Power Outage Playbook

Geckos are tougher than they look in a power outage, especially for short windows. A few hours without heat in a room above 65 F is not a crisis. Twelve hours in winter without backup heat is. The Power Outage Playbook gives the temperature tolerance windows by species, the hand warmer protocol, and a generator decision framework so the keeper does not panic-buy at 2am.

The playbook covers both directions of the crisis. Winter outages are the obvious case. Summer outages with AC failure are the inverted case that most reptile resources miss, and they are the bigger risk for crested geckos who decline rapidly above 82 F.

What the document does:

It gives species-specific temperature tolerance windows by direction (cold and heat), walks the first 10 minutes of an outage, runs the hand warmer protocol step by step, frames the summer outage inversion, and sets the evacuation criteria for when the gecko needs to leave the house entirely.

What is included:

• Species-specific cold tolerance for leopard gecko (down to 60 F for hours, below 50 F dangerous) and crested gecko (down to 55 F)
• Species-specific heat tolerance with the crestie inversion (above 82 F sustained, cool the gecko; above 88 F evacuate)
• First 10 minutes protocol (note time, note temperature, check utility tracker, decide on intervention)
• Hand warmer protocol with the 3-to-4-layer wrap rule, positioning, room insulation, cooler-as-temporary-enclosure option
• Hard rules (no open flame, no heating pad, no direct sun, no feeding cold geckos)
• Summer outage protocol for cresties especially (coolest interior room, damp towel, fan, light mist)
• Evacuation criteria for prolonged outages or sick animals
• Pre-staging recommendation (hand warmers, cooler, paper towels, USB power bank)

Format and how it works:

Word version (.docx) for editing and a PDF version for printing. Most keepers print and clip into the kit binder, then pull the companion Power Outage Action Sheet (the one-page version) for taping near the rack.

Why this version is different:

Most power outage advice for reptiles assumes winter and assumes a single short outage. The Power Outage Playbook handles winter and summer, sets specific temperature thresholds by species, and includes the carbon-monoxide warning that should be on every playbook but somehow rarely is.

Who this is for:

For gecko keepers in regions with frequent outages and for breeders in any region who want every buyer to be ready before the first winter storm. Pairs with the Power Outage Action Sheet (the one-page tape-to-the-breaker quick reference) and the Emergency Contact Sheet (which holds the utility outage line and backup boarding contacts).

Get the playbook on its own, or open the bundle for the full kit at volume pricing.