Anyone else get like this? (Sorta depressing topic)

[Neko_snake]

So I don't know if this is the right place for this and I don't know if it applies to everyone. But do you ever have an animal pass away on you, could be one you work with or a pet, and it just hits you so hard that you're just like what's the point of keeping these animals? Then you wake up the next day and take care of the rest of the collection then are like oh this is why. Like there's no words to describe it. It's just the animals are worth it.

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[Snagrio]

Pretty sure most of us go through that. Though I can't remember the last time I specifically had that thought of "Why am I keeping other living things?" due to the fact that I grew accustomed to death from a very early age. There has never been a point in my life where there weren't pets of some kind or another in my place of dwelling, so that lesson has practically been hardwired into my brain from birth.

That said I certainly do get sad. Just this past summer we had to put down the family dog of 11 years and it was really rough. But I've long come to accept that death just, is. It will come for us all eventually (unless you're one of those immortal jellyfish or something ) so being at peace with that fact makes it easier. I grieve, but I don't let it consume me and prevent me from continuing to do what I love.

[Bogertophis]

Sure. That's the story of life...humans or pets, nothing is forever. Focus on the "here & now"- Our beautiful pets are a great reason to get up in the morning, & they make it easy to stay "in the moment" & have things to look forward to. There's many others too- it's always better to focus on the good things in life. Life will never be perfect, but it beats the alternative.

[Neko_snake]

Makes sense. I'm glad I'm not alone lol. Hard to lose an animal but it's definitely rewarding working with and keeping animals. They're the best.

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[Bogertophis]

Makes sense. I'm glad I'm not alone lol. Hard to lose an animal but it's definitely rewarding working with and keeping animals. They're the best.

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This last summer I had to say goodbye to one of my dogs- she was 16 years old & she had a very good long life. Goodbyes are hard, even when their health is failing, but I'm thankful she was there with me for so long & for so much fun. And I still have another dog, he misses her too, but we've helped each other to adjust & go on. That's all we can do- the longer you live, the more pets & people you'll have to say goodbye to, there's no way around it. It's hard, but we're all in this together. Our other pets (& people) need us too, & we need them. Just leave a little room for new loved ones- they come along just when you least expect it.

[plateOfFlan]

I had a similar experience when I lost my first tarantula - she'd only been here 2 days and never did well, I stayed up with her trying to give her water and keep her warm and finally had to admit I was doing more harm than good by intervening. I was shocked how hard I took it, I was in tears. But I think with spiders and sometimes reptiles it's hard because the relationship is very one-sided - you can care about them a lot but they don't understand that you're trying to help, and they take no comfort from you being there like a dog would. With a cat or dog that's sick or hurt, just you being there with them helps a lot, because they understand you're going to help them. I know people who work with injured wildlife and even a hawk or coyote will sometimes sit quietly for treatment because they start to put together "oh, this weird animal isn't here to hurt me."
With exotics too it can be hard to find people who understand and who won't say "well it was just a spider / it was just a lizard" etc etc. But I'm sure everybody here understands and knows how hard it can be.

[Snagrio]

I had a similar experience when I lost my first tarantula - she'd only been here 2 days and never did well, I stayed up with her trying to give her water and keep her warm and finally had to admit I was doing more harm than good by intervening. I was shocked how hard I took it, I was in tears. But I think with spiders and sometimes reptiles it's hard because the relationship is very one-sided - you can care about them a lot but they don't understand that you're trying to help, and they take no comfort from you being there like a dog would. With a cat or dog that's sick or hurt, just you being there with them helps a lot, because they understand you're going to help them. I know people who work with injured wildlife and even a hawk or coyote will sometimes sit quietly for treatment because they start to put together "oh, this weird animal isn't here to hurt me."
With exotics too it can be hard to find people who understand and who won't say "well it was just a spider / it was just a lizard" etc etc. But I'm sure everybody here understands and knows how hard it can be.

Interesting you say this because I've had an experience where I believe an exotic animal did have something of an understanding that I was trying to help.

Earlier this year my BP had an exceptionally bad shed (I was really unwell at the time and fell behind with humidity levels), and by the time I was able to help remove the rest it was really stuck on. So I had to manually, gently, peel it off between soakings, with most of it being around the neck and most of the head.

Despite having to take over an hour to get it all off, he never once tried to bite me or flail around. Some minor jerking away whenever I had to work on his head sure, but it's as if he could understand what I was doing to enough of a degree that he didn't panic.

[Spicey]

So far only with cats, lol.

[Bogertophis]

... I know people who work with injured wildlife and even a hawk or coyote will sometimes sit quietly for treatment because they start to put together "oh, this weird animal isn't here to hurt me."...

Like when a dolphin or whale has deliberately approached people for help because they're tangled in nets & all- it's awesome. I can't speak for tarantulas because I don't have much experience with them, but I think the same is true of many snakes too, at least in my experience. Even some wild snakes you wouldn't expect to hold still for help without biting, but they do. It's as if they can sense you're not trying to harm them & they realize they need help. Nothing we can ever prove but something to keep in mind- I try never to underestimate an animal's intelligence- just because it's very different from ours, & even though they can't show expressions the way we do. I think that when you do good things for other creatures, it does good for you too- you feel it in your heart, don't you? And that makes your life better too, doesn't it? I think it does.

[Erie_herps]

I think for snakes it's their thought of "this animal isn't going to hurt me instantly" and they stop struggling to conserve energy. I don't think they have emotions but I think they understand enough to known when and when not to struggle (which spends energy they can't always afford to lose). But just because they get nothing out of it doesn't mean we don't. After helping an animal we do feel better even if that animal doesn't care (in the case of reptiles).