Thinking of giving up

[wohic]

Taking on non feeders is very demoralising and expenive.......... you need to be mildly insane to do it.........

the thing is although some dont feed because they are not being offered wht tickles their fancy others dont feed because they have much more serious underlying problems that will never improve.... osing them is a fact of life.
Mites......... not really a massive deal, no more so than the dog getting fleas and worms, treated quickly and sensibly and most of all very thoroughly they will go.


Chin up and toughen up hon, its the only way

[sammy1969]

OK think i need to clear something up the four non feeders i lost were supposed to of been feeding when they were bought for me but we soon found out they werent feeding at all, which was a bit of a shock. I had a crash course in force feeding after trying many other methods to try and get them to eat but i knew their deaths were a distinct possibility once i had found out they didnt feed but still didnt make things any easier.
The other two snakes that i lost was a complete shock as had no idea they were ill at all they were bought has healthy and were feeding fine etc just woke up one morning to find they were both dead glad they were both in quarentine though as could have lost all my stock and not just my birthday present.
I know rep keeping isnt easy i have done it now for many years on and off but am still learning just feel at the moment things are not going well and it is so disheartening, dont think it helps that other things arent going well either so that may be adding to it all, but i can honestly say i dont take things on unless i know enough about them etc and would never rescue just for the sake of getting a cheap reptile,thats not fair on me or the rep concerned.
Just feel that things are not going well and that i am a failure on the other hand hubby has said there is no way we are getting rid of the reps and that things will sort themselves out it is just a slump that weare going through and who knows maybe he is right
still sorry for going on
Sam

[GRB]

Why not just tone down your collection?

Instead of having 10's of reptiles, what is wrong with having one or two? That way, you can spend more attention on them and at the same time, regain some of your life back in terms of time saved not looking after dozens of reptiles.

I have to admit, it keep seeing people on these forums with oodles of animals - fine I guess if you make your living fromm them, but as pets, I just can't see it working without lots of stress - for you, and the animals. There's no shame in having only one pet.

[freekygeeky]

u'll get through it, we have had many problems over the last few weeks, so much so i have ended up crying.
oldest gecko died
one died from a brain hemoridge - only tiny.
had mites everywhere
viv stacks.. still not here...

etctec

itll be ok

[GRB]

I am the only person that thinks having so many pets is a recipe for disaster?

Freekygeeky, not to have a go personally, but you are 19, and you have about 4x as many pets as you are old. Do you think you can look after that many pets with the same level of dedication as you would if you had less? Do you socialise, or go on holiday? What happens when you move? I alos wonder what landlord is happy with so many pets?

The simple fact is, that having so many pets is very stressful, as I can plainly see from people's posts who own lots of pets. This is a general statement again, not directed at anyone in particular, as there are a lot of poeple who are very stressed it seems - the people with the most animals are routinely on here with problems regarding either the animals, the finance or the stress involved in looking after them.

I always operate by the philosophy that as soon as it becomes a chore, you HAVE to think about the animal. If it's better off somewhere else, with someone who does not feel it as a chore, then they animal should go. Its a horrible thing, but the animal must come first, always. Killing by ignorance or negligance is just so unfair to the animal.

Sammy1969, I dont want to sound dis-respectful, as I am sure that you are very experienced and know what you are doing. But by the sounds of it, it is wearing you down. I think you have dived into a very deep, depressing pool and its stressing you out - owning a pet should be fun, exciting and interesting. It really sounds like you've been through the wars, and its a shame you see the hobby in a negative fashion as such. Perhaps a little holiday from petkepping, or even just a toning down of what you own could re-vitelise your interests?

Reading this, it all seems very reasonable as a response, but then again, I can intonate it as I read it. No doubt this might ruffle a few feathers unintentionally...

