loosing interest

I find myself loosing interest in keeping snakes, 2 or 3 would be ok but I ended up with 8 in the last yr. I guess the collecter in me got carried away and now I don't know what to do? Anyone else ever have this problem?

There are times when after a dawn to evening Saturday of snake chores I ask myself: "What the heck am I doing? Is this fun?" And it's not as if I ONLY do snake chores on Saturdays. I feed snakes, usually many, every night of the week AFTER working all day. Last night I finished my snake chores at about 11:30pm. I have about 70-80 snakes, and I'm the only one who takes care of them, so I know how you feel.

When I'm truly fed up, and I've had enough, I'll sit down and try to make a list of what has to go. I usually end up with a list of 3 snakes, and these end up being snakes that I would regret selling for sentimental reasons. Then I decide that 3 wouldn't make a difference anyway, so why make a regrettable decision.

And after all that, I'll see something I want somewhere and start making inquiries. I'm at a sort of fed-up point right now, but that didn't stop me from inquiring about 3-7 snakes today! It's madness (literally, I fear). And I don't even want to think about how many project keepers I'll be adding to the collection this season.

But I don't think I can live without them. I try to see my Mom and sister (they live together) at least every couple of weeks, usually on a Sunday. My sister has three snakes. So I clear my own snake chore schedule, visit them for a snake-free day, and what do I end up doing? I usually end up feeding and cleaning at least one of my sister's snakes. What a weirdo!

In your case, if you don't have breeding project concerns, just pick the 2-3 you like best, and sell the rest. If I didn't breed them, I'd probably only have about twenty.

I don't think I'd ever get bored with the keeping of snakes...But I have gotten "bored" with certain projects, so I've dumped them. I'm with Dean on the taking care of a large amount of animals by myself and from time to time going "What the heck am I doing?" I enjoy hatching season very much, all the work with no immediate reward the rest of the year makes it worth it for me.

I agree with Dean, I am pretty much in his shoes and the sad part, I don't breed. I have a very eclectic collection of animals but use them for hands on events and use them for educational purposes. Yeah these guys do keep me going and I enjoy it. And like him, I have a few more animals coming in and now preparing room in my Quarantine room and moving animals out who have been in there for more than 8 months.

But sadly this is a hobby where the newb gets gun ho and starts to buy a half a dozen animals with in the first 6 months. I see this as a common problem in this hobby. I typically tell people after their first 2 snakes to slow down and wait six months before adding any new ones.
This helps them to learn from these snakes and to see if they want to add more to their collection.

But I am with Dean, sell off the ones you no longer care about and keep the ones you do. In about another year or so if you want to stay in this hobby pick up some more. Maybe get yourself a variety. and see if that works for you.

In this insane world we have, and work & personal issues
making it even crazier, my snakes (& Lizards) ARE MY SANITY!!
I use the time cleaning, feeding, etc to escape everything else.
It is an addiction for sure, but one I can live with (literally).
Most think I'm crazy, but it works for me.. I have 35 snakes
now, but more are on the way. I have gotten rid of snakes that
weren't working for me (or family members) but gotten more in
their place.
Sometimes its hard to do what is needed on a given day, and I have
waited until the next, but not losing interest as much as overwhelmed
at the time.
I've only been doing this for a few years so maybe the burn out
factor hasn't set in yet..??..
Some of my snakes will be breeders, a lot of them are just pets,
all are equal to me.
I kind of went off tangent there but I can't imagine "Losing Interest"
any time soon.
I love this hobby!!

I did get gun ho and now I regret it. I don't enjoy caring for them and I rarely handle them any more. they've just became something to throw food at and keep clean. I had planned on breeding but have no interest any more.
I really commend you who do this on a large scale, it would suck the life right from me.

I've pretty much narrowed it down to which three need to go but its hard to place morphs around here and I'm not giving them away It also doesn't help that one is nasty and will not make a good pet.

Has it become a chore more than a hobby?

Like I had mentioned a few times in other threads I just got my first snake a week ago today. I am already wanting another but I told myself to wait 6 months to see if it is something I still REALLY REALLY want. I am a very sentimental person and once I have an animals I get very attached so the last thing I would want to do is get one and then a year later realize Im not as into owning multiple snakes as I thought and I acted too hastily in getting another.

