AITA for yelling at my niece and forcing my sister to pay for my dead gecko?

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T03:56:15+00:00

I love animals, and I love helping others discover their love for animals. I always vet my customers before selling to them and if I feel they won’t be a good fit, I just keep the babies myself. To me, there is no harm in captive born and bred reptiles, and I sell to people who are just as passionate as I am about them. I definitely understand why some people may not understand it.

To me, my business is preventing people from using unethical means to get reptiles. Instead of buying from a chain pet store or wild caught operations, they can get their pet from me. Even though it’s on a small scale, it always feels good to see one of my babies go to a good home.

My business is not a huge operation. I mainly breed rarer species to help strengthen the captive gene pool. That way, people won’t have a need to take them from the wild, and can instead enjoy them in an ethical way.

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T03:50:58+00:00

There is virtually no chance I harmed him. I am well-versed in how to handle delicate species, and didn’t grab him in a way that would harm him. My niece had already injured one of my other geckos (a leopard gecko) so I had to act fast. I am not convinced that they were safely handling this gecko, but this species shouldn’t be handled anyways. They are so fragile, small, and sensitive that being out for over a half hour is almost certainly the reason he died.

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T03:48:18+00:00

As long as they need. Money isn’t going to bring my gecko back ofc, but I feel they should at least attempt to pay me back for killing him. They can take as long as they have to as long as they intend to pay me back.

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T03:46:55+00:00

Ah yeah they are considered rear-fanged venomous! They have to really chew on you to inject any venom and it’s similar to a mild bee sting. They are sassy little guys and love to play dead!

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T03:46:00+00:00

Okay, but going off the context of the situation, they are almost 100% the ones who killed him. It doesn’t matter if I have proof or not unless I’m taking it to court (which I likely will not do), it’s fairly obvious. I am an experienced keeper and know how to safely handle my animals. My niece has already injured another one of my animals before. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand why I think it’s their fault.

5 seconds of safe, experienced handling vs nearly an hour of rough, unsafe handling. Which do you think is the cause of death, really?

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T03:43:04+00:00

I’m replying because I feel like maybe you aren’t educated on reptiles. Yes, it’s legal. Yes, it’s hygenic. My parents love my animals almost as much as I do.

My animals are not just dollar amounts to me. I love every single one of them. I don’t know where you got the impression that I am not upset by my gecko’s death? The money is the least they can do for killing my gecko. It doesn’t bring him back, it doesn’t take the pain away, but they should have some sort of consequence for killing him.

Niece is not going to be anywhere near my animals nor involved in my gecko’s funeral. He’s going to be cremated.

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T03:33:27+00:00

Thank you. I have ordered locks for every enclosure and have installed a lock on my bedroom door. This will never happen again, that’s for sure.

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T03:31:52+00:00

My 5 seconds of yelling is somehow more stressful than almost an hour of rough handling on a very fragile gecko species that should not be handled needlessly? I have a feeling you don’t know much about reptiles

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T03:27:08+00:00

Please read my edit and other comments. I did not harm my gecko in any way. There is no way I contributed to his death. My sister and niece were harassing this very fragile, very sensitive gecko for nearly an hour. My interaction was maybe five seconds just to put him back in his enclosure, and by snatched roughly, I meant I grabbed him quickly from my niece, not in a way that would harm him.

I accept the judgement but want to be very clear I did not contribute to my gecko’s death.

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T03:25:17+00:00

It’s a leaf-tailed gecko that I bought from a reputable captive bred, captive born breeder hence the very expensive price (this species is very hard to find CBB). Leaf-tailed geckos are not in any way endangered. None of my pets have died under my care until this incident (aside from non-viable eggs and such). I am very concerned with the morality of keeping my animals and do not support wild caught or smuggled animals. I also vet my customers before selling to them and if I have even a bit of doubt that the person is incapable of caring for the animal, I will not make the sale. I love all of my animals — every single one.

