fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #3969 ]

[ SECRET POST #3969 ]

⌈ Secret Post #3969 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.

__________________________________________________

02.

__________________________________________________

03.

[Vampire Princess Miyu]

__________________________________________________

04.

__________________________________________________

05.

__________________________________________________

06.

__________________________________________________

07.

[Disgaea/Soul Nomad]

__________________________________________________

08.

__________________________________________________

09.

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 18 secrets from Secret Submission Post #568.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

About half a year ago, I got an uncommon pet (not naming species or gender for identification reasons). It was one I'd been wanting for a long time, I was very excited to have one, and I made sure to do extensive research before I even looked into getting one.

This particular pet is not happy in its environment. I have provided everything it needs, have spent a lot of money on the best things for it, and socialize with it every day. It does not have the standard outgoing, curious personality of its species; instead, it looks for a hiding spot and struggles every time I try holding it, sometimes trying to bite. I don't know if that's its individual personality, or if it was mistreated by the breeder. I've looked up possible causes, and I haven't found any reasons it would be like this aside from genetics or mistreatment.

It's the "family pet," but I'm the one who has to do everything with it (feeding, cleaning, bathing, interaction, etc.). No one else wants to hold it or do anything with it aside from greeting it every now and then. I feel the pet would be better off in a different home, particularly one where the whole family will love it, but every time I bring this up, the family makes excuses why "we" shouldn't get rid of it. I mention concerns I have regarding its disposition, and they say it's moody and will get over it. It's been long enough that it should have already happened, if it was going to.

This animal has another 7-8 years in its expected lifespan. I don't think it's right to keep this pet in an environment where it's obviously unhappy, and each passing day I'm admittedly becoming more and more bitter that I'm the only one taking care of it. The pet is not affectionate, and even though I try treating it with kindness and speak to it in a calm, mellow voice, it responds negatively.

I don't know what to do anymore. It's a domestic animal, so I can't take it to a wildlife center or zoo, but it is not something the local shelter would take (they only take cats and dogs).

I'd appreciate any advice. I'm aware that I'm the one who wanted the pet in the first place, but I recognize that this individual animal is unhappy in my care.

Like, not naming the species makes it hard to give advice.

Also, it makes you sound like you are talking about some human you have kidnapped or bought from human traffickers.

I used to work in a zoo and there's no way I can give advice without knowing the species.

Do you have an illegally trafficked wild animal as a pet??

Is this a parrot? Stop trying to snuggle it, if so. Not all birds tolerate touch.

Does the animal actively dislike you? Some animals simply won't bond with more than one person, it's just how they are, or how many individuals are (again I'm thinking of parrots).

If the animal likes YOU, keep it. Learning to like someone new will be hell for the poor thing, if it's already struggling and unhappy.

I'm going to guess that it's not a truly domesticated creature. Maybe it was bred for a couple of generations, but without the thousands of years of domestications, it's still got a lot of wildness in it.

I think the best you can do is try to give it a good life, and focus on building the best relationship you can with the creature.

If there was someone it loved more, that would be different. But I think you owe this creature the responsibility to care for it.

Be honest: do you just want out of the responsibility? You brought this creature into the family, into YOUR life, and you owe it the best care you can give it. Unless you can absolutely arrange a better, happier home for it...do not give it to a shelter to be traumatized and probably killed.

I'm sorry but just...no. That's not fair.

I'm confused. Why in the world are you not disclosing the SPECIES or even GENDER? Who in the world is going to identify you? Is your mom on fandom!secrets too or something? How could we give advice if you won't say what kind of animal you bought?

It's hard to give advice without knowing the species, since socialization isn't the same across all animals. Things like sugar gliders ether need a companion or you have to let them be with you basically 24/7, they NEED that company.

If they're truly unhappy (and it's not just a personality thing, some animals just... are aloof, much like people. Every animal has its own personality traits), rather than a shelter, at least scout out a proper home, vetting a person and making sure they can give it proper care/affection rather than just dumping it somewhere.

