# OK icestorm death toll: 35 dead darts and mantella ;(



## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Sucks!!!! err ok, ya 35 give or take a couple. i forgot a tank/frog or 2 in the initial estimate of "31".... Not a happy camper here. Camping...ha, thats pretty much what i did the last week, in front of my parents fire place with the few smaller tanks i was able to take over there with the darklands and a bassleri. 

Couldnt find the other bassleri to save it, and stupid me didnt think of heat packs till probably 24 hours to late. assuming i could get any since the store shelves were stripped of survival supplies pretty quick. (when they had power and were open). i was asleep for the first 12 hours without power so i had no idea how bad things were or were gonna get till it was pretty much to late. lights flickered back on for a minute or 2 before i went so sleep so i figured i'd have power by morning, and then the first day or 2 it was like, ya anytime power will come back...dead wrong. Then it turned into the worse icestorm in state history or something....

Im not even gonna go thru the list...just look at my sig, subtract the frogs i just mentioned...the rest are dead ;(

On the upside looks like most if not all my fire bellied newts, hongkong newt and cali rough skinned newt survived...and i have a bunch of empty tanks ready for new frogs as soon as i take pics (on the off chance fema or insurance will compensate me)... and remove the dead ofcourse.

Ferrets did ok, finally had to move them to the parents house too. Looks like i'll have plenty of fruit flies to feed the last 7 frogs i own since they seemed to weather the cold fairly well. Looks like plants and moss are ok for the most part...but they may just be dying slowly having temps in the 30's for a week...hard to say. if so thats another several hundred dollars of loss on top of roughly 3000 in frogs.

Wish i could have saved more...but the space near the fire place and what my parents were willing to let me put in their bedroom was limited. Most everyone i know is just getting power back in the last day or 2 or is still out.

Lesson learned?... Buy a generator if you have any real money invested in frogs or herps and its even possible something like this can happen in your area. I almost did when i got into all this but i thought, "well since i moved here in 1983 we've never lost power for more then a few hours, probably wouldnt be worth the money"....ya, kickin myself now.

Well anyways sorry to vent, and lay my sad news on everyone but its been a crappy week. 

If anyone knows any links or info regarding fema, or insurance or to any info that may be useful in getting some kind of compensation or something that would be great. I havent looked yet, only been home and with internet a couple hours.

Well hope everyone elses frogs/animals are ok especially if you got a piece of the ice storm.

Dave ;(


----------



## skronkykong (Jan 1, 2007)

Man, that's really, really horrible. I got off lucky with losing an orchid. I didn't have power for five days but still had heat because I have a wall gas furnace since I don't have central heat. Generators are super expensive. My furnace was $99 and can put out about 10 times as much heat as my house needs. Instead of investing in a generator I would recommend one of those. Sorry about your frogs man, that's just awful. I think I would be flipping out going bat shit crazy if I was in your shoes, but I'm kind of prone to out flippings.


----------



## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

i'll have to look into those... is that something i could use in a mobile home? got a link to a manufacturer?

i live in a trailor...very little, insulation ;(


----------



## elmoisfive (Dec 31, 2004)

To say that this really sucks is an understatement. Sorry for your losses.

Bill


----------



## sports_doc (Nov 15, 2004)

Sorry Dave.

 

When you get back on your feet let me know. I'll ship you some bassleri for nada. The rest of your stuff I'm not working with though..

[I have a generator, but I'm still paranoid to leave the house for even an overnight in winter]

FYI: for those that worry, there is a product called FreezeAlert which calls your cell or other phone #'s when power goes out and/or temps are above/below your set limits.

S


----------



## brettlt (Oct 5, 2006)

Sorry to hear about your loss. I was without power for about 3 1/2 days myself. I was able to save all of my frogs and bearded dragon though. I have an extensive list of friends and family in the Tulsa area and I was able to stay with one of them that mostly kept power throughout the event. 
I actually worried about your frogs. We have never met, but we pm'd last winter about me coming by to check out your frogs. Nothing ever came out of that, but I knew you had quite a few.

If I would have known, I would have taken all of your frogs to a warm house with me. Mine lived in 190 oz containers for the duration of the outage, and they seem to be doing fine. PM me sometime and I will give you my phone number in case you need some assistance in the future.

I have not seen a post from Quaz, and he is the only other frogger in the Tulsa area that I have seen post. Mascenerro, in Blackwell should be OK, as they were not hit as bad, but I have not seen him post either.

