-emptive thing is to boil lots of water in advance and put it in bottles/hot water bottles, and then into socks. It won't stay warm too long, but if it get's bad, put the kettle on.

And another little thing that I've done before too is jacking the heat up a bit before hand, so if the power does go out, you have a bit more heat (not very environmentally or economically friendly though).


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## StinkyHedgie (Jan 15, 2011)

> Yeah, I'm in St.Louis, Missouri so it's coming real fast! It's supposed to hit later too for us, but I'm so nervous about the power going out. Not only do I have a hedgie to keep warm, but I have 2 hampsters, 3 dogs, and my mom has a few fish tanks -- some who need warmer water, while her goldfish like cold water. And I got an F3 in St.Louis earlier in the winter, it was quite frightening but it hit 10 minutes away from me. This weather is crazy.


Yea i have no clue whats going on with our weather...We got hit i think 4 times around my area last year...once at work and three times at home....The bad one hit us directly but me and Stinky some how slept through it :shock: waking up to a mountain of stuff that flew away and trees everywhere

If you have extra blankets i would throw it over the cages/tanks too so u can trap as much warm air in as possible if the power goes out.....I'll keep my fingers crossed that our power stays on both here and there!!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

With 25 + hedgehogs I used to lay away at night worrying about how I would keep everyone warm. I swear I should own stock in mitten warmers, we have so many. :lol: 

A few years ago when we had to replace our furnace we got a free standing gas stove. It looks like an old fashioned wood stove with glass door and sides and at the flick of a switch, we have heat. The hedgie room is right up the stairs from the stove so since heat rises, if we close all the doors but the hedgie room and leave their door open, it should keep their room at the temperature they are used to if not warmer. If not, we can bring them down to the living room. I rest much easier now. :lol:


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## V2Neal (Dec 27, 2010)

You guys must have better weather forecasters than we have. :roll: :lol: 


Good luck on the power and heat!


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## ThePliny (Jun 3, 2010)

The power went out for about 10 hours this spring. Pliny and I spent the day reading in bed - has was snuggled around a hand warmer (warmer wrapped in a towel) next to my body under lots of blankets. He managed just fine. I had a few hand warmers with me (emergency supply), so he would have been fine for quite a while longer in need be.
Ugh. crazy weather. It is -30 celsius here. My friend lives about an hour north of Calgary and she said the wind chill was -44 celsius this morning. Pliny is splatted out on top of a microwavable heating bad (in a flannel bag) under his liner, under his heat lamp, with space heater at full blast. Wish I could join him in there.


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## alexdud25 (Oct 31, 2010)

I havn't read this whole thread so I apologize if I say the same thing as someone else. 

I've gotten ALOT of hand warmers from Academy. Not very expensive either. Places like Gander Mountain will also have hand warmers- in the hunting sections, etc. 

I live in Texas so heating typically isn't a problem for me :lol: but we are getting a huge cole front soon and I've stocked up on hand warmers and I unpacked Shadow's heating blankey to wrap around his cage  While he is toasty I will be freezing! :roll:


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

I think reading this thread may have jinxed me....

I came home to my apartment today to find a notice from the landlord saying they're turning off the heat wednesday to repair a water main valve. When I called her to ask how long the heat would be off the answer I got was "As long as it takes". Isn't she great? Anyways, guess I'm off to find foil blankies & hand warmers.


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## Puffers315 (Apr 19, 2010)

Well, this is probably a little technical for most but its an option I have ready, though thankfully my town has its own electric company (versus the rest of the state) which has an excellent track record of keeping the power on, even the great ice storm of 1998 they kept the power on as much as they could, I'd say probably no less than an hour off, but then again it'd be on for 30 minutes and go out again. The twice was it off for a long period of time, first time when one of the high voltage towers collapsed, second time was one of our trees that took out the line from the pole to the house. Spent a week running our furnace and tv off an extension cord plugged into my uncles house next door (200 feet) and flushing the toilet with crick water. BUT, for anyone not from this region, that ice storm was a monster, parked over the region for several days.

Anyways, the method I'm tossing out like said, isn't the best, but there are devices called "power inverters" you can get from Radio Shack and many other stores, many people have them in their cars to run laptops and such from the cigarette lighter, but there are ones that attach directly to a car battery. You get the right size (and a car battery) and you'd be able to run either a heater and or the CHE system. But I know not many are going to have a spare car battery kicking about, I'm a country boy, we got a pile out in our shop. But its one method.

I got hand warmers, and if the power did go out for long enough, we'd hook up one of our pellet stoves to the inverter. Got a generator but it doesn't run right.


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## StinkyHedgie (Jan 15, 2011)

Well the blizzard has officially started in Wisconsin as of an hour ago....freezing cold out too

good luck to anyone stuck in this storm system, be safe, and keep ur hedgies warm!!


