Sad :(

[Lankyrob]

Seems a lot of people writing posts like this recently but there we go.

Unfortunately life seems to keep adding bad news onto bad. SOme of you will know that my health hasnt been great recently and things are beginning to be a struggle on some days. Have had to spend out on a lot of disability aids around the house plus a new wheelchair etc recently and money has become surprisingly tight surprisingly quickly.

So today i was spot cleaning my arboreal vivs and realised that despite being sealed water has somehow gotten into the dividing panel and it is starting to perish.

Without the money to replace the viv it is looking like we may have to downsize our collection somehow :(

How the hell do you choose which of your babies to give up?

We arein a quandry and an emotional mess at the moment - even having thoughts that if we cant keep all of them then maybe we should rehome all of them.

totally gutted and kinda lost as to what to do next..........

[brylecc1989]

Wow Rob I am very sorry to hear that. Is there any way to cheaply but securely rebuild that side of (im guessin docs?) enclosure? Or perhaps keep him temporarily in a sterilite tub until you can afford a new enclosure? I know it seems hard right now, but as you stated with your health being not so great, I feel your herps are more important than ever. If im not mistaken, your herps spend their days with you in the living room. You both enrich the other's existence. I feel you need to keep at least a few of your babies, if nothing else than to make YOUR quality of life better. You try your very best to be an excellent keeper. DON'T GIVE UP YOUR PASSION! Or i fear your hard days will be worse and your good days not as good. Hope it works out youre the man rob. Thats my .02.

Bryan

[Lankyrob]

Thanks Bryan. The viv is a arboreal stack shared by my JCP and GTP - there is no way i could get rid of either of those so it would mean rehoming two others and doing some viv swapping to get them to fit.

the panel may be able to be repaired but i am no DIY'er to be able to do it.

[brylecc1989]

Oh I understand. All I can say is keep your head up bro. Keep reading your signature, its inspired me :) Whatever you choose i'm sure will be the best for you and yours. We're here if you need us.

[presspirate]

Man, that's a tough call Rob. I know it probably not be best for you emotionally to rehome all of your pets, as they bring joy to what might be otherwise joyless days. I hope that somehow you can come to a satisfactory solution. I know how hard it is to make the choices of who stays and who goes,:no: My thoughts are with you mate.

[Lankyrob]

Cheers greg. Ideal solution would be to find a fibreglass arobreal viv with two sections big enough for both snakes for a few bucks in the local paper - guess we can all dream :)

[Will0W783]

Rob,

I am so sorry to hear about your troubles. I recently downsized my collection, and it was a tough choice. For me, I considered the animals' temperament, their potential sale value, potential breeding plans in the future, and my overall attachment to each. I downsized from 39 snakes to 25, and might still have to sell a few more. It sucked; it was heartbreaking, but it was what was best for them and for me.

What is your viv panel made of? If you have a hardware store near you, you might be able to replace just that panel with melamine and silicone sealant.

[shaunyboy]

sorry to hear about your predicament rob

i will also be letting some of my collection go as well mate

my cash situation is changing dramatically and i will find it finacially impossible to keep everything

i could not choose who to let go,so i chose who i definatley couldn't let go (if that makes sense)

it may come to the point where its only my diamonds that will be kept

my diamonds are the pride and joy of my collection and they have the added bonus of only needing 4 hours heat per day,so are the most econimical to keep.

is there not a friend you could ask to repair the end of your viv for you ?

cheers shaun

[Lankyrob]

Seems a lot of us are heading into similar situations, unfortunately i dont know anyone who is handy with woodworking.

[SnakeyJay]

Im no good with wood or id be straight over to bristol to help you out.. U wana see the mess I make just fitting a light in a viv haha. If I can help at all, and I do mean at all, just give me a shout. My thoughts go out to you dude.

[Snakefood]

Sorry to hear about the hard times.

I second the motion to put snakeys in tubs until you can resovle this. I am sure someone here on the forums would be able to help with a repair or old viv. If only England weren't so far away, I'd send hubby out tonight to fix it!! (hubby is about the best DIY'er I've ever met!!)

If I were in your shoes, I may give the fix a try myself anyways, I mean what's going to happen if it doesn't work, you've ruined an already ruined viv. But if you succeed, your snakeys homes are fixed

[Lankyrob]

Cheers Jay. Its great to have so much support - i will keep you all updated as to what we decide to do.

[infernalis]

Seems a lot of us are heading into similar situations, unfortunately i dont know anyone who is handy with woodworking.


If it was not for the Atlantic ocean in our way, I would fix it right up for you... but my truck does not have a big enough snorkel to make the drive.

[SnakeyJay]

Lol im a part one scaffolder, im good with steel and things that cant break lol... Give me somethingdelicate and watch the mayhem unfold.. Have you looked on preloved for a free or cheap viv? Thats worth a shot as alot of people are downsizeing atm.

[Lankyrob]

Thanks all - i have been looking around but unfortunately not many people have arboreal vivs and a 2 vivs the right size wont fit in the space we have - will keep looking and fingers crossed for a solution!

[Will0W783]

I'm sure you'll fine one Rob. Also you can put an ad on classifieds asking for one. I know we have Craigslist here in the US- I find cages for dirt cheap on there all the time.

[Lankyrob]

Thanks for all the help and emotional support guys.

I ahve today received an offer from a guy on the other forum i use - he is willing to drive 80 miles to take a look at it and try to get it fixed - he builds all his own vivs so has plenty of knowledge/skills that i just cant get near.

Everyone keep their fingers crossed!! i will keep you updated.

[infernalis]

Thanks for all the help and emotional support guys.

I ahve today received an offer from a guy on the other forum i use - he is willing to drive 80 miles to take a look at it and try to get it fixed - he builds all his own vivs so has plenty of knowledge/skills that i just cant get near.

