My Baby, Maat

Maat died last night.
I am still reeling from the shock and the grief. I wasn't sure I was going to post anything today, but I think some things need to be said.

A few days ago, while I was giving her Pedialyte, I thought that she had a bit of grey in her mouth. I had my sister hold her while I opened her mouth, and sure enough, her top palate was teeming with grey patches of skin. That can only mean mouth rot.
Since she has never eaten since I've had her, and I've been extra meticulous with her heating and humidity, it means she's been sick since the moment my mom bought her at PetCo. It really comes as no surprise, but it hurts.

I am just so tired. Tired of going into the pet stores and seeing the reptiles with empty water bowls and looking so dehydrated that their skin has grooves and wrinkles. I am tired of complaining, someone telling me they'll take care of it, and then everything staying the same. I am tired of people taking care of their shoes more than living creatures. I am tired of people buying fancy cases so their iPods don't get scratched but passing by an empty water bowl and not filling it.
I am tired, but I am also angry.
I feel ashamed at sharing genetic code with these beings that, just because they have opposable thumbs, think that the world is theirs and every other creature is inferior and therefore of less value. We, as the more intelligent creatures (although I am seriously having doubts), have a responsibility, an obligation, to take care of those that are weaker and defenseless. This increases ten-fold if we have them in cages. If we have the nerve of putting a wild animal in a cage, the very least we can do is make sure he or she is happy. We (I most definitely include myself) tell ourselves that even though they don't have their freedom, they are at least well-fed, healthy and safe. We trade off freedom for safety. It's not a fair choice, because we are not GIVING them a choice, but it's something that exotic pet owners deal with every day. We can live with it.
We cannot live with the mistreatment of these, or any, animals.
I did everything I could for Maat, but it makes my blood boil that she never had a meal in her short life. She was sick probably from the moment she hatched in whatever hell-hole they keep the eggs, while they wait to make money off of them.
My little baby didn't even have the hope of anti-biotic treatment because, since she's never eaten, the medication would have destroyed her organs. The only thing that I could do, and what I did do, was give her fluids. I'd been injecting her with liquid fuel for the past few nights, but that didn't stop her from getting weak and lethargic. The only consolation, and it's a poor one, that I have is that at least she didn't die alone. Odin was wrapped carefully around her, keeping her company. It's astounding that a little snake, a supposedly "stupid" being, has more compassion and understanding than all the "higher beings" who work in these pet stores.

It is a sad day.