A rant. Beware.

NotaMallard · June 2010

So, I left my dwelling in Indiana to spend a week in Minnesota. I have a lot of pet/breeder rodents, African soft-furred rats and mice. Eight tubs/tanks, in fact. I love my rodents, even though I have around sixty of them and am breeding them to sell and for my snakes. Some have names, I know all of the adult's personalities. They're awesome. So I asked my dad to feed and water the little buggers while I'm gone. I even wrote up a little checklist, with each tank/tub on it, and spaces for what he needs to do each day. He promised to do it. I trusted him. So, I came back today. Guess what I came back to? Seven out of eight of the tubs/tanks had NO water. None. Four out of eight had no food, and three out of the ones with food I had set up food hoppers that stored a week's worth of food. I found one dead mouse, and a litter of mice that had numbered in at 9 when I left only had 3 babies left. Mice eat their children when they don't have food or water. I quickly refilled all of the bottles, and gave everyone food. It nearly broke my heart to see all of the little things scrambling for food and water. :c To make everything worse, when I asked my dad about all of this, he just pointed to the schedule I gave him... and saw that he hadn't checked on the rodents for three days. He apologized, but I don't think he really understands that this is sixty little individual lives that depended on him.

RoyalRaccoon · June 2010

This is exactly why I'm so afraid to go stay with my grandmother in a few weeks. I'm going to try to pack up my baby boy Izod(my bearded dragon), but I'll have to leave my other BD, cats, dogs, rat, fish, and bird to my mother who doesn't even feed the single angel fish she has!! Last time I went away I came home to 3 dead koi fish, all but three of probably a 100 baby bettas dead, and just about every cage was filthy. I'm sorry for your loss, but at least it wasn't worse. No water for any longer probably would have lead to a much worse site when you got home. :shock:

NotaMallard · June 2010

Oooh, that definitely sounds worse. I'm sorry.

Is there anyone you know that could stop by every few days and check on them? You could tell your mom that it's just so she doesn't have to do as much. I hope it turns out better this time.

Hibachi · June 2010

I NEVVERRR trust anyone to watch my animals, except my boyfriend. My parents offered to watch my lizard, Ajax while I went to Alabama for about 2 months I said N.O. I know no one in my family was going to go to the store every week, buy crickets, and feed him - or water him. Watering him is tricky because you have to make sure he sees the water. -.-; I'm sorry for your losses. :C I have two little mice that I my boyfriend is currently babysitting and I would hurt him if they died. XD Not really but I'd be sad and then make him buy me more! >8D /rambling

kitty_kat · June 2010

I left for a week to visit family and i let my cousin take care of my two pet mice. When I got home one was missing and the other was dead... all he could say was "Oh". If he was a little kid I would have understood but good god he was 15 and he couldnt even remember to feed them or lock the cage up.

RoyalRaccoon · June 2010

NotaMallard wrote:

Oooh, that definitely sounds worse. I'm sorry. Is there anyone you know that could stop by every few days and check on them? You could tell your mom that it's just so she doesn't have to do as much. I hope it turns out better this time.

The koi died because the power went off, which shut the pump off, but no one remembered that until I got home and started my rounds on the animals. The bettas had just hatched out before I left, so it was a bit more understandable. They are very hard to keep alive at that size(practically microscopic). It just really made me mad that my mom threw in algae wafers when my instructions were clear to throw in the baby fish food, and some live food. They probably starved, or died to the water going bad from the amount of (wrong)food she put in. She just refuses to clear the cages, which was ridiculous because no one knew when I was coming home. I could have been gone for weeks. This time around I don't have super sensitive animals like baby fish, so I'm hoping to work out the deal that I get dropped off Mondays, and picked up Fridays so I can come home to clean and check on my babies. I'll have access to a phone this time, so I'll also be calling like crazy. The least my mom can do is feed and water them, since she is the one forcing me to go. The only way I could get someone else to do it is if I hired them, and that makes everyone,including myself, nervous.

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A rant. Beware.

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