Home cryogenics

[Mrs.Toad]

So yesterday, my dd's Betta Fish left us for that giant fishbowl in the sky.

The kids want to bury him in the backyard, but there is too much snow right now, and it'll likely be a long time until it's melted away.

So, we decided to put Spot in a a little plastic zipper bag with a little of the water from his bowl and put him in the freezer to preserve him until we can give him a proper burial.

Thank goodness he's in the basement freezer, which doesn't get opened often, so we won't be looking into his frozen eyes every time we reach for a Go-gurt.

Think he'll last till spring?

 

[Vivianne]

Sure.

My co-worker has a betta she wants to temporarily keep at my workstation since it's warmer than her area. I'm dreading finding him floating one morning, since they say he's about two years old and displaying sluggish behavior.

 

[CF'er]

Catchy title I must say. I don't see why he wouldn't last. I would bury bag and all.

So sorry for your loss.

 

[Barb D]

Perhaps you could convince your kids to go with a "burial at sea?"

 

[Mrs.Toad]

Perhaps you could convince your kids to go with a "burial at sea?"

Well, we did consider that, but they really want him outside next to the gerbil who suffocated in a children's Tylenol bottle, so cryogenic preservation it is!

 

[I'mNoPrince]

I would keep him you never know they might find a cure

 

[Mrs.Toad]

Sure.

My co-worker has a betta she wants to temporarily keep at my workstation since it's warmer than her area. I'm dreading finding him floating one morning, since they say he's about two years old and displaying sluggish behavior.

Uh-oh! Watch out. Spot was sluggish for a few days before he died, too. He hadn't been eating, either.

He didn't float up top, though, he just laid there at the bottom.

 

[WDWBoundAgain]

My ds had a betta that left us for heaven. The family had to gather around the toliet bowl. Dh read a few scriptures from the Bible, we sang a song, said a prayer and flush Ozzy Walt went.


As with our rabbit we had a graveside service in the backyard.

 

[Vivianne]

Uh-oh! Watch out. Spot was sluggish for a few days before he died, too. He hadn't been eating, either.

He didn't float up top, though, he just laid there at the bottom.

Well then, if he doesn't come up for air, I'll know it's over. I'll call her over to take him.

 

[jonestavern]

Just be sure to correctly, and in quite large letters, to label that baggie!

Jean

 

[Mrs.Toad]

Just be sure to correctly, and in quite large letters, to label that baggie!

Good idea. I haven't seen him since he went in. I'll have to make sure to take your advice, if the ice has started to obstruct the sight of him.

 

[Mandy_in_NC]

Well, we did consider that, but they really want him outside next to the gerbil who suffocated in a children's Tylenol bottle, so cryogenic preservation it is!

Ok maybe somebody needs to tell ya maybe you are just not cut out to be a be a pet owner. Please tell how the gerbil suffocated in a tylenol bottle. The sad thing is I can see something like this happening at my house. We bought my kids hermit crabs at the beach this past summer and one of them died and instead of telling my child that it had died I called around to the diffrent pet stores to find another one and replaced it. And a few weeks later when they both died I just took their little bodies out and disposed of them. I left their sea shells in the tank and my kids think they are still alive. So does that make me a bad mom or what??

 

[honeymom]

If it is good enough for Walt Disney, then why not a fish!

 

[Mrs.Toad]

Ok maybe somebody needs to tell ya maybe you are just not cut out to be a be a pet owner. Please tell how the gerbil suffocated in a tylenol bottle. The sad thing is I can see something like this happening at my house. We bought my kids hermit crabs at the beach this past summer and one of them died and instead of telling my child that it had died I called around to the diffrent pet stores to find another one and replaced it. And a few weeks later when they both died I just took their little bodies out and disposed of them. I left their sea shells in the tank and my kids think they are still alive. So does that make me a bad mom or what??

No, you're not a bad mom, you are sparing your children the heartbreak of losing their beloved hermit crabs.

Here's the gerbil story.

Background: This little guy only had one pleasure in life, eating plastic. He didn't run on his little wheel, or in the hamster ball. He'd bite anyone who tried to hold him. All he did was eat all the little plastic "toys" we'd put in his cage, and the plastic edges of the tunnels and stuff. So, instead of continuing to buy more toys for him to eat, we started recycling our plastic containers by giving them to him. We'd rinse them out real well, put them in and they'd be gone in a day or two. Sometimes, we'd see him crawl in through the opening, turn around inside and crawl back out, amazed that he could fit through such small openings.

