Daenerys's Bunny Blog, Reptile House

[JadeIcing]

Sweet thanks.

 

[Daenerys]

You're welcome! Its a wonderful forum, everyone there is super friendly and there are a lot of people who have been breeding corns for many many years (think decades) as well as Kathy Love, who wrote the corn snake manual:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1882770706/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

If your friend does get a corn snake, I highly recommend that book as well as the forum, because sometimes things come up like maybe her snake gets mites, or maybe if she gets a female she ends up producing eggs and ends up egg bound....any sort of thing like that, they can help her get through it.

 

[JadeIcing]

I will! I'm not sure she can handle it but I figure make sure she has tons of info so she can make an informed decession.

 

[Daenerys]

Yeah like I said Kathy Love is an active member of the forum and is an expert on corn snake care so its a perfect place to go for any advice or information if she does get a corn snake.

 

[Daenerys]

Just thought I'd share whats going on in my life right now...I know I don't have any bunnies anymore but I do still enjoy this site as it is an animal forum There's been a lot happening so I may miss out some important details or something, and I apologize in advance if you get confused.

First off, a couple weeks ago I decided it was time to inform my parents about me moving in with my fiance. I had no idea how they would take to such news as we have only been together since October of 2009 and I am only 19 years old. I was ready to be completely shunned, possibly have to deal with no financial help from them, basically I was ready for the worst. But to my great surprise and relief, they are completely okay with it! And they will still help with rent or anything else, like groceries, if needed! So needless to say I am extremely happy about that. Brandon's parents aren't too thrilled but hey, he is 22 years old so they will just have to get over it. They can't make the rules for him his entire life.

That happened two weeks ago. I was on vacation at the beach the 17th through the 24th and when I got back I immediately started packing my stuff up for the move this coming weekend. But my mom scheduled me to have my wisdom teeth removed on Monday the 26th, and a follow up appointment on the 2nd, so that makes things a bit more difficult. My mom works as a paramedic and her schedule is a bit crazy, she works every other weekend and my dad works Monday through Friday, so in order to get a weekend off where neither have to work before my college classes start, I have to move in this coming weekend. I have most packed except my clothes and other stuff I still need to use. I am going to start packing up clothes soon, and leave only enough unpacked that I need to hold me over until the 2nd.

On Monday I had my wisdom teeth removed, and everyone had been telling me I was going to be way out of it for a few days, but actually I feel quite normal so long as I take my pain meds. No drowsiness, no sleeping for hours on end, just some occasional jaw pain. And it takes me a very long time to eat anything, but that's okay, I need to go on a diet anyways lol.

I am very glad that I wasn't out for the past few days, because I have gotten a lot packed already. The plan is to move all my furniture and stuff to the apartment this coming Saturday, and anything else we might be able to fit in the car/uhaul, and then I come back home for my wisdom teeth followup appointment on the 2nd, and then I take everything else that is left back to Raleigh with me in my car. I hope that is all I have to do, because I have most of the furniture and I am bringing my dog and my fish back to Raleigh too. I don't want to have to make too many trips back and forth. Brandon has all the snakes and stuff, plus the cat, so hopefully he can get all that moved without my help. He will have his parents helping him, though I don't know how they'll do moving all the animals because they're not really snake people...Brandon is actually moving all his stuff this Saturday as well because that's the day his current lease runs out so he has to be completely done by that night. Saturday is going to be a really busy day...

Sorry if this post seems a bit ramble-y, but I am not the best at explaining things, especially when there is so much to say!

 

[JadeIcing]

Good luck on the move.

 

[Daenerys]

Thanks, just finished up packing a few more boxes, moving is so much work! This is my first time moving where I actually have to do stuff....the other times I was way too young to even remember.

 

[kirbyultra]

Moving is so not fun... I can't find stuff for the next 6 months after feverishly unpacking LOL Congrats though. Glad your parents were so cool with it.

 

[Daenerys]

Yeah I am moving in early so that I have time to unpack and set everything up before classes start on the 18th...hopefully I get it all done in time! I also have to learn the bus route...I didn't get a parking pass for on campus

 

[slavetoabunny]

Good luck with the move. I move 16,000 pounds of house from CA to FL 6 years ago. Your move should be a bit easier.

 

[Daenerys]

Oh wow, you took your entire house!? And all the way across the country!? >.>

Yeah I am moving 2.5 hours from Charlotte to Raleigh, will definitely be easier than that...and Brandon only has to move his stuff 5 minutes down the road. Heh.

I'm feeling rather sore and feverish this morning....darn wisdom teeth need to heal faster. I am considering a cold shower....

