Early this year Scott and I lost our hermit crab, Jackson and on Friday we thought we would check up on Trent before Scott left to America on Saturday for two weeks. Trent is notorious for hibernating, I have often mistaken him for dead only to find he is so fast asleep that he usually hates me for poking him to check he is alive so I believed he was in his usual hibernating state and when Scott picked him up and found he had died...it was a big shock. Losing our clumsy little boy after losing Jackson is devastating and I feel like the worst mother in the world. I think stress got the better of our babies and in a way I am glad they are not suffering anymore but still, I feel awful and wish I could have done more in order to save both of their lives.
Small animals - guinea pigs, hermit crabs, whatever - often times fall victim to stress and not a lot of people take this seriously. So please, if you have a small creature in your care always remember that stress is often times the killer of these beautiful animals so do what you can to ensure they are as happy as possible.
Needless to say, for those of you who know I was considering getting pet rats (albeit next year when I have my own place and not going to travel as much) I am now reconsidering and possibly holding out until I am entirely sure of where I will be permanently and where life will settle me. I lost Jodi, my adorable guinea pig this time last year and my family also lost our fourteen-year old cat Pebbles at the end of last year so I am mending my heart for the moment and definitely putting animals first before I try being a Mummy again - they need to have a secure home and environment so this is a lesson well learned.
