Hello friends,
Anyone who’s been checking has probably noticed I’ve been away for a while. I’m sorry for leaving everyone hanging. Here’s the bad, the good, and sales info:
The bad: I have had absolutely terrible mental health issues the past few years. Winters are particularly bad, but it didn’t always get better in spring. I’ve tried a variety of medications and therapy treatments, some of which definitely helped, but I’ve still been struggling.
Long story short covid definitely didn’t help, and 2020 had some really low blows, including losing some important animals for different reasons (I’ll post about them when I can). Then winter hit, and the mites I’d been fighting hit my babies, juveniles, and humid species hard. I lost a lot of skinks in a couple months, and I had absolutely no energy to fight back. It was bad; worse than I can adequately explain here.
My sisters stepped in to help me with fighting the mites and helping the remaining skinks while I sought medical help. I decided not to breed anything in 2021 while I recovered and re-assessed.
The good: I am doing better. I have new meds that have helped. I have a new therapy appointment set up. My sisters continue to help me. The mites have been thoroughly fought this time, and while it’s not totally done I think they’re gone. The skinks are getting better, I’m getting better, overall things are just slowly improving. The goal is to keep that improvement going now. There will be a lot of changes to make it easier to care for the critters and to keep me more engaged with them.
As part of my progress I started a YouTube channel about a month ago now. It literally documents some of my progress as I work to improve myself, my setups, my habits, etc etc etc. There’s also just some fun videos with the critters. If you want to check it out: Mel’s Exotics on YouTube.
Sales Info: Sales were basically suspended since late last summer, whenever I first noticed mites. Some animals were sold or rehomed during mite-downtimes, but basically since fall Mel’s Exotics was practically shut down. I didn’t breed, so I won’t have any 2021 babies to sell.
However, there still are a few IJs, juvenile northerns, and baby northerns here that will be looking for new homes once I can guarantee they are mite-free and healthy. Otherwise, if I can keep my brain healthy, I’m hoping 2022 will be a big year for baby skinks, and I’ll have a bunch available. I’ll add a waitlist for 2022 babies where anyone who contacts me about them in 2021 will be put on a list for a discounted price in 2022. Please give me a week to sort that out and post it.
I will also add a post that links to a few other Canadian breeders who did breed this year, so y’all can contact them if you’re currently in the market for a baby skink and don’t want to wait. These breeders are great folks I consider to be good friends, so go ahead and support them, especially if you’re nearby.
I think that’s about it for now. Thank you everyone for all the support I’ve received as I try to get better. I’ve had incredible support from family, friends, coworkers, and customers – every bit of it makes my heart feel so darned good. Thank you all.
Many thanks,
Mel