But on the other hand when anything becomes a chore instead of a hobby then maybe its time to minimize your collection so that it becomes enjoyable again...IDK thats just my opinion with anything not just snakes.

I may need to downsize, I have a case of not so much losing interest but having had some changes in my life. When I first got into keeping corns I had a steady job that I had held for years. Now I find myself not knowing what my future holds or what direction I am going. I've had to move with my snakes 3 times, not so bad at first but now it would be a hassle, I have a huge rack I can't even move by myself.
Still I doggedly keep at it. I guess it is one constant in my life that has just had so many ups and downs lately.
I think I will always love keeping and breeding them. I find working with them therapeutic in a way.
TBH I get more tired of having to advertise and go to shows and sell what I produce and have people assume the worst because they have never heard of you, or just plain assume the worst anyway. I don't excel at selling and promoting myself. I'm really not that much of a people person. If I'm burned out on anything it's what feels like a constant struggle to make a name for myself.

I'm in a partnership with the king of exotics....LOL. That keeps me going...
Me and Joel are like chalk and cheese when it comes to the snakes, and it works for us I think...
Because it's a joint decision we both have to be happy with the out come...This leads to much research, one against one for, then you try to persuade each other of the values of each choice...

I have a case of not so much losing interest but having had some changes in my life.

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I hear you.

I'm just about to give up work and go back to university for three years. With my "newer" morphs now due to produce, I reckon they're almost self-financing, so they won't be an issue while I'm a student.

But if I do go into my new field (archaeology) professionally, then there's a likelihood that I'll be spending weeks at a time away from home on digs or projects.

My parents are kind enough to look after the snakes for a week or two when I go on vacation, but leaving them for that long wouldn't be fair (on parents or snakes).

I've no idea how I'll face rehoming/selling any of them, but it might have to be done. Bottom line is - if you have to do it, for whatever reason, then face up to it, plan ahead, find the best homes you can and move on.

Interesting discussion. I've only got 11 corns and one reason is because of the responses you're getting to your topic, "what the heck am I doing?" With 11, I don't have to spend much time on them. I've got 23 eggs in the incubator with 1 possibly 2 more snakes gravid and while I look forward to hatching day, the month or two that follow until they're gone can get old. A few projects at once is enough.

I really want a Bearded Dragon, but won't get one because I don't want an animal that requires daily attention.

If I only had the snakes it wouldn't be much of an issue but I also have a bunch of tarantulas, 2 bearded dragons, dart frogs, a toad, hermit crabs, fish, all the feeder insect colonies, the rodent feeders, dogs, cat, a parrot, a teenager and a husband.

I'm the only one who cares for any of the animals and its all turned into a big chore. The snakes aren't the only ones needing rehomed, the crabs, toad and fish are also looking for new homes.

I can say that they will only go to good homes, if I can't find responsible owners they will stay with me. I might not like taking care of them all but I still do it.

DaGiant said:

In this insane world we have, and work & personal issues
making it even crazier, my snakes (& Lizards) ARE MY SANITY!!
I use the time cleaning, feeding, etc to escape everything else.
It is an addiction for sure, but one I can live with (literally).
Most think I'm crazy, but it works for me..
I kind of went off tangent there but I can't imagine "Losing Interest"
any time soon.
I love this hobby!!

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I couldn't agree more.

All day long my life is in constant motion. But I can walk away and into my snake room and it's like a whole different wold. It's quiet, there's no kids and no hubby. LOL Its just calm. I use the time with my snakes to relax.

There are those days when its just been crazy and I don't feel up to messing with them. But then I worry and at least go look at them through their tubs to make sure their alright. :crazy02: I may sell a few here and there. But I don't lose interest.

shed'n my skin said:

I don't excel at selling and promoting myself. I'm really not that much of a people person. If I'm burned out on anything it's what feels like a constant struggle to make a name for myself.

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I'll promote you Jen.Ghost House Corn Snakes rocks! How was that? LOL

Do not feel bad, just as long as you keep up the proper care all is good. To many times we have people who loose interest and the animal pays for it.