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## jdlover90 (Jun 14, 2010)

Thanks for all the information guys! I got some hand warmers that I think will do the trick if the power should go out. The storm isn't supposed to hit us until later tonight/tomorrow morning and all through tomorrow until tomorrow night! SO...lots of time to see if our power will remain on.  

Good luck to everyone in this storms path (which is apparently lots of people)


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## Ophelia (Dec 10, 2010)

Isn't storming here, but with the wind chill it feels like -39 C. :roll: 

I hope the OP and everyone else stays extra warm during this time!


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## Jake (Dec 26, 2010)

I'm so glad we use gas for heat here where I live at. 2 years ago we had a ice storm and lost electric for a month. And there are still people here that want to go all electric I call them dumbs dumbs after that ice storm. GAS HEAT not electric thats the way to go lol


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

We have gas heat but it doesn't do much good if the electricity goes off. The furnace still won't run. :lol: 

At least the stove will.


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## Needlenose (Sep 17, 2010)

Hey I have a question. I have to work tomorrow and no one will be home from 9-5. We are supposed to get that ice storm too. Our power went out (apparently) last night for a while. Do you guys think I should put a hand warmer in with Widget tomorrow just in case? He has extra blankets in there. I'd hate to use up a hand warmer that I might need later, but I don't want to risk him getting cold. :?


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## RalphsMum (Oct 14, 2010)

Wow...i've just seen the forecast for that storm - i assume its the same one..., it's enormous both in terms of land coverage(3500kms they said?!?!) and LOTS of precipitation (70cm snow in some areas!!)...it's quite the doozy!!!...hope you all stay safe and warm...hedgies included of course!

Needlenose....how long does your handwarmer stay warm for? if it's quite a few hours, i think i'd be tempted to put it in with Widget...if it doesn't last that long then maybe gather as many blankets as you can and check widget as soon as you get home, then you have it if you need it? maybe?


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## Needlenose (Sep 17, 2010)

Good point, I think they last about 4 hours. I heated my snuggle safe up to luke warm and put it in with him in case the power goes out again tonight. I might rewarm it up tomorrow morning if I can.


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## Gibbz (Jan 17, 2011)

Body warmth. Lol, seriously. If worse comes to worst, the best thing you can do is wrap him in a blanket and hold him close to your chest.


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## Quilled1 (Dec 29, 2010)

StinkyHedgie said:


> our two F2 tornadoes that went by earlier in the winter


I remember those. You're just south of Milwaukee, right?

And my classes got canceled for tomorrow so I get to hang around here. Thank god this apartment's heat is always waaaay too high (and I have no control over it).

Also, Walgreens had my hand warmers. In the shelf by the checkout line that has all them candy bars


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## StinkyHedgie (Jan 15, 2011)

> I remember those. You're just south of Milwaukee, right?


Yup down here right on the boarder of Sturtevant and Racine...The first 2 hit chase bank on greenbay road and 21st and the second hit the Case tractor plant on Hwy 11....then a few weeks later another one hit in Union Grove going down Hwy 20...

And today we are being killed by snow lol Gateway hasn't officially canceled classes yet, but i hope they do, and if they dont to bad im not showing up!!....we have over 3 feet in our parking lot and over 4 feet in our yard..not counting the snow drifts, Racine pulled all the plows off the road too so there is NOOOO way of getting anywhere even if someone wanted to


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## Quilled1 (Dec 29, 2010)

Yeah, our buses aren't even running. Couldn't get to school if I had too. Power went out last night temporarily but fortunately we're still toasty warm here.


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## EryBee (May 23, 2010)

> ugh don't remind me about the snow storm I'm down here in south eastern Wisconsin and they are predicting a history making blizzard


I also live in South Eastern WI and I was worried the power would go out while I was sleeping. If that happened there's a good chance I wouldn't have woken up until quite some time later ad my hedgie would be frozen! Or at least cold and disgruntled. I have a huge bag of those pocket hand warmers just in case...


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## tokihog (Jan 28, 2011)

On Monday evening we went to three different stores looking for hand warmers. We got a bunch at target 2 for $1. I'm in Chicago and as of now we have (guessing) close to two feet. I can't open my back door because of all the snow. 
Thankfully our power is still on and Toki is nice and warm!
Good luck to everyone in the storms path! Keep warm!


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## StinkyHedgie (Jan 15, 2011)

The aftermath of the Blizzard in Racine, Wisconsin

I have 5 feet of snow blocking my patio door, and 3 feet in our parking lot....the car with the windshield wipers up is my Mini Cooper

They dont plan on have all the snow moved for a week, I'm completely snowed in....Only positive is there was no power outages so far and Stinky is nice and warm


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## jdlover90 (Jun 14, 2010)

Wow, you got a lot of snow! :shock: 
The storm came here to St.Louis, but totally wimped out. haha.
We got about 2 or 3 inches of snow, and lots of ice. No power outages for me.  
Guess we were lucky? I think so! 

But now just in case something ever does happen, I have stuff to keep my little Quilly warm and snuggly.


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