Bowls of Dead and Dying Things

I am plagued with nightmares of entering my childhood bedroom and finding hundreds of neglected fish, reptiles, and rodents in cages, bowls, and tanks. Some fish are floating upside down, some sluggishly swim through thick moss and algae. The rodents are frail and gnawing at their cage. The reptiles are large, too large for their tanks. I feel dread and guilt. How could anyone neglect any living thing? And then I wake up and remember that the one in the cage is me.