Are we all mad???

[ZiggyStardust]

I was talking to a work colleague today at lunch... don't know her particularly well but we were chatting whilst we shared a table at lunchtime.

she asked me what I would be doing tomorrow.

This is how the conversation went, more or less....

Me - "well, I'll get up at around 7am, turn Zig and Ghengis lights on, go downstairs and make a cup of tea, fill my sprayer with warm water, spray them. Go for a shower, go downstairs and prepare their breakfast (told her what this entails and because I have two very different sized lizards meant that I do this twice), go and prepare their vivs for the day (removing soaked paper towels, removing poop from the previous day, turning their drippers on, emptying the plastic water bowls that catch the dripper drips etc) and then put their food in. Then, I get in the shower and prepare myself for the day."

She looked at me as though I had just landed from outer space!!!

I was like... "what??"

She said "why on earth do you put yourself through all that, especially at that time in the morning?"

I said - "well, that's what they need - I am out all day, so that is what keeps them healthy."

Do you know what she did??

She gathered up all her lunch things, threw me a filthy look and said....

"YOU'RE WEIRD|!!"

Am I???? I sat there thinking WTF????

Does she not feed her cat when she leaves for work??? Yes, you can bet your bile duct she does?

Why does it make me weird because I see to my chameleons before I go to work, however long this takes me on a morning (and again at night lol!)

So I guess my question is, does anyone you know think you're bonkers for spending as much time as you do in keeping your chameleons happy and healthy??? Discussions and opinions welcome!!

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

She sounds insecure. Just because your devoted to your hobby or any other part of your life does not make you weird.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

 

[Galaxy]

There is a bias with people and reptiles. If someone isn't experienced with animals that aren't "cute and fluffy" (no matter how cute we think our lizards are) they generally tend to think of them as gross.
So, it would seem strange to dedicate so much time and effort to something that you can't understand the appeal of.

 

[sharp229]

Being weird sounds like a compliment to me However, going into the details can probably be overwhelming for someone who knows nothing about any particular hobby. Also, lots of things can be automated and it is possible to reduce the basic care to as little as 5-10 minutes per day day. I think taking care of a dog would actually use up much more time, which is why I don't really have time for a dog.

 

[RyU]

There used to be something about reef keeping that threw people off too. Just try to tell people that you have 6 metal halide bulbs dangling above 300 gallons of salt water in a glass box with two 1500 watt electric ballasts sitting beside it. They will think you are out of your mind.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

There is a bias with people and reptiles. If someone isn't experienced with animals that aren't "cute and fluffy" (no matter how cute we think our lizards are) they generally tend to think of them as gross.
So, it would seem strange to dedicate so much time and effort to something that you can't understand the appeal of.

I normally solve that problem by showing pictures of my chameleons. The colors and and unique anatomical features normally stop that non accurate perception. They are spectacular animals or species of reptiles.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

 

[Galaxy]

I normally solve that problem by showing pictures of my chameleons. The colors and and unique anatomical features normally stop that non accurate perception. They are spectacular animals or species of reptiles.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

That's usually how I handle it as well. Family parties are funny because all the older women get creeped out by lizards, but my little living rainbow brings out all the "ooohs" and "ahhh"s.

 

[Olimpia]

I don't go into the details of my cham-keeping with strangers lol But people always think it's weird when you do something they would never do. I, as an example, think my best friend is nuts for having to get up at 5 with her 2 babies (1 and 4) and go through a 2-3 hour morning routine before it's even breakfast. But that's because I don't want to have kids, so that to me seems like a really horrible thing to sign up for lol. Obviously I'm not going to say it to anyone's face but I may think it.

On the other hand, I have 2 dogs that I'm happy to wake up early for and go through their morning routine with. So yea, it's hypocritical lol Someone who doesn't like dogs would think it's weird or a huge pain to wake up, feed, walk, and groom them.

At the end of the day she was rude for reacting how she did though. She has the right to think your pet choices are weird, but should know better than to react like that and hurt your feelings.

 

[RANGO052014]

Sounds to me like she's the real weirdo. I luckily haven't had TOO many people say I'm crazy for putting so much time/effort into the care of my chameleon, HOWEVER I have had negative feedback from people when I mention that my chameleon has a personality. I think reptiles in general are completely misunderstood as Galaxy was stating, people who have never owned a reptile or even a chameleon to be more specific do not realize that they really do have personalities & that they show emotion..grant it you're not going to catch your chameleon shedding a tear at any point, but they do have a way of letting us know what they like/dislike. I just think it's one of those things that the people actually have to be apart of to understand.

 

[Carlton]

Who cares what she thinks? You don't require her acceptance to exist. There are a lot more alarming things you could choose to do with your time such as hiding behind billboards taking potshots at passing cars.

I prefer listening to classical music but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate bluegrass, folk, jazz, new age, rock, etc. When I describe my indoor bird aviary most people are shocked how much living space and other modifications to my house it required (lighting, RO water filtration, flooring, window insulation, etc). But, when they visit and see the beautiful singing birds inside their attitudes usually switch from shock to envy.

 

[OwenPowell]

Just my mom. She thinks I'm nuts.

