Dumping chins when pregnant

[Megan.]

Ok, I know this may be a sore spot for some people, but this is a topic that gets to me.


Why do people act like it's such a shock when they get pregnant? Obviously, if you are having sex(protected or otherwise), your chance of getting pregnant increases. We have all heard about people on birth control, or people who are toldt hey can't get pregnant having babies....

How is it the animals fault? It's not their fault that you ended up pregnant,w hy should they suffer and be moved around?

It's called being prepared, people! I don't understand why people have 50+ animals, and then turn around and say "Oops I got pregnant--chins gotta go!". If the possiblity of getting pregnant is there, shouldn't you account for it, and not get so many animals?

Lets face it people.. It's no ones fault but your own, that your animals are now being dumped. Sure as **** isn't the babies fault, or the animals fault..

WELCOME to america folks; where dumping your animals because of lack of responsbilty is seen as the right thing to do!!!!

[HedgeMom]

Hey, Megan!

You know it's been going on for as long as you've been on CnQ and it will continue to go on. Either dumping for college, marriage, pregnancy or "we're moving and they don't allow animals". It's symptomatic of the times. Total lack of concern for anything but the center of the universe... themselves.

Whether they dump their animals or euthanize old animals that become inconvenient, they still deceive themselves with "well, I'm putting a human life above an animal so that makes it right". Nope, it doesn't.

Megan, you're the exception to the rule. You're responsible and you understand the depth of that responsibility. I'm not sure why you bother, sweetie. I really don't.

[Megan.]

Nancy! Wow, I haven't talked to you in ages! How have you been?


Sometimes I ask myself why bother...but think, maybe someday SOMEONE will see that dumping animals just because they got married/moved/had kids is wrong, and take the repsonsblity... It has been going on since I joined CNQ, and I too doubt it will ever stop--unfortantly...

The only way it will stop is when America stops seeing animals as disposible things.

[Chin89]

I think that for many people, acquiring an animal is an impluse thing. Someone sees an animal that is cute and cuddly looking and feels they must have it, without a thought to what else is going on in their lives. Oftentimes, without a thought to the animals special needs, especially with exotics. As we know, chins are addicting so everything snowballs from there...See a chin (insert any animal you like here), buy a chin, buy several chins, breed (several) chins- all in the span of six months or less. It is a sad fact of life here.

I admire your spunk and willingness to bring these issues up Megan. I've had similar thoughts myself.

P.S. Hey Nancy, great to see you're still around... :)

[TheChinClique]

I think that if you get pregnant unexpectedly or if you are trying and you have a huge herd that it is not a bad thing to slim the herd down. People downsize their herds all the time. If I were to get pregnant I wouldn't have to downsize because I keep my herd small enough so that I can keep them, but to those that have 30+ animals it is understandable. I have worked in daycare for over 1 year and see 40+ kids everyday ages newborn to twelve years, and I mostly work with the younger ages.


I can tell you, even though it should be common sense, that a newborn baby takes every single second of your time if you want to do things right. Your life becomes completely focused around the baby and it is A LOT of WORK. Some people think oh well my baby won't be like that but IT WILL. So basically what I'm trying to say that is if you are having a baby and have a lot of animals that it might be smart to get better homes for some of the animals because if you are going to do things right and raise the baby with the amount of attention that it needs, it would not be fair to keep so many animals because they would not receive enough attention.


Pets would be the last thing you would be thinking about when you have a crying baby that needs a feeding when you only got an hour of sleep. Then the baby spits up and you got to clean that up, and then ohhh dirty diaper or ohhh baby won't sleep. Let's go change the animal cages!? I think not. Sure, there might be people there to help you out like a husband or a friend, but honestly I think it is just too much work for some people. But I agree that I don't think people should aquire a large herd in the first place if they might get pregnant. But I also don't think it is fair to say how bad it is for someone to "dump" their animals...sometimes it is the better thing for the animals to get new homes.


I understand where you are coming from Megan, but what do you think is better if someone has 50+ animals that don't get enough attention because of the new baby, or someone that has a smaller herd that they can handle along with a new baby and the other animals got great new homes? I really don't think it is fair to place the blame like that as long as the owner goes about it responsibly in finding new homes.

-Andrea

[illinidairychic]

Accidents happen and that's why it's so frustrating...because it's not just one case here or there is a lot of people all the time. I agree it does get old. I take in rehomes and yes the owners love them and yes they are good people. But what happens when there is no one to take the animal that is knowledgable. Isn't there a chance it could end up in the wrong hands or even worse a shelter?? I already know that my hedgehog herd will never grow to a point where I can't handle it. I also have a very supportive family that helps with the daily needs and knowing this I decided to bred. If I had a doubt in my mind I couldn't keep them if I got preg...and I'm getting married so that's not an issue...I wouldn't get such a large number of animals.

[jencortinas]

Regardless of the circumstances...at least they are trying to rehome them before they get to the point of being neglected (used loosely..not as in abused!!).

[Midwest Exotics]

i have a feeling this is directed to me.. (maybe not me in general, but to me)

Anyways, i feel like jencortinas does, at least im parting with mine before i let them sit sit sit in cages alone for days!

