We have a large number of pets, both domestic and exotic. If I were not the meanie mommy who occasionally puts her foot down, we would have a good size zoo going on. I love animals, but as the mother, I have to think about taking care of these pets. For example, I love fish, but man are they hard to take care of. It is a constant chore to keep the water clean and in balance and the fish healthy. I had denied my son a beta fish when he decided that he wanted a salt water aquarium instead and he worked me for months to get one... so I finally gave way and let him get a beta fish in a 5 gallon aquarium ;-) I am sneaky that way. Taking care of this beta has made him realize just why I am such a meanie mommy.
Before this happened though, I did cave many times over at pet requests. We started out with a min pin (my baby) and I was happy, but my hubby and son did not like that status quo.
Before you know, we had a cat. Not so bad as she is trained to take care of her business outside, (shhhh... don't tell the neighbors).
Next, we rescued a turtle from the highway that had lost it's leg. We took it to a rescue who saved it, then asked us to release it where we found it. A 3 legged turtle to be released next to a highway. I had to agree with hubby that was a bad idea. That was 3 years ago. She has an outside pen in the summer in our bamboo garden and then we bring her in to semi hibernate over the winter.
I thought we had finally reach our quota when my son pleaded for a snake for his birthday. We went to the pet store and I thought he would get a corn snake, but I must have had an out of body experience, because somehow we came home with a boa constrictor. Not just any boa, but a female, which grows to 8-10 ft in length and can get even bigger! I started reading about them and then started panicking. She is now about 6-8 months old and is about 3 ft long, but thin. She is very laid back and friendly. I insisted that she had to be held regularly so she would be used to humans and tame. At least as tame as a snake can be. It is important to follow certain rules to live safely with a snake:
1. Wash your hands before and after holding one. If you pet one animal and then reach in her cage without washing it could get you bit. They don't see very well and all they would sense is warm prey. That would be your fault, not hers.
2. Do not handle her the day before or the day after feeding day. Before, because she is starting to get hungry and after because she is digesting her food.
3. Leave her alone while she is shedding.
4. Do not put her around your neck.
5. If she starts constricting, you can easily remove a snake by the tail. Most people make the mistake of grabbing the head, but that does not work and just makes the problem even worse.
6. After a snake gets too large to handle alone, never handle them alone. Just like lifting weights, always have a spotter who can intervene and knows #4 above.
To date our snake has never bitten or even looked like she might. She might on the odd occasion wrap her tail too tight around a finger when she is trying to hold on to go exploring, but that is nothing.
Next hubby wanted an Iguana. I did my research this time and agreed to get a bearded dragon. He started out as a bitty baby who was terrified of crickets. We were worried she was going to starve to death, when we discovered phoenix worms. She loves these things, but they are expensive. So our search for affordable food found us the
BioPod. It isn't cheap, but it does double duty. It composts food in hours or a couple days, not months! It also produces phoenix worms. I always loved the idea of composting, but wasn't too keen on having a stinking pile of ooze in my back yard! Now our food is composted and our beardy, plus our relatives beardy will be fed from this. Pretty neat.
I finally had put my foot down and said NO MORE PETS. A tank of fire belly frogs and a couple rescue toads somehow made it past me, so I put my foot down again. Yah, I am sooo effective at it. Now we rescued a very young baby chipmunk. We have determined it is about 4-5 weeks old. She has to be hand fed and hand expressed (don't ask) every 4 hours. They guys don't mind it and they just love her. Hubby is already planning the materials he needs to build a large outdoor enclosure for next summer.
I guess it is a good thing that we live in the country. I shouldn't complain so much, as they do take good care of their pets.
So while I have put my foot down once again and earned the name of meanie mommy, I have to say that secretly I am so happy that my hubby and son have such big hearts that they are filled with all that love and compassion. I am their number one lady, so you can imagine how much I am loved and appreciated. Actually, I am not sure you can. I wake up every day and go to sleep every night, knowing that I am one of the luckiest people in the world, to be loved so deeply by these 2 wonderful guys.
Share this post on:
Facebook or one of the other social network sites below. Thanks!
