Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all! Just an update on my little "Kitty". He is simply more than I could have hoped for. A little tempermental when we first approach and then turning into a complete doll baby..(Did LLLReptile possibly mislabel an Arg? Ha, ha.) He hung out in my lap last night while the hubby and I watched a movie. He was very interested in the popcorn. Put him back to bed and then listened to him destroy the cage I had just cleaned out. Cest la vie. There is only one dull spot in my otherwise beautiful journey with my pets - the scaly ones, not the furry ones. It seems like everyone I know - family included - completely abhors all of my little (and not so little) darlings. I am constantly getting ridiculed and tormented over them and it is taking some of the joy out of my life. I know I should ignore them, but I have yet to master the art of spontaneous deafness and I still hear what they say. I can not be the only person who gets this. Does anyone have any suggestions?

May the Lady Bless you and yours.

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Lady Stefanie

Life is meant to be enjoyed, not endured.

No, you're not the only one who gets it! Sorry I don't have any suggestions. Almost everyone I know thinks my love of reptiles is nuts, and it seems to be all the worse for my being female. For some reason people seem to be even more suspicious of it because I chose not to have human children. I can't tell you how many times people question me about my reptiles then eye me suspiciously and say with obvious wonder in their voices, "...and you never had kids?" Do they think I decided to have lizards *instead* of rugrats? ("Hmmm...which shall it be?"What can you do but laugh?

Same here, ladies! My lizards and snakes ARE my kids. And when they get fussy you can put 'em back in their cage. It's just too bad they can't be claimed on taxes.

My friends & family don't understand either, but they do tolerate it. Being selective in sharing funny tegu stories helps with some of the ridicule and bizarre stares. Interestingly enough, when we take the kids out to the pet store, park, etc., it's usually the girls that come up and ask questions and pet them, while the guys tend to shy away. (Just an observation, not everyone of course.)

Glad to hear Kitty is enjoying his new home!

First of all, who says I don't have cages for my kids too?? (lol)
I find people look at me like I'm nuts BECAUSE I have kids. "Like, don't you already have enough to do??" is what I hear. I have to admit though, the eason I don't have more children right now is because I'm enjoying my animals too much. I know a baby along with the young children I have would not leave much time for me....and my hairless cuties...
The kids help and THEY understand even if no one else does.....
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NiCoLe RuSSeLL

"Cross a line enough times and after a while it ceases to exist"

You know, I hadn't even thought about the fact that no matter what anyone else might say, my husband at the very least "enjoys" the animals on an almost scientific level, if not as personable creatures, *BUT* my daughter adores the animals and is still young enough that she doesn't worry about what people think. She knows what she likes and that's good enough for her. (Hmmm... mom should take a page from the 7-year-old's book, huh?) Thank you all so much - and I'm pretty knowledgeable about the feeding, training and housing of h. sapiens , so if any of you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

Blessings!
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Lady Stefanie

Life is meant to be enjoyed, not endured.