This sounds like a tough situation and I'm sorry, but as I think all the other comments have pointed out, it's really hard to just give generalized pet advice without even knowing the species.

Why would the species identify you? Like, is it an illegal exotic? I don't see why else you would be cagey, when this is apparently an animal common enough to have breeders and whatnot. And how on earth would the animal's sex identify you? That is super confusing.

Is it a fox?

I'd say do a google search for {pet species} rescue for someone who can give you advice.

it looks for a hiding spot and struggles every time I try holding it, sometimes trying to bite.

Take it for a check-up at the vet. This sounds like it might have some kind of pain, chronic or otherwise so something might be bothering it. If it's an exotic species it there are vets that specialize in them.

Without telling people what it is, or even what general group of animal it belongs to, there's no way anyone can give you advice. Is it a bird? Reptile? Fish? Pig?

I would say for any animal, stop trying to hold it. It struggles and tries to bite you, that's as clear communication as you can expect from an animal. Did you get it and immediately start petting/holding it regularly, or did you give it time to get to know you first? Many animals (like many birds and some reptiles) require long adjustment periods of getting used to a person's presence before they can trust that person enough to be handled. I know many birds need 6+ months with a new owner before they begin bonding. Other animals need to have constant attention or have companion animals or else they get too lonely, like sugar gliders.

If it has been mistreated and it's issues stem from that, there's a good chance re-homing it won't help the animal at all and will just stress it out even more.

I rescued a dog a long time ago, and it took years before he mellowed out enough to be a regular 'pet', and he always had problems. For the first few months I couldn't look directly at him or he would piss himself, and for the first year he would never stay in the same room as me for more than thirty minutes or so before he had to go hide. For years I had a dog that I rarely touched, and almost never talked to. I pretty much just left him alone until he learned to trust me. I was kind of bitter, because who wants such a shitty pet, right? But giving him away wouldn't have helped anything, he'd just be a problem for someone else, and most people wouldn't have the patience to deal with a bad pet.

How on earth would IDing the species of your pet identify you on FS? I’m fairly certain I’m not the only chicken keeper here, we have some horse people, and lots of cat and dog owners, but I can’t remember anyone mentioning more unusual animals.

yooo if you put that thing into a zoo or a fucking shelter...

find it a better home, if you can. your family sounds like a bunch of jackasses anyway.

Maybe this just isn't a pet that wants to be held? I've had a turtle for 20+ years and while she is very responsive to me and we have a lot of interaction, being picked up and held is not her idea of a fun time.

Sounds like what my cousin was going through with her male hedgehog. He's an asshole. Always hissing and puffing at people. Nothing like the friendly ones in videos on YouTube. I take care of him during the week and she deals with him on the weekends.

I can't give you more specific advice without knowing the species, but I can say from handling a lot of animals that aren't hundreds of years into breeding for domestic suitability that you are very likely to not find them cuddly.

You might see pets like yours being cuddled by other people and think "hey I want that", but what you see may not be the norm, depending on what species you have.

Some species who are dependent on their parents early in life will form strong attachments to caregivers of any species, but most animals that aren't birds can tell that you are not their parent and will seek more independence from you with age.

If your animal is usually part of a social species, then don't expect that human company will fill the void of a real companion. If you have a bird, some of them respond well to introducing a mirror for them to talk to "another" bird. Others don't.

If you have something like a rabbit or guinea pig, some of them just hate people being in their territory or are fearful of being handled. They're cute and fluffy and you would think cuddly, but not always.

Ferrets are just dicks. They're pretty amusing and can be fun, but they're dicks. They aren't cage all day pets like hamsters. They need lots of activity and mental stimulation. It is possible to keep one rather than a pair, but they need attention, not necessarily affection.

Reptiles are just sort of there. Expect that they won't be very active or entertaining. They may not like being handled.

If you used a reputable breeder you should be able to contact them for information and advice. They may offer to take the animal back and rehome it.

I wouldn't rehome it to a family where it would get more interaction. You sound like you have a pet that doesn't enjoy attention or being handled, and more of that would likely be very stressful.

