I think I may make a major change....

[Carinata]

I think I may be cutting down or leaving this hobby all together...life has become so stressful latley! Just today my heat wire broke and now I have to spend more money and I just don't know if I want to continue. I mean I love my herps and want to keep them and all but I just think my animals would be better off without me sometimes. I mean I am constantly ciricized and I never seem to get away from my past. I am just tired of it. I mean this thread is not to draw attention but just to vent. I mean I am doing the best in school and I just think that my herps are not in the way but maybe without them I will be a better person? I am just venting..........

 

[danielle]

Shut up butt face your fine If however, you need a few less corns I'm just around the corner,lol

 

[Carinata]

Thank Danielle. I mean I love my herps but life is getting really stressful and I think that sometimes I don't need to have to deal with the. I hope this is just a phase and I will come to the right conclusion

 

[Tula_Montage]

Just wait until you go to college and want a life THEN you can play that tiny violin....

Chin up. Stop buying everything you see and focus on what you are really passionate about. If you are unhappy, truly, move on.

 

[Carinata]

Elle I am not goning to buy anything anytime soon.

 

[Old_School]

Add a mortgage, wife, 2 kids, car payments, orthodontics, in-laws, job, geeeezzzz, I better stop,.... now i am getting depressed!

 

[Urban_M86]

Add a mortgage, wife, 2 kids, car payments, orthodontics, in-laws, job, geeeezzzz, I better stop,.... now i am getting depressed!

lol agreed im stressing too now

 

[vetusvates]

What Danielle said. You'll be fine, David. We all have our ups and downs. Adversity builds character. Remember that.

 

[Carinata]

Thanks Eric. I think I may be having a really sucky day. The broken heat just broke the camels back.....

 

[Nanci]

David, the snakes are the relaxing part of your life! They don't require much time. Think of how "into" them you are, all your research, photography, etc. I think if you didn't have them, you would be lonely. That sucks about the heat. But you can fix it! Make it better!

 

[danielle]

David, I'm in grad school, with two kids, a job, a home to take care of, and many many animals including dogs and fish besides all the reptiles. Yes its a lot of work, but its work I love. If some girl just broke your heart know she will be one of many unfortunately. Call this a crap day, write it down, and look at it a year from now and laugh your ass off

 

[Carinata]

Thanks Nanci, They are my life. I am just having an aweful today. I hope it gets better but that heat took 3 hours and 50 bucks to string up.

 

[danielle]

You said broken heat,lol I need leep I read heart. Well same advice though now laugh!!

 

[Lucille]

Thanks Nanci, They are my life. I am just having an aweful today. I hope it gets better but that heat took 3 hours and 50 bucks to string up.

Ya lil twerp. Yeah, hobbies cost money. Wait until you discover wimmen, they cost REAL money, consider today as training wheels for what is yet to come

Seriously, if your reptiles are your life, remember the joy the bring you. I can garr un teee that there are now and will be in the future hard times and poor times in life, you just got to get through the best way you can.

If you're ever really in a corner and no way out, let the people in the herp community know, you never know when someone might have a piece of equipment in their garage to help you out, or an afternoon of time to give to you to help you do something.

Adversity builds character. I can just tell you are going to be FULL of character..

 

[The_Thunderer]

David... there are always going to be obstacles in our lives. If we quit every time one comes up, we'd be spineless people that will never get anywhere in life. Keep your head up and get through it. You'll be better for it!

Now, there is such a thing as just "venting" as well. You know how it goes... something comes up and you "vent" to let off steam. If that's what this thread is... then what Danielle says goes for me too! oke:

EDIT: Danielle... I can't rep you! Gotta spread it around first!

 

[Carinata]

Thanks Guys

 

[kathylove]

It is very common for people "addicted" to herps to eventually get at least a few more than they really can handle comfortably. I have done that in the past, and almost all herp keepers I know have done it at one time or another, if they have been keeping them long enough.

I don't know if that has happened to you (YET!), but if it has, the trick is to downsize (but not leave the hobby), BEFORE you get totally burned out. I have seen some keepers just try to keep up, and eventually they DO get burned out, and get out of the hobby entirely. If they had just listened to their inner voice, and downsized before burning out, they might be in the hobby even now.

An important rule of thumb to learn early in life is not to make any major changes when you are stressed, or feeling particularly emotional for any reason (good or bad). People who make changes at those times often regret it later. Much better to prioritize your animals, and to decide if you need to thin out a couple that are either more problematical than the others, or you just don't enjoy as much. After that - change NOTHING, at least for a while.

Of course, you can always come here to vent. Doing so may allow you to avoid doing anything you will regret later. As others have mentioned, this is a good training experience for the years ahead. Unfortunately, it doesn't get any easier, lol! However, with practice and some luck, you WILL get better at dealing with it all as you age!

Good luck!

 

[Carinata]

Thanks so much Kathy! You are awesome!

 

[Chip]

Kathy is dead-on, as usual. I have been there more than once. The worst is when you truly have all you can care for and still be a productive worker, then go through a break-up, then lose a loved one, then the transmission on your truck goes out and you have to put down your beloved dog and cat the same year, then you hit horrible odds on hatchlings, then you realize you left eggs in several laying boxes that went bad, then your best friend is going through a divorce and sleeping on your couch, then you still have hundreds of hatchlings to care for... etc. And it gets to be work. There is NO joy in it. And you realize you aren't caring for them like you always do, keeping records properly, etc. A big part of me leaving this forum for three years was that. And I was 35! I can't imagine being a teen and going through the hard times life sometimes lays in front of us. Hang in there. Don't buy those radiata. Pick what you most enjoy and keep them, sell the rest. They aren't dogs, they don't care or have any attachment to who gives them a mouse. Just downsize, and keep what you can in your best caging. You WILL want those enclosures again. I've made that mistake three times.
It'll all be better, probably in a few weeks. Lighten up! But be very serious and heavy about getting rid of your animals. Just my two cents.

 

[Roy Munson]

Don't be shocked when the negative reactions to this thread show up. Don't bother reporting these reactions.