so tell me if I am being pushy and presumptuous...

[kazulanth]

I need some advice here. My coworkers are terrible at taking care of our "office pets" and I keep stepping in and I worry that they are going to think I am being an ass if I take it too much farther

Comments

[greybeh]

I wish I had a suggestion to offer. It's not your responsibility to care for these animals, but I know that's just kind of cold to say. I'd end up doing the same thing you are... and being just as angry.

I looked at a gecko in the store the other day. I'm proud of myself for deciding it was a bad idea. I'm not home much. I have a betta fish, and that's about all I can take care of at this point.

Do you know anything about bettas losing their color and going dark? I bought him three kinds of food, in case he needed more variety. He's got bloodworms, betta bites and now Colorbright flakes. I alternate. I also have had those little "betta plants" that grow from bulbs in there in case those help him out.

He's a sweetie. He ought to have a name, too, but I got used to calling him, "Baby." How... masculine. Truth is, I didn't name him because I couldn't come up with a good boy-fish name. The last betta I had a few years ago was named "Manwich" so I thought it kinder not to try to name him.

[kazulanth]

It's okay for his color to change over time - he's just maturing. As long as there isn't anything growing on him he should be fine.

You might try giving him some live tubifex worms, it won't necessarily help his color but he will likely eat them like a starving dog. You can buy a bag of them at good fish stores - they are tiny and tend to clump together, and you can suck them up with a turkey baster. Good times!

[revena]

I don't have any more advice than greybeh does, unfortunately. I sympathise with you, and I know I'd be as frustrated as you are, if I were in your shoes... But your only options are really to either keep on doing what you're doing, or start ignoring the animals as much as their owners are. :-(

Well, a third possibility, if either of the owners would be interested in giving up the responsibility of the pets, would be to try to find new owners for them and sort've act as a go-between. But that's still taking on more responsibility than you should really have to.

[arasus]

You should probably directly tell them that if they aren't going to take care of their pets then they should try to find someone to adopt them. They might not appreciate being chastised though, so I guess it's just a matter of figuring out a way to be both tactful and direct (ha, I realize I say that like it is somehow easy).

Good luck.

[greybeh]

These are co-workers and could have reprecussions.

Honestly, someone I once was friends with who shall remain nameless, came to visit me after having not seen me for a very long time. I had a goldfish that I was giving medication to, he wasn't well... a breeder told me he had septicemia from being in too small of a tank at the pet-store and would never "get better." So, this friend of mine shows up and I take her to show her my goldfish, which I love and was giving medication to and really caring for.

She says to me, "I wish I could take him off your hands." More or less, she can take better care of him than me! I couldn't talk to her again without being angry about it... and, well, we don't talk anymore.

Yes, I know there's a difference... I was taking care of the fish, even if it was sick... and they're not taking care of their pets. I'm just saying that it's unlikely that they'll view your helpfulness as anything but an insult and intrusive, no matter what the situation.

There's sadly not much you can do, imo.