Recently I got from our herp society a very skinny, shed retaining boa. This RTB is about 3.5 - 4 feet long and you can feel its ribs, it has no muscle or body fat on it. This snake is very aggressive and the original owner stopped caring for it and stopped feeding it. This snake came to me in a really bad condition and this some times is the norm from animals where people have lost interest and not really care for their pets. Personally I have actually seen worse condition animals from neglect. Its really sad to see these animals in this condition.

I am happy that this thread hasn't turned into a Flaming thread. Everyone is respectful and understand what you are going through. I still wish you the best of luck and maybe something may change and spark some renewed interest for you. Maybe you are just coming down with some Spring funk..

I can sort of relate to "burning out" feeling because I felt that way when I was looking after my daughter's four cornsnakes where she lost her interest and I was the only one looking after them.... When I decided to take over and call them "mine," things changed however, and I just love the time I spend with my snakes now... Numbers are growing very fast, but I also really enjoy handling them, even just sitting right beside one of the tank where I have the snow... she always knows when I visit her and pokes her head and we stare at each other..lol My oldest sister told me that I needed a life, but I am in love with my babies, and that IS my life at the moment..

I hope you find them all good homes... they all deserve that I think..

Cheers,
Rebecca

waldo said:

I find myself loosing interest in keeping snakes, 2 or 3 would be ok but I ended up with 8 in the last yr. I guess the collecter in me got carried away and now I don't know what to do? Anyone else ever have this problem?

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I don't do through something like this any more than maybe 30 times a year.......... :eek1: Up from only 10 times a year just a couple of years ago... The work load from anything you do too much of can burn you out eventually.

I know that I'm cutting back this year.I say that every year, but this year I'm serious. I plan on only working with 3 morphs & some projects that are currently underway. The problem is what do I get rid of?:shrugs:
I can relate to Dean & Rich's comments. I'm feeling overwhelmed already & the clutches haven't even pipped yet. Linda & I combined spend 35-40 hours a week taking care of the breeders.:sobstory: Now I know why I don't feel like going to shows anymore. Just getting too burned out.

Connie just mentioned last night that she is SO glad we don't do as many shows as we used to do. They were a killer. We only do Daytona, and if that one ever stops doing well for us, then we will be done with shows completely.

About the worst time we ever had was when we did a Tampa show one weekend, and the following weekend did the Tinley Park show. As totally worn out as we were, I am astonished we didn't wind up running off the road into a tree somewhere.

As for cutting back, heck, I THOUGHT I have been doing that every year. So how come I still produced 4,000 good eggs this year? :crazy02:

Actually I don't really think I go through periods of losing interest. It's more along the lines of realizing that I am tired of spending nearly every day of my life doing this and watching the rest of the world (and my life) where I (we) could be doing other things. It's the realization that there are OTHER things of interest in life that we are not doing because we CAN'T because we need to be taking care of the animals. THAT is what wears you down.

waldo said:

If I only had the snakes it wouldn't be much of an issue but I also have a bunch of tarantulas, 2 bearded dragons, dart frogs, a toad, hermit crabs, fish, all the feeder insect colonies, the rodent feeders, dogs, cat, a parrot, a teenager and a husband.

I'm the only one who cares for any of the animals and its all turned into a big chore. The snakes aren't the only ones needing rehomed, the crabs, toad and fish are also looking for new homes.

I can say that they will only go to good homes, if I can't find responsible owners they will stay with me. I might not like taking care of them all but I still do it.

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Ive acquired 6 snakes in the last year or so but Ive yet to get tired of any of them. It weighs on me on feeding night when I am up til 1am because my picky eaters insist on sitting there til the mouse gets cold. I could leave them overnight with the mouse but I cant sleep unless I know theyve eaten.

I now have 5 corns, 2 Labs, 5 cats, fish and 2 turtles. I dont know....compared to dogs and cats....corns are a welcomed low maintenance to me.

When the newness with my corns wear off I usually run out and buy new viv stuff, vines, hides, plants and completely re-decorate their viv, I thoroughly enjoy that for some reason.

bekers71 said:

I'll promote you Jen.Ghost House Corn Snakes rocks! How was that? LOL

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Works for me
Thank You!

The snakes are kind of what keeps me going sometimes too - sometimes it's just knowing "this rack needs feeding" or "I need to check water bowls for keepers", thats like the kick in the pants I need when I am sitting there feeling down about stuff.