How do you know when it's time to call it quits in the snake world?

[kdreptiles]

I literally just went through this exact situation, you're not alone. I have sent 7 of my animals to a wonderful rescue (and of course donated their houses and food so they weren't just dumped there for the rescue to figure out what to do with them), am planning on shipping a leopard gecko out in the Spring to her new home, and am debating about selling my 4 ball pythons I hatched when they are larger, as it's easier to find homes for them as larger females. Honestly, the free space I have and less responsibility is a huge relief. I miss them of course, but I feel it was the right thing to do. I still have a leopard gecko and 7 snakes (apart from the ones I'm debating about rehoming) and I can't say that I've spent more time with them just yet, but I do feel much less overwhelmed. I think that if I had gotten rid of all of my animals at once I'd have debated whether or not it was a good choice, so I say to start rehoming animals until you stop feeling this way.

[Ridinandreptiles]

ive been there in the past i just lost my passion.... and ive gone through random spurts of it. for me i just need to go back to where i started. watch old videos of herps i liked when i started, go to shows, try and get re-snakey. Sometimes though your passion is gone but randomly it WILL come back who knows how far down the road think of it this way. You can take the kid out of the city, but not the city out of the kid. same way with herps in my eyes.

[angllady2]

Thank you all for the warm words of comfort and reassurance. It helps more than you can know. I do in fact suffer from SAD, but I had forgotten about it until a few of you mentioned depression. And that started me thinking. I've been feeling the symptoms for some time, but failed to put a finger on what it was. And you are right, it's not just the snakes. I've lost interest in my favorite tv shows, in cooking, I don't even read the way I usually do. All the things I love have slowly lost meaning to me, and yes I feel sad and helpless a lot of the time now. I had just forgotten how bad my seasonal depression can get, last year is was very mild, so going so long without a real episode made me forget just how bad it can be.

But now it's like a lightbulb went on in my head, and I can't believe I didn't recognize it for what it was. It came on so gradually, I just didn't put two and two together. So now the question I face is, is it finally time to admit the SAD is more than I can handle on my own and seek treatment? I've put if off for many years now, mostly I think because up until a few years ago, no one even knew it existed. But my son is Bi-polar, and I know his medication helps him live a normal life, maybe it's time I ask for help to battle my own demons.

Do any of you suffer from SAD ? Have you sought treatment for it ? Does treatment help ?

Any words of advise you can offer me are welcome. In the meantime, I'm going to take the suggestion of putting up notes to myself and at least try and make sure my animals are well cared for, until I decide where to go from here.

Thank you all again. Sometimes it's hard to believe people I've never met not only care about me, but I care about them as well.

Gale

[Ridinandreptiles]

i had depression 2 years ago (which some think is strange for a kid) but i didnt take any medications, just fought through it....well i tried medications but anti-depressant make you feel weird. I found talking to people and trying to live life actually helped me the most! Best of luck to you it is tough stuff

[barbie.dragon]

Thank you all for the warm words of comfort and reassurance. It helps more than you can know. I do in fact suffer from SAD, but I had forgotten about it until a few of you mentioned depression. And that started me thinking. I've been feeling the symptoms for some time, but failed to put a finger on what it was. And you are right, it's not just the snakes. I've lost interest in my favorite tv shows, in cooking, I don't even read the way I usually do. All the things I love have slowly lost meaning to me, and yes I feel sad and helpless a lot of the time now. I had just forgotten how bad my seasonal depression can get, last year is was very mild, so going so long without a real episode made me forget just how bad it can be.

But now it's like a lightbulb went on in my head, and I can't believe I didn't recognize it for what it was. It came on so gradually, I just didn't put two and two together. So now the question I face is, is it finally time to admit the SAD is more than I can handle on my own and seek treatment? I've put if off for many years now, mostly I think because up until a few years ago, no one even knew it existed. But my son is Bi-polar, and I know his medication helps him live a normal life, maybe it's time I ask for help to battle my own demons.

Do any of you suffer from SAD ? Have you sought treatment for it ? Does treatment help ?

Any words of advise you can offer me are welcome. In the meantime, I'm going to take the suggestion of putting up notes to myself and at least try and make sure my animals are well cared for, until I decide where to go from here.

Thank you all again. Sometimes it's hard to believe people I've never met not only care about me, but I care about them as well.

