The recent ice storm left hundreds of thousands without power. The cold weather is already risky for pet owners, and Tennesseans with reptiles faced even more challenges to keep them safe and warm.

Winter Storm Fern brought frigid weather and record power outages – further complicated by inconsistent messaging from service providers. As people went without power for days, house temperatures dropped down to the 40s and 50s and even below. Those temperatures are especially dangerous for cold-blooded pets whose body temperatures depend on the environment.

‘They just had had their little bellies…on little hot hands’

Jack Blum’s West Nashville home was without power for six days. An avid outdoorsman, Blum already had a few supplies handy that would keep his family’s three geckos alive – hand warmers.

Blum credits them and propane tanks for saving his pets.

“Every time I looked in there, they just had their little bellies, just sitting on little hot hands,” he told WPLN News.

He ended up going through 72 hand warmers and running out of propane before power was restored, so he drove to Clarksville for a reup after researching what areas had the least amount of ice.

A Nashville native, Blum remembers the deadly ice storm that hit Nashville in 1994 but he said the weather this year caused far more damage.

“There was a telephone pole that was smoldering on fire for three days in my neighborhood. Within 100 yards of my house, two transformers blew,” he said. “It was legitimately a disaster area around us. It was unbelievable.”

Signs of respiratory problems

In South Nashville, Jeremy Britton, the reptile care specialist at the Aquatic Critters pet store, said some of the animals went into a state called brumation – which he described as similar to hibernation – when they lost power.

“Some people refer to it as a power saving mode where they don’t have to eat as much or drink as much water and they become quite inactive,” he told WPLN News. “I know several of our customers’ bearded dragons went through the same thing during this ice storm.”

Britton and other staff used portable heaters to keep the animals as warm as possible. The store also offered emergency boarding at discounted rates for pets of customers without power.

Some of the reptiles, Britton said, showed signs of respiratory problems after being in cold homes for three or four days.

“A few of the bearded dragons did have runny eyes and had a little fluid at first,” he said. “Their owners were informed, and most of them that we know of got veterinary care after.”

In the event of bad weather, Britton suggests draping blankets over enclosures to trap in the heat for a few hours. Hand warmers are also helpful, he said, but should be placed in a sock or towel to keep reptiles from trying to eat them.