Corn Snakes and Hurricanes...Hmmm...

Sorry in advance for the long post, but his issue has ALOT of factors...anyone with experience, tell me how you solved this problem...


I was getting our "Hurricane Kit" ready for another exiting season of Gulf Coast Storms this morning and started thinking about what to do with Erricca(My female Ultramel Corn) if a hurricane ever causes us to evacuate our home.

I couldn't leave Erricca here at home for a number of reasons. There would likely be no electricity so there would be no way to give her heat or regulate temperatures or feed her. This worries me because a friend down the road left for Hurricane Rita a few years back and when he returned all three of his corn snakes had died(it was HOT...100F outside and probably 105F inside) This also happened to my cousin, who lives next door. Also, when you evacuate, you have NO IDEA of how long you will be gone or how long you will be w/o electricity(also a concern, no way to keep frozen pinkies) During Rita we where gone almost a week before we could get home and it was almost two months before we got our lights back on. I doubt any corn would do well in these conditions.

My first plan of action was to get a "critter cage" and a UTH, along with a small bag of substrate, small water bowl and hide and put it in my suitcase so it would be there when I needed it. But as I thought about it, a found a few problems with my plan. Will a UTH melt the plastic critter cage? Is the critter cage even big enough to have a good hot side/cold side? Would the travel/temperature changes effect Erricca. How would I carry pinkies? Where would I buy pinkies after the hurricane since stores stay closed for months?

As most of you "Hurricane Runners" know, you can't pack heavy for an evacuation, so a whole ten gallon glass tank set up with lights and large heating mecanisms are out of the question. Also, you just have to get whatever hotel you can find(if you can even find one) so you probably won't get a pet friendly motel. So would Erricca be okay hidden in my suitcase or a bag for about an hour? Last year, we sat in a hotel lobby for almost 5 hours waiting for a room! Also, when a mandatory evac is called for, you just have to jump and run. There is NO time to run to the pet store and pick up anything, so I would have to have everything ready in advance.

My second plan of action was to get the largest critter cage that would fit in one of my luggage bags. (Still not very big...Glass if possible) and try to find a really small UTH. That way, Erricca could be in the critter cage the whole time, instead of being in the small plastic cup that I got her in. The only problem with this is that I wouldn't be able to change/monitor her temperature in the cage during the car ride. I can't plug the UTH in the car and sometimes evacuation routes take 14-24 hours to travel. During this time it is HOT. Our last evac. trip took 7 hours, and that was short compared to some of our friends.

My solution for the pinkies was to get a kids insulated lunch kit and put ice/frozen ice packs in it and keep the pinkies in there until we get to the motel(which may or may not have a freezer). I would probably keep about 50 pinkies in the "cooler" so that Erricca could eat after we returned home, although there will be no way to thaw the pinkies out(no running water)

I'm sure there are other problem factors, but these are the ones I am most worried about. We may also Evac. this year to a "local" church where we will stay a week+ without electricity ect...I just dont know what to do.

I know trips and things like that will stress out a snake, but I would rather have Erricca stressed than die...I think its a good thing to discuss, especially for people on the gulf coast.

Also, I live close to the coast, so any hurricane we get will be "severe"

As in no electricity, no water, having to eat MREs and getting any Ice/Water from the Red Cross. Thats how it was for Rita/Ike/Gustav anyway. Its like camping in your backyard...only more stressful. Can't stay in a motel until we get electricity by the way...my dad wouldn't go for that EVER. We try to get home ASAP.

A healthy, well fed snake can go weeks without eating. I would not worry too much about food. There are bound to be petstors in the areas you evacuate to that will open within weeks, if not days, of a hurricane. Plenty of time to get food.

The critter keeper idea is great. Keep in mind that, again, a healthy corn WITHOUT food on their stomach can handle most of the normal temps of the south and be just fine. Unless you will be evacuating to the far North, after October, you should be fine even without a heat pad. Like you said... what killed your friends snakes wasn't LACK of heat, but too much heat. Get the biggest critter keeper that fits in your luggage, and have that on hand. Keeping her safe and with you is your first task. The rest will fall in place once you see how bad the damage is, and how long you'll be out.