[sammy1969]

Grb
I dont see my pets as a chore to be honest and the day i do i will take your advice and either cut right down or stop keeping altogether but i can see where you are coming from and it must seem that way to people.
The problem at the moment is so much seems to be going wrong or i feel it is in my mind (and what with a couple of other things that are going on within my family which i dont really want to go into on here) i just feel really inadequate, and helpless.
I must admit i dont spend all my time looking after or feeding my animals and do get free time to do other things but i think just the fact that so much has happened in such a short time has added to my dismay at this time.
Freekygeeky i can sympathise with you completely i followed frecks story from start to finish and was so upset for you when she passed and i know you can completely understand how i am feeling, I know life with reptiles is never easy but i think sometimes we tend to get a little too close to our scaly friends and really feel it when things go wrong.
Still i will see how things go over the next few weeks before i make a definate decision but i dont see hubby letting me give up as he said last night i love my pets too much to let them go and would only regret it if i did and that things will get better all the way round. I just hope he is right.

[GRB]

Originally Posted by sammy1969

Grb
I dont see my pets as a chore to be honest and the day i do i will take your advice and either cut right down or stop keeping altogether but i can see where you are coming from and it must seem that way to people.
The problem at the moment is so much seems to be going wrong or i feel it is in my mind (and what with a couple of other things that are going on within my family which i dont really want to go into on here) i just feel really inadequate, and helpless.
I must admit i dont spend all my time looking after or feeding my animals and do get free time to do other things but i think just the fact that so much has happened in such a short time has added to my dismay at this time.
Freekygeeky i can sympathise with you completely i followed frecks story from start to finish and was so upset for you when she passed and i know you can completely understand how i am feeling, I know life with reptiles is never easy but i think sometimes we tend to get a little too close to our scaly friends and really feel it when things go wrong.
Still i will see how things go over the next few weeks before i make a definate decision but i dont see hubby letting me give up as he said last night i love my pets too much to let them go and would only regret it if i did and that things will get better all the way round. I just hope he is right.

No worries, I wasnt having a go as such, mearly suggesting that sometime's pets can be stressful, and if its no longer fun, then perhaps it's not worth it.

However, I somewhat disagree with the point that getting too attached is a bad thing - If anything, i'd say that you should become attached.

Yes, its horrible when something goes wrong, but if you are not attached to the animal, how can you care about its wellbeing sufficiently? I myself take the loss of a pet really hard - its part of the trade off im afraid. I like to think that such a bond ensures that I will always put the animal first, and ensure its wellbeing. Anything less than that sort of commitment and I would not allow myself the responsibility of looking after an animal.

[Moshpitviper]

Life (and this hobby) throw all these obstacles into your path to make it harder and to make you realise how lucky you are when its going well. trust me, when surrounded by sick animals i have contemplated selling up my collection and giving the rescues to someone else. but i persevere. and never regret it.

And people are right when they say to make the right decision for the animals.... but equally as important is to make sure the right decision is made for you. if all your sick animals died and you did all you could, you'll know you did your all to help. if they are sold or moved on then your feeling of loss is magnified because it was a conscious decision made by you.

Make the right decision for you, the animals are in the right place if your prepared to take on the mammoth task of getting them fit.

[sammy1969]

GRB
Sorry didnt mean to imply that it was a bad thing to become attached to our pets just that in certain cases i find i become very close to certain of my clan and alot moreso than i do the majority of them, even though i do love them all dearly, hence why i get so upset when things go wrong, I think it is one of my worse traits. I mean a case in point ihave two elderly rats both over four years of age that i have had for the same length of time and love them both but i know for a fact that when gracewing dies i will feel it alot more than when piglet dies even though i have never treated them any different its just the case that grace is such a character and is more interactive if you like with me. My brother has always said i am far too ott when it comes to loosing a pet and i suppose he is right to an extent but then if ever it became easy to live with the loss of a pet i think i would definately give up.

[sammy1969]

Dave
Thanx you are right this hobby does throw alot of things up at you when you least expect it and i think thats what i am dealing with now mind you after ten years you would think i would know that lol but still never seems to suprise me when stuff happens.
I know i am going to take my time before i make a decision either way and well as i have said hubby is saying i would only regret giving all this up but i knowthat whatever i decide it will be for the good of the animals involved and not just whats good for me.
I must also say that i am glad of all the good wishes everyone has given me and also the sensible advice even if not put in the best of words lol it has given me a much needed wake up call and forced me to really think rather than make a snap choice.
So thanx to everyone on that one