Projecting your feelings onto animals?

I am tortured by the idea that any of my pets are suffering. I think that they feel they are trapped in my house, wishing they had a better life, and are now depressed that they are stuck in a tank to never experience the great outdoors, lol... I have a turtle and a leopard gecko. I am told I take great care of them, often going overboard to make sure they have a paradise. I feel if I'm going to take responsibility for these types of 'exotic' animals, they only deserve the very best. Whenever it's my birthday or christmas or anytime I'm asked what I would want as a gift, I will always put my pets first, just because of the guilt I feel thinking they might not be happy.

But I look at them, realize it's a freakin' turtle and lizard, and remember that they are completely oblivious to the outside world. Plus, they look perfectly fine and I'm the one who feels trapped and depressed.

Anyone else do this? Or am I just a nut

LOL I'm exactly like that with my two bunnies!
They are pretty much free range, living indoors, messing up my livingroom. They are never caged, I only put some metal panels up around their living area when I'm not in, in case they would chew anything, which they never do anyway.
It has actually got to the point where I'm giving them to rehoming centre because I feel guilty that I can't take them outdoors and I dont have enough time for them.
(They dont seem really that bothered "spending time" with me anyway though)
I guess there is also the fact that all I seem to be doing is cleaning up my house every minute of my spare time because of them and I'm just tired of it.

DID SOMEONE SAY BUNNY?

(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

BUNNY!

This must be why i feel like my cat hates me, my messy house and why i feel like i need to get him a companion cat.

My cat never seems sad. I always thought my dog, bearded dragon and texas swift lizard hated me too. Im glad you made this thread. Hopefully i will look at it more objectively now.

hey, i have a razorback turtle and i always failed on building a basking pot for him and i feel like i'm a bad owner b/c i think he's mad at me. the basking pot always rumble down and anything i found in pet store just not enough for him b/c he's an adult...i think he's depressed to know that i'm depressed...

does it make sense to you?

i also have an amethyst snake by coincidence, and he sleeps mostly all the time...i wonder if it's b/c he's depressed...so i made him a DIY tunnel/cave to add some "wild" in his cage...

but he never even touch it and sleep in the same corner all the time...then i get depressed why he doesn't want to try it? what did i do wrong?

then one day he curled up inside the cave and i believe he did that b/c he's feeling bad to know that he made me upset by not trying the cave.

i'm sure they're not depressed...it's just me!

bright.eyes wrote:But I look at them, realize it's a freakin' turtle and lizard, and remember that they are completely oblivious to the outside world. Plus, they look perfectly fine and I'm the one who feels trapped and depressed.

I love this!!!

Anyone else do this? Or am I just a nut

no and yes!!

I'd be more concerned if you thought you were a lizard or turtle. Although, I'd probably want to keep you as a pet, and it would probably turn into some sort of weird cycle. I'd feel bad for you because you weren't living in the great outdoors, living in paradise, and then I'd have to remind myself you're a freakin' person that thinks their a turtle.

Seriously though it just sounds as if you're a sensitive animal lover, and the fact that you do take great care of them is something I see as a good thing. Maybe you put your pets first, but at the same time you have the ability to realize it.

So I just came to the conclusion that I was wrong. You're not a nut, but a normal person that loves animals. <---- That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

-cbox (you said in chat I never flirt with you so I had to give you a wink)

yoa wrote:hey, i have a razorback turtle and i always failed on building a basking pot for him and i feel like i'm a bad owner b/c i think he's mad at me. the basking pot always rumble down and anything i found in pet store just not enough for him b/c he's an adult...i think he's depressed to know that i'm depressed...

does it make sense to you?

i also have an amethyst snake by coincidence, and he sleeps mostly all the time...i wonder if it's b/c he's depressed...so i made him a DIY tunnel/cave to add some "wild" in his cage...

but he never even touch it and sleep in the same corner all the time...then i get depressed why he doesn't want to try it? what did i do wrong?

then one day he curled up inside the cave and i believe he did that b/c he's feeling bad to know that he made me upset by not trying the cave.

i'm sure they're not depressed...it's just me!

lol yep I've been there... I made my red eared slider a DIY above-tank basking area.. I think she digs it.

Idk too much about snakes, but I often forget to take into account that my leopard gecko is nocturnal, so it would appear that she sleeps all the time. I woke up in the middle of the night once and she was hanging upside down on the top of the cage and looked like she was playing and enjoying herself. She's a weirdo

cboxpalace wrote:
-cbox (you said in chat I never flirt with you so I had to give you a wink)

oh cbox! -swoon- little do you know, I am a dinosaur.