How has Covid-19 affected your pets?

How has it affected the way you keep your pets? This includes access to vet care, food, supplies, cleaning equipment, or buying a new snake or lizard. Did it work out better for you now than pre-covid? If you are a breeder, did this affect your business? This may also include dogs and cats, if you notice a change in their behavior since all this started.

It's not affected us at all.

I've been offered a few rescue/FTGO snakes from people who can't care for them due to job loss or forced moves and new LL doesn't allow pets.

Normally I would buy extra feeders at shows to supplement my rodent production. Shows were canceled so had to go out of the way and schedule a pickup time to buy them.

Since shows had been canceled you save on table fees, travel and food but also don't make the local sales. Internet sales have been great this year though.

My vet is doing curbside pickup and is back to regular hours now. Earlier this year he had reduced hours and was only doing every other day which was a little bit of a pain when I had an egg bound girl that needed surgery.

covid hasn't been good or bad.... it's just a change in procedures and something to adapt to.

Nothing different here at all except that I picked up a chinchilla from someone who was too stressed to take care of it. And the neighborhood cats still hop the fence to stare hungrily at the rabbit in her hutch.

I think I may talk to them more when I am cleaning enclosures, etc. I'm not sure if it's just because I tend to talk to them anyway to be sure they know my voice, or if it's because my social interactions have decreased so much, lol.

My veterinarian is less easily available because they are limiting appointments based on effectively handling curbside pickup and phone consultations rather than face to face visits. That was a problem with one emergency situation but otherwise hasn't been an issue.

I'm an admin/moderator on a couple of reptile/snake groups and have been fielding many inquiries about where to get both live and F/T food as it seems that some keepers have had trouble with reliable supply.

I've also been answering a lot more questions about how to buy snakes online - people are still definitely buying pets, but are doing more online shopping. Unfortunately they are also continuing to go to the big-box pet stores which may or may not have healthy snakes available.

Personally, the restrictions have made me grateful yet again that I have these wonderful animals in my life. The routines around simply caring for them have actually contributed to my peace of mind. Just being around them has provided a lot of enjoyment and has helped me keep a good perspective on priorities.

I actually got more reptiles since covid started. Got back into keeping a ball python, which I did briefly years ago. I had time to redo enclosures, improve my husbandry, I found this forum. I mean if anything Covid has improved my relationship with my pets. I know reptiles don't have relationships with their owners for the record, but I've gotten to spend more time with them, I handle them more, even talk to them during the day since they're all in my office and I work from home now.

It's impacted my caring for my dogs more than my reptiles. Vet visits are dog only so with 4 older dogs, I've spent a lot of time sitting in my car at the vet :).

In terms of the reptiles, I've probably spent a little more time with them, but I have also been ill part of the year (not with COVID) so that might have balanced.

The biggest change is many of my friends who used to visit frequently haven't been over. Some are going to be shocked when they see how much size some of the younger snakes have put on.