I am sorry for your loss. I was thinking about getting one of the vent less gas heaters like skronkykong was speaking of. Either that, or maybe a wood burning stove in the living room. The heaters are probably cheaper and take up less space.


----------



## Annababe (Oct 19, 2007)

Wow,
I'm so sorry for your loss.

Andrea


----------



## insularexotics (May 3, 2005)

Wow Dave! :shock: 
I am really sorry for your loss. Are you sure the mantellas are dead? I once received some milos in subfreezing temps. And, while they wer emoving really slow when I opened the box, they were OK in the end.

I don't have any golds to surplus at this time, but give me a holler this summer and I'll help you out with some if I have any.

Sorry!
Rich


----------



## MonarchzMan (Oct 23, 2006)

Very sorry for your loss. We got a generator several years ago when we had a power outage in the summer and lost quite a few chickens to the heat (we had fans on them to keep them cool). Outages are fairly regular here, so I am very glad that we got the generator. If a generator is out of your budget, you might also consider a kerosene heater. We got one of those too to use rather than heat the house at the desired temperature to save a little bit of money. I'd guess that one could keep a trailer fairly toasty.

Sorry again for your loss!


----------



## thetattooedone (Mar 26, 2007)

Sorry for you loss. I lost all my darts a couple of years ago due to a power outtage myself. It's one of those things that really gets under your skin. All the time spent, money lost. It sucks. 

Brent


----------



## Derek Benson (Feb 19, 2004)

Wow, I really hate to hear that Dave.

We went through the same crap that you guys did, but luckily I was in the dorms and the generator kicked on after 12 hours of power outtage. I turned on the showed to hot to warm the room untilt he generator came on. I also housed many bearded dragons, ball pythons, turtles, etc. from friends that had no power.

After about a day or two, the generators crapped out and I was forced to drive about 80 miles away to a friends place with all of the load and stayed there for a day before it was completely dark there. I am now at home and the power is back on and running here. I had a couple tadpoles die, but that was about it, wrapped everything in blankets, etc. A couple friends have very nice planted tanks, so they lost apistogrammas, discus, etc. One even had a tnak in the basement freeze...

Hope you can get back together with everything, I had to mvoe all the frogs to rubbermaids to allow for easy transportation. Needless to say I did not make the OK expo or the KC one either...

Good luck,

Derek


----------



## Roadrunner (Mar 6, 2004)

Man, so sorrry about your losses. Kerosene heater. They are about $100 and $30 or less for 5 gal of kerosene. That would`ve lasted the week. That`s what I used here last oct storm before I had the woodstove.


----------



## fishdoc (Apr 24, 2007)

*wow- how horrible*

Well, hopefully we learned from your mistake.. I at least have a fireplace insert, and now that has a whole new meaning! I won't move into another place without an alternative heat source-my 80 year old mom and three grandkids were in KS- three days with no power and no heat- then when the power came on there were notices on TV (of all the stupid places) notifying folks where they could seek shelter for heat and food!!! On a military post! boggles the mind..


----------



## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Sorry for your loss.

A cooler, some extra cups and sphagnum may have been all you needed. Still may have had some losses but most likley not as many. 

Also here is a cheap investment:
http://www.mrheater.com/productdetails_ ... =41&id=116

I have a smaller one and may get a kerosene replacement, but so far I have not had to use it.


----------



## *GREASER* (Apr 11, 2004)

Dendro Dave said:


> Wish i could have saved more...but the space my parents were willing to let me put in their bedroom was limited.;(


Did your parents really not let you use more space in there bedroom in order to keep the frogs safe.


----------



## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Thx alot guys/gals for all the well wishes, suggestions, frog offers, etc..etc...... i really apprciate it alot. 

Brett...when i get rebuilt remind me and we'll plan a visit....but im pretty forgetful and messy and remembering at a time when my place was actually clean was probably the problem the first time 

Rich, man i thought of you and them especially since they and most mantellas just arent that common anymore especially cb. One of the species im saddest about loosing. i left em alone just in case cuz i've see the same thing happen from both heat and cold...but looks like they are gone. i havent moved anything yet cuz im going to try and get pics tomorrow. But i think they have started to decompose with everything else.

definatley a lesson learned. part of the rebuilding next year will definately include finding some kind of solution to keeping atleast 1 room warm during an extended blackout even if it means buying a small generator. Unfortunately space was limited at my parents and i had recently moved lot of frogs into bigger less portable tanks which make rescues more difficult. It isnt easy finding the lil guys in pitch black with a flashlight in a well grown viv while your hands are shaking from the cold ;( 