It could be that it was abused or mishandled, or not socialised appropriately by the breeder.
It could also be that you just bought a pet that doesn't seek out people for company. You can find them in any breed, and as much as you may want to believe the cute stories you read as a kid about how you can tame any animal with love and food, some of them have no interest.

I think a better indication of stress or boredom in your pet than lack of friendliness would be repetitive behaviours or loss of interest in necessary activities (grinding teeth, chewing hard surfaces - beyond what might be necessary if you have a pet that needs that, pacing, stress moulting, pulling out hair or feathers, biting at their own limbs - if you've already treated environment and animal for infestations of lice/fleas, scratching, making more noise, loss of appetite or interest in food, no desire to move around environment for unusually prolonged periods).

It's easy to be discouraged if you have an idea of what your pet will be and it doesn't meet those expectations, but a less active or social pet than the one you expected is not a clear sign of depression.

If you can offer them more stimulation in their environment, provide more variety in where their cage or playpen is located, introduce them to new foods or toys or bedding types, then you might notice more curiosity and interest from them, but they can't show a whole lot of excitement for things they see every day.

I'd definitely encourage you to talk to other owners of this type of pet, because you may find that what you hear when someone is trying to sell you a thing is different to what you hear from people who already have it. Experiences and satisfaction may vary from what you have seen previously if you have looked for "cute pictures of cuddly ----" or on websites that tell you what to buy. Even people who have blogs about owning their own cute pet probably don't post pictures of them cleaning up poo or paying vet bills or getting bitten by fluffy.

It is normal to believe that you are the worst pet owner ever when you don't feel confident or experienced.

Did you somehow find a dragon?

Is it an animal that is supposed to be in a group?

Some animals, although individuals have been known to thrive alone, the majority prefer having another to bond with. It may be an individual that just wants to bond to another of its species.

I can think of very few small exotics that people expect to be affectionate that do well entirely alone.

It's also possible you just got a dick. Provide for basic needs and stop trying to give it interaction and try to reduce stress as much as possible.

If you're trying to 'flood' it with human interaction all the time and never letting it feel alone and safe, you're just going to end up with a stressed out unhappy animal. You need to adjust for what your animal wants to be healthy and happy, not what the general experts say.

Like I have snakes. A lot of pet owners hate racks as ugly and cruel and talk about how snakes need large terrariums full of enrichment. I built huge terrariums full of enrichment, perfect temps, spotlessly clean, everything that was supposed to be a snake owner's perfect snake habitat. My snakes spent all their time huddled and hiding and rarely ate. I put them in their plastic tubs in a rack, and they're bold, active, easy to handle, and eat like little pigs. They're showing all the behavior signs of a content and unstressed snake, so I'm going with what makes them happy, not what people on the internet say.

I'm just trying to puzzle out what lives ~7-10 years, is an uncommon pet (this varies by geographic location, though), and is a domesticated animal (although are we talking domesticated as in genetically distinct from its wild ancestors or domesticated as in tame/captive-bred?).

Ferrets can live 10 years and sugar gliders can live 15, domestic rabbits can also live to be around 10.

Would rule out rats and a lot of rodents though.

Meanwhile, a lot of reptiles live longer than 10 years, although maybe small lizards like bearded dragons are in that range. Turtles, tortoises, and iguanas live longer - sometimes WAY longer. I don't know about snakes.

Parrots live longer, and parakeets somewhat longer, but some small birds like finches might be in that range (but small birds are pretty common pets, unless it's an unusual species).

Miniature goat or pig??

Dude, this story is so sketchy that I'm almost sure that you're making it up.

But let's pretend this is legit. Call a vet. Call a vet. Call a vet.

They can help you determine if your animal's behavior/situation is normal or something that needs further investigation/mitigation. They should also be able to offer you some options on who you could surrender this animal to if you're unable to take care of it. And yeah, if you and your family are unwilling or unable to properly care for this animal, then you need to surrender it to someone who can.

Yeah, it's troll-y, I'm hoping it's made up too, wtf.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ SECRET POST #3969 ]

Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice

Re: Pet Advice