 

[slavetoabunny]

Daenerys wrote:

Oh wow, you took your entire house!? And all the way across the country!? >.>

Lol, it was 16,000 pounds of stuff from my house. Amazing what you can accumulate in 15 years!

 

[Daenerys]

Ahh okay hahahah the way you worded it made it sound like you just took your entire house XD yeah I don't have that much stuff....yet....but I do have a lot more than I originally thought I did!

 

[Daenerys]

Well, today is Friday, the last day for me to get everything packed and ready to be moved tomorrow!

But of course I woke up this morning to something completely unexpected: my mom went in to work overtime when she was supposed to be staying home today.

Mother, mother, why do you always do this? Now I am supposed to tell my brother to get the furniture out of the shed for me when you KNOW he never listens to me the first time and will give me hell over it! It doesn't matter that you said it to him yourself yesterday, he will conveniently forget all about that as soon as he sees you're not here. You were supposed to be here so that he will listen and do as he is asked. Now I will have to put up with his crap all day long when I already have so much other stuff to do! *sigh*...

Everyone has left me home to go out to eat lunch, I have to sit here and wait for them to return so that MAYBE they will help me move the furniture, but knowing the men in this house they will probably wait until the last minute so that I have to be up past midnight vacuuming the dog hair off the furniture. It was only by a miracle that I got my dad to reserve our moving truck in advance, what makes you think it will happen again? No, I can see how this day will go. It will be a fight to get anything done around here in time. Dad is already saying how he has these plans to go donate blood tomorrow morning and do a few other things before we can leave for my apartment. And he wants to go see a movie and eat at this wing place instead of actually help move the furniture. Why is it always like pulling teeth to do anything!?

And to make matters worse Brandon informed me that his mother was saying last night that she is really disappointed in my parents for being okay with us living together, and she thinks they have no values, and she thinks we have no values... She refused to help Brandon move any of his animals too, he has to do that by himself (I really hope they aren't going to make him move Azzy's cage, which is over 100lbs, alone. He might hurt himself!). And Brandon was informed this morning that because we are going to have a cat AND a dog that we have to pay TWO $75 pet deposits when we were told specifically by this girl we talked to when signing the lease that we only had to pay it once. Like seriously, I specifically said "Because we have a dog and a cat will we have to pay $150 for the pet deposit or just the one $75 deposit?" and the lady said "Oh no you just have to pay the one $75 deposit."...well, conveniently, that lady has quit her job there.

I really hope this day gets better. Right now its really seeming pretty crappy.

 

[Nela]

Hang in there. I can sort of relate because when I moved overseas my family was of no help at all. It was very very hard to have to go through every single item in the apartment and get everything done in time. Luckily, my best friend realized I had no help and she came to the rescue. She even rented a van for us because we had no way to get to the airport. Jeff came down a few weeks in advance as well to help out. The actual moving sucks but once you get there, it's such a relief. I'm wishing you all the best with your move and I hope you will be very happy there with your boyfriend. As for values... Been there done that. I'll tell you this: you learn a heck of a lot more about the person you are with when you are living with them.

Hope it's all you're hoping for :biggrin2:

 

[Daenerys]

Yeah well my parents are helping me move, they just decided not to today, they're gonna save it all for tomorrow at the last minute. So, I have to do everything today to get prepared for that tomorrow. If I don't I can't see us getting everything done in a reasonable amount of time and at a reasonable hour.

I suppose it doesn't help with the values thing that Brandon's parents are strong Christians....they're the type that go to multiple Sunday services. And Brandon's sister is like a perfect little model of his mother and her values. They even have the same haircut. Brandon is like the black sheep of the family because he does his own thing. He doesn't like church, he isn't even sure of being a Christian. He's the type that thinks there's a god but that god is not involved. So, his family is usually not happy with the way he does things in his life. My parents actually don't like the idea of us living together either, but as my dad says my mom just kind of threw up the white flag on this issue because since I'll be with Brandon pretty much every day anyways and there's nothing they can do about it since they live 2.5 hours away, might as well let it be a permanent thing. I'll live there whether or not my name is on the lease. I agree with you completely on the fact that you learn a lot more about a person by living with them. That's the whole reason I want to move in with Brandon. We're engaged to be married so I figure if there's going to be any sort of falling through I'd rather it happen before we are officially married instead of after. That way there are less things to have to deal with. I see this as a different set of values, not a lack of values. We all have different opinions of whats right and whats wrong, its just they're not willing to accept those differences. But they'll have to some day cause its happening no matter what!

EDIT: And about the whole falling through thing, thats what my dad is most worried about with us living together. He thinks that if there's any sort of falling through then we'll have to deal with fights over who is paying for what or who gets what furniture and what animals, etc etc etc....but really this is something that could happen with any roommate, and it could happen with any relationship. I don't want to be the type of person who is so careful about this sort of stuff that I never get to experience life. I don't want to be the type who shuts herself up in her home because she's afraid of all the "what ifs" in life. I'll take the risk, dad, sorry.