Everyone keep their fingers crossed!! i will keep you updated.

I was hoping that I was going to read something good when I saw this post.

Fingers, toes and eyes crossed for you mate.

[SnakeyJay]

Same here rob, everything crossed for you. :)

[Snakefood]

So Awesome!!! Glad you're not having to re-home anyone now

[bladeblaster]

best of luck mate, hope it gets sorted

[ilovemypets1988]

rob, before u go doing anything, theres a website where people gives things away to people, its on yahoo and its called freecycler, there maybe something on there that you could use, if you need any info, just send me a pm and i will do my best to help.

[Snakefood]

I aslo found these collapsible terrariums online which you may be able to find in the UK too.

InstaCages - Collapsible Reptile Screen Cages (http://shop.reptilegeeks.com/266-instacages)

very inexpensive considering what a terrarium can cost!!

[Coffee Black]

Hope all goes well Rob, I really do. Good luck !

[marvelfreak]

I got my fingers cross that it all works out for you buddy. Hopefully he will be able to fix it for you. I hate to see you have to get rid of any of your snakes. When they bring you so much joy.

[Lankyrob]

Got a message from my "forum friend" tonight, he is coming up Sunday morning to try and sort the viv!! Fingers firmly crossed!

[Freebody]

i really hope every thing works out for you rob, and im hoping your medical situation gets better as well. if i lived over their i would come over and fix it up for ya, if worst comes to worse i can at least give you step by step directions to replace your bad board. just post a pic and im sure most of us could help ya, I know home depot and rona, most places that sell lumber do cuts for you, so all you would need to do is get a drill, drill some pilot holes and pop some screws in, it would not be to hard on your body if all else fails, i got me fingers crossed for ya bro. gl.

[shaunyboy]

Seems a lot of us are heading into similar situations, unfortunately i dont know anyone who is handy with woodworking.


the price of electricity is whats crippling me finacially rob

its very annoying since i read that the power companys are making huge profits

i think one company declared profit of 300 million pounds for the first quarter of the year (not sure if got the exact amount correct but it was in the hundreds of millions)

its shocking these companys are allowed to do this (pardon the pun :yes: )

cheers shaun

[Freebody]

sorry to hear shaun, i hope things turn for the better for you as well. my buddies brother is an energy trader, did like 10 years of university and hes super smart and an absolute workaholic, 20 hours a day hes on call, but this guy makes just over 100k a year + bonus becuase you can only get paid a limited salery in the govt sector, so he get a bonus upwards of 100$ k a year. yet energy cost more and more every year. i think we can see why....

[shaunyboy]

sorry to hear shaun, i hope things turn for the better for you as well. my buddies brother is an energy trader, did like 10 years of university and hes super smart and an absolute workaholic, 20 hours a day hes on call, but this guy makes just over 100k a year + bonus becuase you can only get paid a limited salery in the govt sector, so he get a bonus upwards of 100$ k a year. yet energy cost more and more every year. i think we can see why....


thanks mate,no matter what happens the diamonds will be staying with me the whole of their lives.

it just sickens me that the power companys are allowed to keep increasing the price on one of lifes most important basic needs.especially if you take into account they demand so much already,it allows them to make huge profit's into hundreds of million pounds.

yet our government just lets them do it,as long as they get their cut by way of taxes...!!

(sorry for the rant )


cheers shaun

[Lankyrob]

Well, Steve the forum stranger arrived this morning and has fixed our viv!! Am so happy and thankful for his generosity!

All he would take in terms of payment was a cup of tea - said that my contributions to his forum balance out anything that he has done to help us - what a stellar bloke!!

Just waiting for the sealant to cure and then snakes can go back in tomorow and all will be happy!!

[Freebody]

good stuff rob, happy to hear the good news, and cudos to steve, gj mate!

[Snakefood]

That's great rob!!! So glad to hear that it's all fixed up!!

What a great guy to come out and fix that up for you!!

[Lankyrob]

Thanks, he was fantastic, came and took out the affected panel and then went with me to the hardware place and got a new piece cut plus picked out the other bits and bobs we needed, he even offered to pay for the bits but i wouldnt let him!

Turned out it cost us £14 instead of replacing the vivs for something like £400!!

[Snakefood]

Gotta love it when the silver lining shines so bright, eh???

[Lankyrob]

Totally, a bad situation has led to a new friend, not many better silver linings than that!!

[sassy_snake_lady]

Great to read. Glad you got it sorted. It's nice to know there are still some decent people out there :D

[Gungirl]

So happy it all worked out for you Rob!

[infernalis]

very happy to read this......

[marvelfreak]

14620 glad to here it word out. i hate to see anyone have to get rid of something they love so much. Steve Rocks.:)

[CK SandBoas]

I am so happy everything worked out for you in the end:)

[SnakeyJay]

Congrats on the good result rob.... :)

[presspirate]

Glad to hear it Rob! Nice to know there are still some good people out there.

[shaunyboy]

Well, Steve the forum stranger arrived this morning and has fixed our viv!! Am so happy and thankful for his generosity!

All he would take in terms of payment was a cup of tea - said that my contributions to his forum balance out anything that he has done to help us - what a stellar bloke!!

Just waiting for the sealant to cure and then snakes can go back in tomorow and all will be happy!!


great news rob

it's amazing what you can achieve with a good cup of tea in this country mate :yes::yes::yes:

cheers shaun

[Coffee Black]

Awesome! Glad it worked out!

[Lankyrob]

Both snakes back in their repaired homes now, was meant to be feeding week this week but with all the disruption have left it til next week, hoepfully they will be all settled in and hungry by then!!

Thanks to everyone for your support, it means a LOT! :)