Right now this is VERY hard for me, i dont want to part with any of my animals, im going to sob parting with ANY of them, but at this point i feel its not only best for me, but its best for my baby & Chris! We need the extra money, i cannot do it all, & its not good at all for my health or the babies right now!

This is VERY VERY hard to get rid of some of my animals, but again, its what i have to do to better not only my life, but the animals & my baby!

Its not fair of me to keep all my animals(hobbies) & tell chris he has to part with all of his hobbies to keep mine going. Thats not right at ALL! i cant ask him to go to work & come home & clean cages & do everything else.

I have been so incredibly sick the past 3 weeks that i have had no energy to do anything--like NOTHING! he has done it all from watering, to feeding, to playing to cleaning & thats NOT his job! He has a full time job & his own hobbies!

Like jen said, its best people do get rid of some of the animals before they neglect them to the point of no return. me parting with my animals now is giving them a second chance to a better life! i know im uncapable of caring for them at this stage, or even having the baby & caring for it & the animals!!!

Im trying to sell my aniamls to people that i can one day MAYBE get them back from when i can do it all again!!!(or at least have updates!) i know its unlikley but all that matters to me now is that they go to good people that will care for them & that not only i, but my baby is healthy!

Im not selling every last pet i own, that is ridiculous when people clear EVERYTHING out just because. i see your frustration, but i think when you have over 50 chinchillas, 2 hogs(+hoglets) 3 ferrets, 3 gliders & 4 cats, you have to make a move somewhere along the lines to part with SOME & not be selfish! Im keeping 40 some chinchillas, 4 cats, 3 ferrets, 3 gliders & now i will have a full time baby! (which is far more hard to take care of than ANY animal out there!) & no im not going to neglect my baby just to be selfish & keep my herds of animals!

Im getting rid of my hogs, & about 10 chinchillas, i dont think thats bad AT ALL!!!! im not dropping everything just because im having a baby, but i am downsizing.

Is it ok for someone to downsize just because?? jen is downsizing & as far as i know she is not expecting.... is anyone bashing her for doing it for whatever reason? no!

No need to bash expecting parents for trying to better themselves, the animals & their babies!

as said before, being around all these animals while im expecting is very bad for me & my baby because it can cause misscarrying & can cause birth defects!

i will say it agan!!! its also not FAIR to chris to have to do it all.. im not selfish enough to keep them because someone who doesnt yet understand thinks they know how it is & or will be for them! Trust me, the johnson & johnson commercials are right, having a baby does change everything!!!!!!(you too will see) i never thought in a million years i would part with any of my animals, but for this baby & its health i would deal with the devil himself to keep things going smoothly. if im a bad person for that then i reallly dont know what to say!

im going to stop there because i could go on & on about this & my feelings on it. I may be rude for say this, but my baby means WAY more to me than any of my animals ever can & will!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tikitorch]

While I agree with your frusteration Megan I have to say that most have no idea how stressful it is to have a newborn.

I was a literal ZOMBIE the first two months after childbirth- I also had an EXTREME case of "baby blues" (other wise known a depression) and I felt like my whole world was ending (for no reason which was especially frusterating- since it should of been the happiest time of my life)

Plus you don't get much sleep for about a year (lol) I was so paranoid that something bad would happen to my daughter (they constantly drown you in SIDS advice at the hospital) that me and my fiance took turns sleeping and staying awake so we could watch her sleep and take care of her. It was the most stressful time in my life. I have to say that at that point the ONLY thing that mattered was her- and once you have a child you'll feel the same- regardless of how you feel now.

Anyways what I am getting too is that although I agree that it is irresponsible to collect a bunch of animals and then rid them when something comes up that sometimes it is for the best- and as long as you can find them great homes it's not all bad. Especially since there are always people looking for quality chinchillas.

So I agree and disagree at the same time- :)

[tunes]

as said before, being around all these animals while im expecting is very bad for me & my baby because it can cause misscarrying & can cause birth defects!


Aside from the issue being discussed - how can having chinchillas cause miscarriage and birth defects? Many people have been pregnant while tending their herds and had no ill effects. As far as hedgehogs - I don't know if they would or not, but I suspect if you wash your hands (as you would normally anyway I am assuming) why would they cause either miscarriage or birth defects? I'm a little confused as to where this statement comes from and what fact it's based on.

As for the issue being discussed - I see no reason not to downsize if the need is there. It's no different than culling your herd if you need to get rid of pet quality animals, etc, but I think it's ridiculous when I see someone with one or two chinchillas start whining that they just CAN'T take care of them because they have a baby on the way. That's crap. If they can't handle two chinchillas, then how can they possibly even begin to imagine they can take on the care of a baby?

Nikki - I agree with your statement. I think a big part of it is impulse buying. It isn't just chins. Let's see - first we'll start with two chins, now there's 50. Let's add in sugar gliders, hedgehogs, ferrets, degu, rabbits...... Oh, now that we have THOSE, it's time to move on to bigger and better - Let's get a fennec, a kinkajous, and on and on. Two months later - Wow - You mean you have to take CARE of all these animals? They don't do it themselves? This just isn't what I signed on for! *rolls eyes*