The problem with the pet stores is the nearest one to me that sells pinkie is about an hour away(toward the coast). When Rita came through, the stores down there didn't open for almost 2 and a half months. It was really, really bad. I'm just worried about that scale of a hurricane, or bigger. When Ike came through, they stayed closed for about 4 weeks or a little less.

When I say I live in the sticks, I mean in the STICKS lol the closest mall/petstore is an hour away. The closest actual TOWN is about 30 minutes, and it doesn't have a pet place of any kind that sells pinkies. Its really difficult for us to go anywhere after a hurricane for a while because money is usually short and gas is extremely hard to come by, especially in our small town of one gas pump.

Oh, and we never really know the area we evacuate to...we just go where we can. So a petstore being near is a 50/50 chance really.

I ride 'em out. Always have. But I've also always been far enough from the coast that it really didn't matter that much.
If you're worried about heating in the car, just know this. I transported 27 snakes in the cab of a pickup from Colorado to Florida. With the a/c on. Over a 3 day period. They were all just fine. A little stressed, but otherwise fine. But if you're really worried about it, there is an adapter you can by that will plug into a car cigarette lighter thing and convert to an outlet you can plug a regular appliance in to.

I have feeding bins for my snakes which can act as emergency evacuation cages. (Look up at the top of the racks in the picture). You could easily put one of those in a small fabric pet carrier along with the smallest UTH and a cheapo thermostat. I wouldn't really worry about heating and feeding, though, unless you were going to be gone for weeks. When you return, you can always just order a small pack of pinks on line. If stores weren't going to be open for months. Maybe pack a quart of spring water. Let me see if I can find a picture of the carrier I'm thinking of.

Okay thats good...I feel better about the car ride. The motel/evacuation part is okay I guess. Just a little worried about getting her into a hotel.

I'm more worried about the aftermath. The extreme heat. No way to freeze pinkies. No electricity. And we usually are the LAST to get our lights on. Sadly...

And your from Florida, yall always get baby hurricanes. Us in Texas get the real thing

Ok, like this. You can put the whole container in there, as well as all the supplies. You can peek in and check on her without opening everything, and still not be obviously carrying an animal.

COerriccaRN said:

Okay thats good...I feel better about the car ride. The motel/evacuation part is okay I guess. Just a little worried about getting her into a hotel.

I'm more worried about the aftermath. The extreme heat. No way to freeze pinkies. No electricity. And we usually are the LAST to get our lights on. Sadly...

And your from Florida, yall always get baby hurricanes. Us in Texas get the real thing

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So Andrew was a baby, was he? And Charley? And Wilma? LOL

Can't order...no one will deleiver really. Roads are closed. But that would be good after clean-up & before electricity

Also, would a hotel let in a pet carrier? Or should I just use a regular bag with the zipper un-done? But thats a good Idea. Like I said, not really worried about the actual evacuation anymore...just after we get home.

Oooo...I remember Andrew and Wilma. They where bad...So was charly. I guess because Florida gets so many, yall just get used to it. They still make us super nervous(especially my mom. She would leave as soon as a Hurrican was a tropical storm if dad would let her!)

Also, I LOVE the carrier. I'm going to pick one up next week for sure!

Some hotels/motels are pet friendly. Just ask.

True...but everytime we have ever evacuated we just have to take what we can get. Most everything is booked a few weeks in advance, especially pet friendly ones. During Ike, we couldn't even find a motel that was less than 8 hours away, so we had to drive FOREVER to a run down, hole in the wall place. It was TERRIBLE.

Maybe this year we will book earlier, but my dad is stubborn. Likes the wait until landfall is a day of two away "just to make sure." Its so aggrivating!

*raises hand* I know I know! Move! *grin*

It's a coastal flood plain for a reason people. The gulf is shaped like a landing pad for big storms. It's hot...it's humid...it's stuffy (politically too)...move north and enjoy the luxury of stress free late summer and fall. *I love the snow don't you?*
*cough*
Okay enough of me... You got some great advice! Nancy...I swear we have the same racks but we so need plants, they really add to the appearence!