Well, poor guy must have gained a little weight around the middle. One day we came home and found him stuck half inside the Tylenol bottle. Back legs sticking out. Head, shoulders (do gerbils have shoulders?? ) and front legs inside. Mouth open, in a frozen gasp for breath. It was really awful (but funny now (forgive me PETA)). He was already gone when we found him. He was stuck pretty tight. When we couldn't get him out with a gentle pull, we quickly decided to bury him with his Tylenol bottle.

Someday someone's going to dig in that part of the backyard and wonder how half a little rodent skeleton ended up inside of a Children's Tylenol bottle.

 

[Keli]

And a few weeks later when they both died I just took their little bodies out and disposed of them. I left their sea shells in the tank and my kids think they are still alive. So does that make me a bad mom or what??

This is just too funny!!!
I wonder how long before the kids figure out there's a problem? LOL

 

[WDWBoundAgain]

Speaking of those crabs. We had two and couldn't kill them if you wanted to. One day one was missing. We were like oh well be careful not to sit or step on it. My 80 year old grandmother found it when she was doing laundry. It was in the washer and she was taking the clothes out to put them in the dryer. Needless to say he survived the wash and spin cycle. We got tired of them and tossed them outside.

 

[I'mNoPrince]

We bought my kids hermit crabs at the beach this past summer and one of them died and instead of telling my child that it had died I called around to the diffrent pet stores to find another one and replaced it. And a few weeks later when they both died I just took their little bodies out and disposed of them. I left their sea shells in the tank and my kids think they are still alive. So does that make me a bad mom or what??

I hope they were really dead.

You know Hermit crabs fluff and look like they are dead after a few -days or so the craw out of their old shell(skin) and back into their house shell. They are very fragile and should not be distuberd but far from dead.

This past year we have been through 2 hermit crabs ,a water frog,2 Anoles,several fish and our Guinie pig. We have had them all for several years and I tink we just spent too much time away (they were well looked after on each trip). Then there is the mouse the other day the cat found and beheaded at the top of the stairs you could count that as well.

They are all buried out in our back yard in the Pet Cemetary that has a few cats and several other animals in it. The dogs get buried up on my Uncles farm we have made a few trips there as well i the past.

 

[Mandy_in_NC]

They were dead. I left them there for several weeks to make sure. The replacement crab went through the fluff stage and then died a couple of months later. We also have 2 turtles that are living in a 20 gallon tank 2 small frogs that are living in a 2 gallon tank 1 dog and 1 cat. (We had to put our oldest cat to sleep a little over a week ago). So I think we have enough animals that they won't notice that the hermit crabs are gone. But sure as I have said that they will climb up there and look in the tank today and see that they are not there. My best friend told me one the first crab died that I should just tell the kids the truth but my youngest daughter is very tender hearted and would have been very upset. When I went to the pet store to pick up the replacement the clerk said "Let me guess you bought them hermit crabs at the beach and now you don't want to tell them that it died?" Evidently they see that quiet often. Also our pet bird Tweety died while we were gone to Disney World (my mom was bird sitting) and we had my mom replace Tweety before we came home. Now don't get me wrong we have told them when big animals have died or had to be put to sleep. We told them when one of the turtles died. But that was not something we could easily replace since we live about 5 hours from Myrtle Beach SC which is where they came from. Oh and by the way my mother froze Tweety until we could get home and my Dh could dig a hole and bury it. The things we do for our children. But in the end when they are in therapy they will hold it against it us.

 

[lfeikert]

I just had to add that we, too, are practicing home cryogenics here! DD5s goldfish died about two weeks ago. Between the snow and the ground being too frozen, we decided the best option was a Ziploc container in the freezer for now. She will have no part of flushing him. She won her (can goldfish be girls??) at our county fair two summers ago so the fish had a special place in her heart! Glad to hear we're not the only ones who have a fish in our freezer right now!

 

[snowwite]

Well, we did consider that, but they really want him outside next to the gerbil who suffocated in a children's Tylenol bottle, so cryogenic preservation it is!

I was going to ask a bout the gerbil but I decided it is probably best not to. Maybe a nice plant next time.....I'm just saying......