 

[tonyshuman]

I know my parents weren't happy when I signed my first lease with a boyfriend, because of all those "what ifs" that you mentioned if the relationship fell through, not to mention they try really hard to not be uptight but are. After a few years, they've gotten more used to the idea.

I don't have to deal with people who think you can only be a good person if you follow a certain religion, which I am very glad about. It may take time for them to change their minds, but I think if you show them that you're responsible, caring, and good for your fiancee, his family will eventually accept you and that you guys live together. If they don't accept that you're a good person despite seeing evidence of it, then they're really irrational people, and you may have to stop caring if they like you or not.

It's really common lately for people to live together before getting married and I think it's a great idea. Our lives can be a bit unstable with finding work these days, and at younger ages, people do change over the years. We like to think our personalities are set once we hit 18 but that's just not the case at all. Beyond learning if you can stand someone with you at home all the time (snoring, messiness, dishes, etc), you need time to figure out if it's absolutely right. Knowing your sig other really well is the key to making the right decision about marriage so that it is the right decision and it lasts!

Wanted to put in my support for that! I've been living with my bf pretty much since we started dating 2 and a half years ago. The first 6 mo, he lived at my apartment but wasn't on the lease there--he had another apartment where he was on a lease but didn't stay there, and the other 2 years we've been on a lease together. It is, however, smart to know who owns what and try not to buy things together. For instance he has two bunnies and I have two; the TV is his, I know which pieces of furniture are whose, etc.

 

[Daenerys]

We have bought a few things together like animals (Zedd the beardie and we split the fish tank set up and a couple of tanks for the snakes) but I don't think we'd fight over who gets what....I'd let Brandon have them. And all the furniture is either mine or his. So, I think we're set in that respect.

Also I have gone through so many personality changes just leading up to 18 that I really don't see myself changing any time soon. The way I am now just seems right, like its truly who I am. For once I am not trying to find myself through what I see in other people, this is the one time I have really looked at myself to figure out who I am. And Brandon is the one person who I don't hide anything from. He knows more about who I am than my parents do. I doubt my personality will change much more if at all.

God that sounds totally cheesy....but its true.

 

[Daenerys]

Just wanted to share with everyone our newest addition! Brandon works at PetSmart and he fell in love with this kitty who he helped take care of in the adoption center. Her name is Jaylan and she is about a year old. She's a short haired tortoiseshell. She is super playful, and very vocal. She loves to cuddle on the couch with Brandon and she'd probably love to cuddle with me too if Legend didn't have his jealousy issues (he chases her away if she gets too close). These pictures are from last night when she discovered the betta fish tank (its a new 2.5 gallon tank! I had one living in a bowl but Jaylan really really liked the little plant in the bottom and during the night she got it out and in the process killed Caspian II. D': So this one is Caspian III.)

Jaylan

New betta tank

Ooo, whats this?

It looks so....tantalizing...

Why can't I grab it!?!?!?

"Do you see that thing swimming round and round
Maybe we can reach on in and make it drown
If we sneaking up upon it carefully
There will be head for you and a tail for me"

Wait, what? A lid? darn!!

Grumpy face

Whats this??

AHH! DOG!

(more to come)

 

[Daenerys]

Ohhh hey, look over there! A lizard thingy! Mayhaps I can play with that one...

Ohh, and there's a long orange thing with no legs in here, that looks fun too...(don't mind the mess, cleaning day is coming up soon!)

Or maybe I will just stick with this feathery thing...whatever the devil it is...

AHA! Killed it!


And now a few pictures of our new apartment and animal setups:

Reptile room (and spare bedroom...not many people who would be comfortable sleeping in there! hehehehe)

Venomous snake rack. Top to bottom: pygmy rattlesnake, adult copperhead, juvenile copperhead. Oh and that big tank on top of the wooden one in the last picture holds a juvenile cottonmouth, also venomous. The wooden one holds our 8ft red tail boa. Would anyone like to come stay with us a while?

The 20gal tank rack and Jaylan's cat tree.

Frog tank...tis a tad humid in there, thats why the glass looks weird...

The smaller snake rack. Holds all the juvenile corn snakes, the juvenile black rat snake, the juvenile Brazilian rainbow boa (the empty tank on the floor is soon to be his), and the juvenile sand boa. There is also our new 20gal fish tank. Brandon is letting it circulate because soon he wants to add baby cichlids. One of the cichlids at work had babies and he is allowed to take as many as he wants for free!

There are some setups I did not get pictures of, I may add those later.