COerriccaRN said:

Also, would a hotel let in a pet carrier? Or should I just use a regular bag with the zipper un-done? But thats a good Idea. Like I said, not really worried about the actual evacuation anymore...just after we get home.

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They won't know. I've walked into hotels a million times with a big fabric dog crate (for my bird) and just filled it with miscellaneous stuff till I got in the room- clothes, towels, whatever, and carried the bird in a mesh bag. I've taken him into restaurants, theaters, everywhere in his purse.

I bet Edna at the Mouse Factory could figure out some way to get a shipment to you once you got home again.

The heat- that's worrisome. I think it might not hurt to look into a generator and a portable AC. I _know_ the AC will cool a couple rooms really well. I haven't had to run mine on a generator, though. When we've had hurricanes, the power has only been out for four days or so. I just put the animals in the coolest part of the house. It's way worse for me now, though- way more animals!! I'd probably beg someone in Florida who isn't involved to take them. Robbie or Katie.

raises hand* I know I know! Move! *grin*

It's a coastal flood plain for a reason people. The gulf is shaped like a landing pad for big storms. It's hot...it's humid...it's stuffy (politically too)...move north and enjoy the luxury of stress free late summer and fall. *I love the snow don't you?*
*cough*
Okay enough of me... You got some great advice! Nancy...I swear we have the same racks but we so need plants, they really add to the appearence!

Click to expand...

Yall can keep the snow and political stuff. I'll keep my swimming holes and shotguns. I hate the snow. Its to cold and wet. But thats not really my problem, I worried about Erricca getting overheated.

The heat- that's worrisome. I think it might not hurt to look into a generator and a portable AC. I _know_ the AC will cool a couple rooms really well. I haven't had to run mine on a generator, though. When we've had hurricanes, the power has only been out for four days or so. I just put the animals in the coolest part of the house. It's way worse for me now, though- way more animals!! I'd probably beg someone in Florida who isn't involved to take them. Robbie or Katie.

Click to expand...

We have a generator, but the problem is GAS. We live SO far away from any towns that gas is really, really hard to get and keep. So we have to ration how much we use the generator. A portable A/C is a good idea, but will it run on a generator? Ours is pretty big but all it runs is our lights and deep freeze(to keep our fish, deer meat and duck meat frozen) Even then, the lights dim every now and then.

lol its hard to get advice, because Its hard to explain that we live in the country. EXTREMELY lol its crazy. If we want McDonalds, we have to make a small road trip. Grocerie shopping is like a monthly outing since we can't go whenever. And when we buy Erriccas food, we buy alot of it. I'm actually thinking about ordering now.

Anyway, thats my whole problem. During hurricanes we are the LAST to get electricity and just want to make sure Erricca will be okay. I will talk to dad to see if our generator will run a small A/C. That would be great.

A small tupperware container can easily be hidden and taken into a motel room with no suspicions. On the trip out, and for as long as they last, a supply of ice packs in an insulated container will keep things nice and cool, especially if you have a separate insulated container for the snake to ride in with one ice pack.

Yes, you'll have a problem once you get back home and they haven't turned the power on yet. But if you have a generator that will run a fridge/freezer, just rotating a supply of ice packs will keep a snake plenty cool in an insulated container.

As for snake food, in good condition, a healthy hatchling can go several weeks at least without a meal, older snakes even longer.

Okay well Erricca is just a hatchling...but we have a good supply of green anoles around here, so maybe I can feed those if worse comes to worse.

And I never thought of the Ice Pack Idea. Good Idea....

As of right now, I have a small critter cage, a small bag of substrate, a hide and super tiny water bowl all in a small pet carrier. I also have a tiny UTH and thermometer. In the ice box I have a ice pack(originally to keep pinks cool) but I will probably get one more for Erricca(just in case it gets HOT HOT HOT again)

We do have a generator, but all it really does is run our lights and deep freeze. So keeping pinkies and ice packs won't be a problem.

I feel ALOT better about the whole situation now

Thanks everyone!

If you have anymore ideas/solutions you can post them. I'm sure there are still some kinks to work out.