In the event of an emergency (?)

Thedrawingclaw · Post by **Thedrawingclaw** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 4:16 pm

Wow it's been a long time.Recently my area had suffered a raging fire that was not too far away from where I lived; it was big/bad enough that the fire department issued voluntary evacuations for most citizens save the elderly or handicapped, whom they evacuated by force.My family and I decided that as a precaution we'd pack up some things in case the sirens blared in the streets telling us to get out of the house. We of course planned on bringing pets, so I set up a small box for my two crabs in the instance that we had to leave.The thing is, this was just a shoebox with a clay hut and air holes poked in the top, and my plan was to bring along their food and water dishes and go from there. In hindsight that was really not a good setup, and considering that A) it was nighttime when this happened and B) this state has a low humidity level, they could have really suffered in the drive to someone else's house. My main question is, in the event of an emergency/possible threat such as that one, what should I do? I obviously couldn't toss a 20 gallon tank over my shoulder like it was nothing.

Geranium · Post by **Geranium** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 11:29 pm

A couple years ago we had a freak October snow storm which caused power to be out for just under a week. I took the turtle and all the hermit crabs (only 14 at the time, no one larger than a small, most tiny) and put them into the 5.5 gallon tanks. 5.5 because my husband was out in the storm working and not available to help, I can carry a 5.5 gallon. The 5.5 also fits inside the big cooler so I could control the heat better during transport and sneak them into a hotel easier. I set it up the best I could, just deep enough sub, UTH, lid with Saran Wrap. I have the dry crab food combined in mixes in a large weekly pill sorter so I just grabbed that along with food & water dishes, water supplies, moss pit and small suction cup soap dishes, a hut, lots of leafy cover. It was crowded and not ideal but better than freezing to death. Thank goodness no one was molting. Ginny ended up molting in that tank, she buried before we got home.

Laurie LeAnn · Post by **Laurie LeAnn** » Sun Jul 20, 2014 12:56 am

A kritter keeper w a heat mat on the back or one with those hand warmers you snap can be use, you can throw them.k. in Styrofoam cooler or cooler and it will do for a while if your crabs are healthy. Don't put warmers in with crabs but around tank..dried food in small containers is great idea and remember they can beat what you eat as long as it's or seasoned ad on the food list. They can go with out sea salt water for a bit but really need fresh drinking water. Make sure you have your drops are handy in your e.r. kit.

crazycrabber · Post by **crazycrabber** » Sun Jul 20, 2014 1:39 am

just bring a misting bottle, an a heating pad, spritz their cage a ton, and turn the car heater on, put them next to it. when you get to a house or a hotel you can plug in the heating pad. i once brought my cat and rabbit to a hotel when the power went out in the summer, we had to sneak the rabbit though.

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Mon Jul 21, 2014 6:42 am

This is why I have a ten gallon tank already setup and waiting to go for iso emergencies and general emergencies where the crabs need to be quickly evacuated.The ten gallon is just bing enough to fit both kind so of water in and a food dish.I've got my foods and waters already to go and a spray bottle for misting.I usually have a uth pad mounted on the back of it but I figure that if the power goes out the heat pad won't do much good till I can get to where the power is still on.I'm currently looking for an adapter that you can plug into a car outlet and use it for a standard wall outlet for small appliances and such as that will make keeping the crabs comfortable easier.

Thedrawingclaw · Post by **Thedrawingclaw** » Wed Jul 23, 2014 5:24 pm

This is kind of late, but thanks for all the replies. ^_^We fortunately enough did not have to evacuate, but I will keep these things in mind for future scenarios. I do have some ten gallon tanks that aren't usually being used (but are right now) so those would probably work well enough.