Gale

There's a special light bulb developed to counteract SAD. My friend's mom had it ever since she moved to Salinas, California. Light bulb installed and SAD slowly went away

[Coleslaw007]

I suffer from intermittent depression, it doesn't seem seasonally linked but it's the same type of thing: a chemical imbalance in your body, mostly of serotonin and dopamine.

I've coped very well by taking St. Johns wort, and 5-HTP, which is a precursor to serotonin. St Johns wort is prescribed as an all natural antidepressant in a lot of other countries, esp Germany with a lot of success. I used to take them everyday but I've gotten to where I don't need to take them unless I start feeling down and my mood elevates pretty quickly when I do. I've never been diagnosed but from personal observation and my body's and mood's reaction I'm nearly positive I tend to be serotonin deficient and I've managed to self-treat with great success. Either can be found at almost all health food stores.

If you are on the birth control pill don't take SJW, but it won't effect an IUD or birth control implant, and the 5-HTP won't effect the pill or anything else. High quality fish oil can really help with depression too. Good luck! I know VERY well depression is no fun, I spent years being depressed to the point of total apathy and suicidal but didn't want to take conventional antidepressants before I started researching natural treatments.

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[kdreptiles]

Vitamin D supplements help, too, as well as the light therapy already mentioned.

I have suffered major depressive disorder since the 6th grade. If I could afford to get treatment, I absolutely would. There's no reason to try and stick it out on your own if you have the resources available to you.

[Raptor]

I suffer from intermittent depression, it doesn't seem seasonally linked but it's the same type of thing: a chemical imbalance in your body, mostly of serotonin and dopamine.

I've coped very well by taking St. Johns wort, and 5-HTP, which is a precursor to serotonin. St Johns wort is prescribed as an all natural antidepressant in a lot of other countries, esp Germany with a lot of success. I used to take them everyday but I've gotten to where I don't need to take them unless I start feeling down and my mood elevates pretty quickly when I do. I've never been diagnosed but from personal observation and my body's and mood's reaction I'm nearly positive I tend to be serotonin deficient and I've managed to self-treat with great success. Either can be found at almost all health food stores.

If you are on the birth control pill don't take SJW, but it won't effect an IUD or birth control implant, and the 5-HTP won't effect the pill or anything else. High quality fish oil can really help with depression too. Good luck! I know VERY well depression is no fun, I spent years being depressed to the point of total apathy and suicidal but didn't want to take conventional antidepressants before I started researching natural treatments.

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St. Johns Wort is the worst thing ever. The only thing it did for me is make me immensely nauseous and kill what little appetite I had. If you've never been diagnosed, it's a horrible, horrible idea to self medicate. Depression can be a result of a chemical imbalance in the brain, or it can be an indication of other medical problems. Seriously. Get yourself checked out.

[JaGv]

with that many snakes i bet it's getting hard for you to care and pay attention to your snakes. i wouldn't say your loosing the passion for the hobby, but having that many snakes and other things to do it gets tough to care for them. maybe letting some go and keeping a few would be good for you.

[Coleslaw007]

St. Johns Wort is the worst thing ever. The only thing it did for me is make me immensely nauseous and kill what little appetite I had. If you've never been diagnosed, it's a horrible, horrible idea to self medicate. Depression can be a result of a chemical imbalance in the brain, or it can be an indication of other medical problems. Seriously. Get yourself checked out.

Well that sucks, worked great for me, though I used the 5-htp more. I've known others who were diagnosed and used it successfully. I've seen doctors for it but they never bothered to actually diagnose me, just tried to prescribe antidepressants. I honestly don't much trust western medicine and I've known a few people, including relatives, who've had some rather horrible side effects from various prescription antidepressants /other drugs.

I realize it won't work for everyone, and I didn't just jump into it blindly, I researched for quite some time. I have had great success self-treating to the point that I very, very rarely even take either or have depressive episodes anymore. If I do have any occasional episodes I take a dose of each or just the 5-htp and I've yet to have it not improve things rapidly. If I ever hit a point where it seems not to be helping and the depression comes back I will seek help if I feel I need it.

I certainly wouldn't recommend self-treating as a first course for many, but some ppl won't or can't seek medical help and it's something to consider trying if you do it carefully and recognize whether it's helping or hurting.

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