Hello everyone,
I live in Japan, and I've been the happy owner of my hedgehog Spartacus for 2.5 years now.
Unfortunately, last year I've gone through a painful divorce, which caused my already-existing depression to reach levels that I didn't even know existed. In fact, if I hadn't had the responsibility of caring for the well-being of my little friend, well... I'd rather not think about that.
I'm planning on heading back to Canada some time next year, because honestly, there is nothing left for me in this country, and I think that staying here exacerbates my depression.
The problem is, I'm thinking of joining the army... not a very hedgehog-owner friendly lifestyle, right? I mean, here in Japan, I'm an English teacher, I'm well loved by all the kids and adults and I do a great job. But back in Canada, there isn't really much I can do with that skill set. I'm 30 years old, I'm really fit and healthy, and I want to do something with my life before it's too late.
My parents also travel a lot between our 2 houses (7 hours car ride), so it would be difficult to ask them to perform the daily tasks of cleaning the cage/wheel and feeding Spartacus. Especially since they might be absent for several days at a time, so that doesn't work at all.
Basically, I have no idea what to do. I could bring him to an animal shelter, maybe. But I know what happens if nobody adopts those animals... if he had to be put down because of a failure to find a new home, I... well, the worst part is that I probably would never even know, and I can't bear to live with that thought.
Another possibility would be to bring him back to Canada, and try to find a family for him there, but that might not go any better. In fact... he's not a very friendly pet, and most of our time together consists of him sleeping on a pocket while I watch TV/work at the computer. I'm afraid that other owners might not be interested in taking care of him...
The last option is that I just stay here and only go back to my country at the end of his life. I think I owe it to the little guy to look after him for as long as he needs me to.
Advice from anyone?
I live in Japan, and I've been the happy owner of my hedgehog Spartacus for 2.5 years now.
Unfortunately, last year I've gone through a painful divorce, which caused my already-existing depression to reach levels that I didn't even know existed. In fact, if I hadn't had the responsibility of caring for the well-being of my little friend, well... I'd rather not think about that.
I'm planning on heading back to Canada some time next year, because honestly, there is nothing left for me in this country, and I think that staying here exacerbates my depression.
The problem is, I'm thinking of joining the army... not a very hedgehog-owner friendly lifestyle, right? I mean, here in Japan, I'm an English teacher, I'm well loved by all the kids and adults and I do a great job. But back in Canada, there isn't really much I can do with that skill set. I'm 30 years old, I'm really fit and healthy, and I want to do something with my life before it's too late.
My parents also travel a lot between our 2 houses (7 hours car ride), so it would be difficult to ask them to perform the daily tasks of cleaning the cage/wheel and feeding Spartacus. Especially since they might be absent for several days at a time, so that doesn't work at all.
Basically, I have no idea what to do. I could bring him to an animal shelter, maybe. But I know what happens if nobody adopts those animals... if he had to be put down because of a failure to find a new home, I... well, the worst part is that I probably would never even know, and I can't bear to live with that thought.
Another possibility would be to bring him back to Canada, and try to find a family for him there, but that might not go any better. In fact... he's not a very friendly pet, and most of our time together consists of him sleeping on a pocket while I watch TV/work at the computer. I'm afraid that other owners might not be interested in taking care of him...
The last option is that I just stay here and only go back to my country at the end of his life. I think I owe it to the little guy to look after him for as long as he needs me to.
Advice from anyone?