One other lesson...dont hesitate. the first day or two i probably could have done more and that would have saved more...but i didnt realize how bad it was, or was gonna get...but i shoulda just started planning for the worst. sleeping thru the first 12 hours of the black out didnt help either since when i woke up it was probably already in the 30-40s. Trailors dont have good insulation ;( That and my parents own it and were alittle paranoid about doing anything that might be a fire risk especially since i wasnt there or could be there all the time since my work managed to stay open thru most of the blackout....dang casinos wont close unless they cant turn the machines on pretty much  and they only lost power for a couple days...most of which were my days off.

I probably could have pressed for more room at my parents but i already felt i was imposing some and we havent been on the best of terms lately anyways....7 days couped up together in the dark didnt help that much...nor did the few ff escapees that happend just from feeding the few frogs i did save


----------



## Regan (Oct 30, 2007)

I'm soooo sorry!

Man, icestorms in the south are worse than northerner's think (I consider OK south). I grew up in Arkansas (yeehaw), and what folks don't realize is that our trees are softwood, not the sturdy hardwood colder climates have. So, get trees covered in ice and they snap like, well, twigs and then mass power outages and crews working around the clock to clear the lines. I worry here in Austin cause our power line snakes through our live oak tree and when it sleets, I chew my nails.



















(those are trees, not shrubs!)

I hope you can rebuild soon, and wish you the best.


----------



## housevibe7 (Sep 24, 2006)

Im really sorry this has happened to you. A good lesson to all of us, especially those with many frogs. 

Not to thread jack... but I beg to differ Regan... Especially where I live, 75-90% of our trees are softwoods. DOnt get much softer than pine and cottonwood. Dont have many native oaks and maples here either...


----------



## brettlt (Oct 5, 2006)

I am really am sorry for your loss Dave. I was lucky enough to keep power until about 11:20AM on Monday. My wife called me as soon as it happened, and I rushed home. It took me almost an hour to get the supplies around, and catch 3 of my 4 frogs. I just could not find that fourth one. I had 190 oz containers and coolers ready to transport them. (I did find the fourth one the next day and he is doing well.) I started calling around to friends and family to see who had power and made a beeline to a friend's shop, since they still had power. (It helped that they are working on a terrarium for dart frogs right now.) All the frogs made it, and my bearded dragon as well.

I thought of you on Tuesday, but I had no way to contact you.


----------



## dom (Sep 23, 2007)

sry to hear about your loss!


----------



## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

Dave, sorry to hear about your losses. I was worried too, but I know my collection is tiny compared to others. Several people here have lost a lot of rare animals during heat waves (Rob, kleinhanz for example).

If you haven't noticed, I have 13 CB Mantella ebenaui (betsileo) froglets now, and about 40 tadpoles.

If you pay the shipping, I can send you some for free once the weather warms up. PM me.


----------



## atlfrog (Dec 31, 2006)

We used to have power outages a lot in the winter in NY, especially when it snowed. We have a Keroscine (sp?) heater that lasted about 3 or 4 days. I am really saddened to hear what happened, and if there is anything that I personally can do, please let me know.


----------



## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

thx again guys....one lil bit of good news. I was playing with my new digital camera i got for christmas and was taking a few pics and looked into the Darklands tank and noticed a small froglet.... so now im up to 8 frogs  Its a start....selling the babies, but some of the money might go to new frogs or paying the shipping and taking advantage of the kind offers some of you made. Thx again.

Oh ya, anyone who made frog offers and is also intrested in the darklands will be next on the list of those who get preference after the people i discussed trades/purchase with awhile back if they dont sell locally...which im not betting on since not alot of froggers round here. Plus they will get an extra lil discount if the frogs are actually sold to them. Thx


----------



## melissa68 (Feb 16, 2004)

This summer we finally broke down and purchased a generator. I am glad we did, because our collection has grown past the point where deli cups and coolers to transplant our collection to a temporary location is out of the question. 

One comment about insurance. I would not mention your frogs or any other exotic animals in a claim. Most insurance companies will not cover them. Some in fact, will drop you once they hear the words "Exotic Animals".

I am sure there is some insurance company someplace who covers such things - but paying the premiums for such a service would be expensive. This is a risk all of us take with our animals.

I also doubt FEMA will pay out either.

Sorry for your losses and good luck getting your collection going again.

Melissa


----------

