hey now... I'm pretty far north too!

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Posted by MarkB on March 27, 2001 at 09:58:51:

In Reply to: Re: everyone was a "NEWBIE" sometime...more posted by Jason G on March 27, 2001 at 08:02:10:

I'm a Minnesota native, currently residing in North Dakota. I'm sure many of you have seen "Grumpy Old Men" and "Fargo". My life is like neither of those movies, but the weather you will see is quite familiar to me :-) Nothing my handy gas generator can't handle though!! Chuck's heating accessories (and all the snake enclosures) are all on alarms that will sound any time the power is out for more than 10 minutes, so if we do happen to have a power outage for any reason, I will be alerted in time to fire up the generator and get things warmed up again. If the power does go out and stay out for any extended period of time, my action plan is to grab Chuck, and put him in the snake room. That room (and that room only) will be heated with a 1500 watt electric oil heater until power is restored. This is the most feasible way to tolerate any long period without power since my generator is not powerful enough to keep the whole house going. One small room on the other hand is no problem.

Really, the only time we see bad power outages are during really wicked storms, like in '97 when an ice storm moved across the entire midwest taking out virtually every power line along the way. This was a 2 week outage at my house, and a tense time for everyone. With outdoor temps at -20 to -40 (yes, thats negative temps), it doesnt take long at all for the house to get down to 35 degrees. For that one, we actually had a diesel engine mounted on the back of a tractor to power the house, keeping the majority of the larger rooms at a chilly 60 degrees.

I guess the bottom line here is have a plan of action in case something like this ever happens to you. Be prepared to move your animals if necessary, or buy a generator.

Good luck, and enjoy!!

Mark

: It sounds like your stoked on your new minature dinosaur! I remember feeling the same intense interest and anxiety of providing the essentials. I would definetly get James Hatfieled's book on order The Ultimate Igauana Manual. I would say that it is still too small to determine sex. The only thing I really have to add is to be careful in the winter that your Iguana will be heated, I've heard of power outages in the north, tropical animals cannot handle cold temps very long! I would make sure you have some type of safety measure in place. You have a great adventure a head of you. My Iguana was about 8" SVL when I got him and now he is 5.5' in total length and quite a hand full.
: JG

Follow Ups:

That Makes Two Of Us! Candy 03/27/01 (7)
- And three of us!! Allysmom 03/28/01 (0)
- Glad I'm not alone in this one :-) MarkB 03/27/01 (5)
  - Mark, here's our setup.... JohnT 03/27/01 (4)
    - WOW, I really feel for you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!! (more) xta 03/27/01 (2)
      - Re: Generator Sue2 03/27/01 (0)
      - Re: WOW, I really feel for you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!! (more) Craig Loose 03/27/01 (0)
    - WOW, I really feel for you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!! (more) xta 03/27/01 (2)
      - Re: Generator Sue2 03/27/01 (0)
      - Re: WOW, I really feel for you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!! (more) Craig Loose 03/27/01 (0)

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: I'm a Minnesota native, currently residing in North Dakota. I'm sure many of you have seen "Grumpy Old Men" and "Fargo". My life is like neither of those movies, but the weather you will see is quite familiar to me :-) Nothing my handy gas generator can't handle though!! Chuck's heating accessories (and all the snake enclosures) are all on alarms that will sound any time the power is out for more than 10 minutes, so if we do happen to have a power outage for any reason, I will be alerted in time to fire up the generator and get things warmed up again. If the power does go out and stay out for any extended period of time, my action plan is to grab Chuck, and put him in the snake room. That room (and that room only) will be heated with a 1500 watt electric oil heater until power is restored. This is the most feasible way to tolerate any long period without power since my generator is not powerful enough to keep the whole house going. One small room on the other hand is no problem. : Really, the only time we see bad power outages are during really wicked storms, like in '97 when an ice storm moved across the entire midwest taking out virtually every power line along the way. This was a 2 week outage at my house, and a tense time for everyone. With outdoor temps at -20 to -40 (yes, thats negative temps), it doesnt take long at all for the house to get down to 35 degrees. For that one, we actually had a diesel engine mounted on the back of a tractor to power the house, keeping the majority of the larger rooms at a chilly 60 degrees. : I guess the bottom line here is have a plan of action in case something like this ever happens to you. Be prepared to move your animals if necessary, or buy a generator. : Good luck, and enjoy!! : Mark : : It sounds like your stoked on your new minature dinosaur! I remember feeling the same intense interest and anxiety of providing the essentials. I would definetly get James Hatfieled's book on order The Ultimate Igauana Manual. I would say that it is still too small to determine sex. The only thing I really have to add is to be careful in the winter that your Iguana will be heated, I've heard of power outages in the north, tropical animals cannot handle cold temps very long! I would make sure you have some type of safety measure in place. You have a great adventure a head of you. My Iguana was about 8" SVL when I got him and now he is 5.5' in total length and quite a hand full. : : JG

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