My Collection is Complete: I am done acquiring reptiles

[Dianne]

I understand being ill or just too tired to do cages....as I get ready to clean Duncan’s cage that should have been done yesterday. Prayers for a speedy recovery from your illness and more good days than bad ones.

It’s a balance that needs to be evaluated from time to time. I know I’ll add more snakes along the way. In fact, I added a pair of unplanned bps yesterday from a local guy downsizing his collection. This will change my final layout, but I have time to figure out exactly how I want to change things as they will be in quarantine tubs for the next 2-3 months. Before I went through with the purchase, I looked at how much time would two extra snakes involve (as I’m still waiting to add one more in the near future that will be shipped). I already know what the price of new setups will be, and food costs. It’s an ongoing evaluation as life changes.

[dakski]

I felt like re-visiting this thread today. For those that don't know, towards the end of 2019 I re-homed Toref (who turned out be a female), the Freckled Tree Monitor who never calmed down for me. I put Shayna in his tank (4X2') and put Jeff, my newest Boa/addition, in Shayna's old 6X2', which he will grow into and Shayna didn't use all of.

Then, this year, we lost Kayla, one of our three Leopard Geckos. That allowed me to put Feliz in a 6X2' from a 4X2', and move Solana from a 3X2' to a 4X2'.

I have not gotten any new animals. I now have 12 and essentially, 12 tanks (one that was split into 2 3x2's is now 1 6X2').

The link below shows the current state of the reptile area.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...Complete/page6

As many of you know, I had a kidney transplant and have a myriad of health issues related to that and having kidney disease since I was 23 (I am now 40). This past week was really tough. I had a few really bad days and ended up getting food poisoning or a stomach bug the past 2 days. That's about 5 days in a row that I couldn't do much for the reptiles. Luckily, everyone seemed fine today when I did all the cage maintenance and changed everyones water (2 days late for fresh water - but no one was out - I did check that two days ago - I change at least weekly).

Weeks like the last one make me reflect on my collection and how much I love them, but my fears about getting sicker and not being able to properly care for them. What does this mean RE the current collection and getting new reptiles down the road? Nothing for the current collection right now, and probably nothing for my plan of not acquiring more, at least while the current collection is intact.

My mother came up to visit today (1 1/2 hour drive for her and my stepdad) and she helped with cage maintenance. Mostly handing me things (cleaner, paper towels, hides, etc.) and holding occupants while I cleaned their tanks. I asked her to make sure I locked everyone's cage and dotted my "I's" and crossed my T's, etc. It was really helpful. Even if I only saved a few minutes of time with her help, the company was great and it seemed less tedious. There were a few times I was very weak and had to hold onto the wall or the tanks for stability, but I got through.

I am obviously a special case/circumstance. However, I wanted to share this for two reasons.

1. I like documenting things and sharing my feelings for my own edification, but also because of the support I get here.

2. I've seen other users here, many new, ramping up their collections and quickly. I just wanted to remind everyone that these animals live a long time, rely on us, and we don't always know what life is going to bring.

I've been sick for a while and because of that I work from home and have time for the reptiles that many other people don't have. If my health continues to deteriorate, especially in a way that impacts my ability to care for the reptiles, I will re-visit things, but for now, I know I am writing following a bad week where I wasn't able to help my reptiles thrive. Yes, everyone is fine, and I assumed they would be, but I want my collection to thrive, not just survive, and when I cannot facilitate that, feel sad and powerless. Perspective is important in life and right now I am in a bad spot and I know that. There are many other days when I feel Eh, but having to feed the dogs and take care of the reptiles, etc. helps get me going and out of bed.

Anyway, I rambled here, but I wanted everyone to see me reflect on my collection, and hopefully encourage others to do the same and take stock.

[EL-Ziggy]

I hope you're back at full strength soon Brother Dave. It's great that you have help when you need it. I had to depend heavily on my family when I had surgery 2 years ago. It was a humbling and enlightening experience. None of us can do it all by ourselves. I'm glad the critters are all doing well too. That's another benefit of keeping snakes, you can be down or away for a few days and they'll be ok. Get better bro! 🙏🏾❤