 

[Lovereps]

Your work colleague sounds like a closed-minded and very rude person.

If I thought that something someone enjoyed or did was "weird", I certainly would not insult them by saying it, either to them or to others.
I mean really, what was there to gain by calling you weird and abruptly leaving?
Did she escape from you in the nick of time before you pulled various scary lizards from your pockets?
Of course not.
Her proclamation was simply mean and quite rude.

As I've gained life experience, I can tell you that the most intelligent and interesting people I have ever known are all "outside the norm".
They are also the kindest and most trustworthy people I know.

Let her enjoy her boring, "normal" life, while you embrace your ability to think for yourself and enjoy all the things that make you feel happy and fulfilled.

If we all enjoyed exactly the same things, what a boring world it would be!

Hope your next lunch colleague has at least heard of good manners.

 

[Jtisle506]

There used to be something about reef keeping that threw people off too. Just try to tell people that you have 6 metal halide bulbs dangling above 300 gallons of salt water in a glass box with two 1500 watt electric ballasts sitting beside it. They will think you are out of your mind.

Yeah I have the same problem when people ask why the hell do I mix electronics and water around animals that cost hundreds.

 

[MelissaB]

She sounds really judgmental and rude to me. Some folks at work get really interested in my animals, but the ones that are usually keep herps, too. I don't waste my time with people that are unkind. Life is too short.

 

[Skyblaze]

I dont associate with people like that. Chicks like that will give you a headache anyways.

A real friend likes you for your weirdness!
I do all kinds of weird things, i bring live crickets into my office.... (its a really nice office too so not somthing you would expect someone there to do)

 

[Socratic Monologue]

There used to be something about reef keeping that threw people off too. Just try to tell people that you have 6 metal halide bulbs dangling above 300 gallons of salt water in a glass box with two 1500 watt electric ballasts sitting beside it. They will think you are out of your mind.

I worked at a really cool LFS (local fish store) for a couple years. Everyone who worked there was a geek for some aspect of the hobby -- for example, there was a guy who was just crazy for Goodieds, little grey livebearing fish. He'd go on for hours about them. Anyway, people with odd interests like that tended to be really tolerant of whatever other people geeked out on; they understood what it was like to be infatuated with something that most people thought to be stupid, or gross, or mad.

 

[Kiwiflage]

I've received this reaction a lot. I think a lot of people don't appreciate reptiles (let alone chameleons) as much as we do. Are we nuts?! Probably somewhat for having an obsession. Other people dive head first into other hobbies and don't think of keeping chameleons as "normal" because they perceive them as pets rather than a hobby.

 

[Anfsurfer]

Hmmm...

To be honest, I found your post really weird. You said she asked what you'll be doing tomorrow? If someone asked me that, I would not go into detail about caring for my animals...especially about cleaning up their poop! lol
Besides, the tasks you mentioned take about 10 minutes. What does that really have to do with what you're doing tomorrow? Also, you said you would shower before dealing with your animals, and after. Do you really shower twice?

I have a Panther Chameleon, a dog, and 30 birds in 15 cages (I breed/show them). The chameleon takes no time to care for on a daily basis, unless you're doing a deep cage cleaning. Definitely not "what I'm doing tomorrow". I have one day a week I clean my bird cages. If people ask what I'm doing that day..."I'm cleaning cages". Simple. I don't go into detail about removing their poop. Of course I don't think it's strange to have animals and care for them. Trust me, I spend hours a day tending to and loving mine. I just think your answer was weird for the question, "What are you doing tomorrow?"

Sorry, this is just my honest opinion.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

Hmmm...

To be honest, I found your post really weird. You said she asked what you'll be doing tomorrow? If someone asked me that, I would not go into detail about caring for my animals...especially about cleaning up their poop! lol
Besides, the tasks you mentioned take about 10 minutes. What does that really have to do with what you're doing tomorrow? Also, you said you would shower before dealing with your animals, and after. Do you really shower twice?

I have a Panther Chameleon, a dog, and 30 birds in 15 cages (I breed/show them). The chameleon takes no time to care for on a daily basis, unless you're doing a deep cage cleaning. Definitely not "what I'm doing tomorrow". I have one day a week I clean my bird cages. If people ask what I'm doing that day..."I'm cleaning cages". Simple. I don't go into detail about removing their poop. Of course I don't think it's strange to have animals and care for them. Trust me, I spend hours a day tending to and loving mine. I just think your answer was weird for the question, "What are you doing tomorrow?"

Sorry, this is just my honest opinion.

Taking care of your chameleons before you go to the office in the morning is not weird. Would it be weird to say taking care of your kids or your birds before going to the office in the morning NO. He just appears to be taking care of things that his time is devoted too and on that note I say that is not weird. If he was feeding geese Foie Gras that would be weird!

Higher level chameleon keeping means taking care of your chameleons at multiple time during the day.

Sorry this is just just my honest opinion.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

 

[ataraxia]

What he means Motherlode. Some may perceive, that it is weird to speak to someone like that. Its great he was brutally honest but some may think "why are we talking about cleaning poop?" I dont even know you...

Personally..
1. Do i find what he does in the morning weird? No.
2. Do i find what he chose as conversation with someone he doesnt know... I little bit.