If you’re going to get a bearded dragon, you know their entire terrarium setup requires electricity. You have to plug in their UVB lamp to replicate the desert sun of their wild habitat. Bearded dragons can’t regulate their body temperature on their own, so it can be a real concern if there’s a power outage, especially an extended one. How do you keep your bearded dragon warm during a power outage?
What You Need for Your Bearded Dragon During a Power Outage
Power outages happen, sometimes when you least expect. Although some outages are due to planned maintenance, most are caused by storms involving severe winds, extreme heat, flooding, freezing rain, and other conditions that can damage power lines.
Staying prepared is really the first and most important step in making sure you are able to care for your dragon if you lose power.
Things Your Bearded Dragon May Need During a Power Outage
Here’s a list of items that are helpful to have on hand for your bearded dragon during a power outage. You may have some of these items already.
- A box of hand warmers or similar air-activated heat packs
- A self-heating pet mat
- Blankets or towels
- Pet carrier in case of an emergency evacuation
- Backup lighting and heat lamp in case the power outage damages your current setup
- Jars of vegetable baby food in the event that the produce in your fridge goes bad
- Freeze dried insects (while these are not ideal for your pet, they are adequate to use if your feeders die during the outage)
- Pellet food (also not ideal, but okay in an emergency)
- Bottles or jugs of water to keep your dragon (and you) hydrated
- Small generator (while optional, this may be a good investment if you live in an area where the power is known to go out more frequently than average due to inclement weather or animal interference)
How to Keep Your Bearded Dragon Warm During a Power Outage
Winter storms are especially concerning due to the extreme cold temperatures, but severe windstorms and rainstorms can also bring cold weather that makes it difficult to keep your bearded dragon warm.
Pro Tip: In the summer if there’s a power outage during the day and the weather allows, your dragon can bask in the sun outdoors or near a window.
So what do you do if your power goes out and it’s less than 75 degrees Fahrenheit in your house?
Here are some ways you can keep your bearded dragon warm:
- When the outage first occurs, you can keep your dragon in her terrarium for about an hour, since it should remain hot for that long.
- Place hand warmers or heat packs in a sock and place the sock near your dragon (make sure they don't touch your dragon though, or they could burn her).
- Keep your dragon wrapped in blankets and use your body heat to keep him warm.
- If you are able, take your dragon into your car with the heat on high until she warms up. This works best for short-term power outages.
- Don’t feed your dragon a lot of food since they have trouble digesting without a basking lamp.
- If you have dry bearded dragon food on hand, such as pellet food, be sure to offer water along with it to prevent dehydration.
- If possible, keep your reptile at a friend’s if the power outage will be extended.
Power outages are never fun, but staying prepared and knowing a few ways to keep your dragon warm goes a long way in getting through one with your bearded dragon.
Have you ever gone through a power outage with your bearded dragon? Share your story with us! If you have questions or would like to give feedback, email us at [email protected]