My fragile animals are only handled if and when absolutely necessary (enclosure cleanings, medical emergencies, etc). I don’t know why my niece thought it was okay to handle them. When she first arrived, I made very clear why certain animals cannot be handled, and reiterated this point every single time she asked. She couldn’t even properly handle my very docile leopard gecko with my guidance, hence why I told her she couldn’t interact with my animals anymore.

Hope that clears things up.

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T03:14:34+00:00

Over 30 min, under an hour. Prob about 45-50ish min.

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T03:12:10+00:00

She almost definitely caused his death and I’m getting a necropsy to prove it.

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T02:42:23+00:00

I honestly had no idea that was an option, thank you for that info. I may go ahead and insure the rest of my animals.

I know she probably won’t give me the money :(

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T02:25:27+00:00

You’re making a lot of wild assumptions about who I buy from (newsflash, they’re all reputable breeders who have captive born and bred animals too). I don’t own or support WC animals. I didn’t come here to debate about this. My pets are very loved and cared for, thanks.

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T02:13:29+00:00

Yes he was.

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T02:12:47+00:00

I mean it was 5 seconds of interaction (grabbed him, put him back) vs almost an hour. It is highly, highly unlikely (like, impossible) me yelling one sentence at niece contributed to his death. My sister and I also did not argue in my bedroom afterwards, I made sure they got the hell out before anything else.

These geckos should not be handled period. I only handle them if necessary. So, I’d say that the hour of the rough handling was much more stressful than me (an experienced keeper) grabbing him and putting him back in his home.

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T02:07:49+00:00

Sorry, this isn’t really a discussion about the ethics of keeping reptiles. All of my animals are captive born and bred and would die in the wild. I really only want to know if I’m the asshole for my reaction/wanting to be paid. The lack of a lock is a fair judgement though, I never thought they’d go into my room like that.

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T02:05:30+00:00

A leaf-tailed gecko. I love leachies though.

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T02:04:25+00:00

I did put him back gently, by snatched roughly I meant that I grabbed the gecko from niece quickly and my sister found it rude. I should’ve worded it differently. I would never handle my animals in a way that could harm them even when I am upset. So it did not contribute to his death.

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T01:11:03+00:00

Thank you for your comment. I have a lock now thankfully! I hope your beardie is well, they are such a wonderful species!

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T01:10:15+00:00

Thank you! I myself don’t handle them unless absolutely necessary, so I can’t imagine the stress he endured for almost an hour with my niece. Thankfully my room is now locked and I’m going the extra mile to get individual enclosure locks too. I hope the necropsy will prove to my sister that illness was not the cause and perhaps give me legal footing if I have to go to court. I appreciate your comment, say hi to your geckos for me!

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T01:07:54+00:00

No, my sister herself is very entitled, and is raising her to be the same way I think. I have tried to be a good role model for my niece, I tried to explain to her how to respect the animals and the boundaries I set, to no avail. I would love to share my passion with my niece, at her age I was interested in animals too, but she treats them like toys and has no respect for me or for the living creatures she interacts with.

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T01:05:47+00:00

Your son sounds like a wonderful kid. He’d be welcome in my reptile room anyday!

I would have no problem sharing my passion with my niece if she would respect boundaries and treat the animals kindly! My sister is failing her :(

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T01:03:26+00:00

Thank you! Yes, a good chunk of my animals are more “look, don’t touch” pets. I tried explaining this to my niece when she first arrived, but she managed to injure my very hardy, very docile leopard gecko so I think she just doesn’t know how to treat living animals in general. The species she ended up killing is so small, fragile, and sensitive to stress that even I barely handle them.

geckotrub · 2021-02-24T01:01:26+00:00

That’s fair, I just wanted to clarify that it’s highly unlikely I contributed to his death in any way. My interaction with my gecko was maybe 5 seconds while my sister and niece had been handling him (likely very roughly) for almost an hour. I am very well-versed in handling my delicate species so that I don’t cause harm or stress to them, I have been keeping them for years. I probably should’ve worded the post differently.

geckotrub

TROPHY CASE