Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I have 2 ball pythons and a bearded dragon. I keep them in a double shelf stand for 55 gal tanks.. so about 4 feet long and 15 inches wide... the snakes cage is divided. Anyway, I'll be going to college next year and now Im thinking about college and stuff.. but I worry about my pets. I wouldnt and couldnt leave them with my parents, and I dont want to give them away. Has anyone have or had reptiles in college with no problem?

thanks!!

When I moved off to college I only had one ball python in a 20g aquarium. I brought him with me though, had too, he's my companion. Anyhow I was nervous about it because the dorm has rules against any pets except for fish in a 20g aquarium or less. So when I moved in my roomate said he had no problems with it and I kept franky under my bed and he had a light, I situated things so I could see him from my desk. I spent the first month or two worried and I basically kept him hidden away. Then I went into the room right next door where a buddy of mine kept a free roaming green iguana. The iguana occasionally got out and ran down the hall, that was always interesting. Anyhow I learned that the dorm was pretty relaxed about it and as long as you keep to yourself and don't bother people I'm sure it'll be fine.

Frank was then moved to the counter top for everyone to enjoy his company.

Well, there are usually three issues to cover:

One – having a roommate who’s cool with the reptilian roommates
Two – fitting the cages into the usually cramped space of the typical college dorm room (four linear feet is a lot of space to give up).
Three – doing it on the QT. Most colleges have regulations against pets in the rooms – with good reasons, I guess. But at your age, you’re thinking “Yeah, but what do THEY know?” So, if you can deal with points #1 and #2, all you have to do is sneak them in and keep it quiet.

Me? Well, it was a long time ago. But at different times I kept a green iguana and a kitten. And I was always in trouble with the Dean of Students. I believe once when I was summoned to her office about pets in the room I took the kitten with me to show her how nice it was. Not a smart move. Always deny everything.

-Joan

I took my ball to college with me a few years ago. I had to sneak him in at night and keep him in my closet. Nobody "important" ever found out. Although Ruthie (damn you Ruthie), one of the resident advisors, did get us for having 2 rats in our room. On the other hand my advisor was right across the hall from me and new everything and didnt care. The following year we had an iguana out in the open and never heard a thing. The moral of the story is go for it. Its not like your a hardened criminal or anything. EP
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Occupants not paying rent:
7 balls
2 corns(normal, candy cane)
1 pueblan milk
1 everglades rat
1 cal. king
1 gray band king
1 w. hognose
1 bearded dragon
2 leopard geckos
2 fish, 1 snail
1 pac man frog
1 rat
5 cats

This is a bit off topic since I keep A LOT of LARGE fish (as well as a P. regius) but I'd like to address the space issue in a dorm room since I have a lot of experience with it. During college I kept anything from 2 ten gall ontanks and a 20 gallon to a 75g and a 55g(at the same time not a single room either) in my dorm room. It can be done! Bunking your beds is your best bet and maybe give up your dresser and keep all your clothes in your closet. Another issue is moving large glass tanks a long way. It is a pain but can be done, however I know a lot of people keep their reptiles in big rubbermaid-type continers which fit perfectly under most dorm beds. Just be VERY careful about your heat lamps and fire! If you're going to break pet rules maybe try not to brazenly break others such as noise and underage drinking. If you don't attract attention to yourself and your RA isn't nosey there should be no issues. Last piece of advice: MOVE OFF CAMPUS as soon as you have enough credits or you're old enough, whichever comes first, and DON'T tell your landlord your keep reptiles!

Luckily I just moved and my lanlord doesnt mind all of our animals. However I just spent 3 years feeling like a criminal in hiding. Our landlord (nazis) would come over to replace our air filter and check the smoke detector AKA: invading our home to inspect it for anything they could fine us for. We got letters for having an extra cat and told to pay 250 dollars AND remove the cat; are they crazy. Anyway, hiding all of the snakes was lots of fun. We would stack cages in the closets and cover some up to make it look like a table. We put a radio on one with some books around it and they were none the wiser. It ws kind of comical once they left but while they were there it was not fun. EP
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Occupants not paying rent:
7 balls
2 corns(normal, candy cane)
1 pueblan milk
1 everglades rat
1 cal. king
1 gray band king
1 w. hognose
1 bearded dragon
2 leopard geckos
2 fish, 1 snail
1 pac man frog
1 rat
5 cats

Where do you live? In most places landlords have to tell you BEFORE they go into your apartment by law. I unfortunately gave mine the carte blanch before I got my P. regius. However, there are ways even to get around that

That was in Greenville NC. They would come around and leave a flier on your door saying they would be back on one of two days the following week. It gave us time to hide everything but what a pain. We always told them that we wanted to be there though so they wouldnt let any cats out. Im just glad we dont have to worry about it anynmore. Our current landlord doesnt care thats really cool. Later, EP
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Occupants not paying rent:
7 balls
2 corns(normal, candy cane)
1 pueblan milk
1 everglades rat
1 cal. king
1 gray band king
1 w. hognose
1 bearded dragon
2 leopard geckos
2 fish, 1 snail
1 pac man frog
1 rat
5 cats

>>Hi,
>>
>>I have 2 ball pythons and a bearded dragon. I keep them in a double shelf stand for 55 gal tanks.. so about 4 feet long and 15 inches wide... the snakes cage is divided. Anyway, I'll be going to college next year and now Im thinking about college and stuff.. but I worry about my pets. I wouldnt and couldnt leave them with my parents, and I dont want to give them away. Has anyone have or had reptiles in college with no problem?
>>
>>thanks!!

There is an short article in last month's Reptile mag aobut a kid who went to college while still keeping his ball python.

(I think it is the July or August issue).

It was a great story

laters.
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Longtang. I like snakes and rats.

I kept two corns in a house I rented with three others in college. My room was like a dorm because it was tiny. Anyway, I made sure it was fine with my roomies and brought the snakes in. Kept them in rubbermaids under the bed. The last month we lived there, I got drunk and yep. Whoops! He escaped from an improperly closed cage. My roomies freaked out. I freaked out. We had like 3 weeks to get him back or it was lights out for him and potential big problems for us. Luckily I was able to get him back in exactly a week by placing plastic bags on the floor and waking up to the sound of him craling on one. It was one of the most tense weeks of my life, though, believe me! It seemed everyone on the small campus knew about the snake except my landlord. And no harm, no foul. So just be careful. I'd say all in all it's pretty easy to keep reptiles secretly as long as you have cooperative roomies. The year I began college my frend knew a senior with "snakes" in his room, and he'd lived in the dorms all four years he was there with no problem. I don't know what kind of snakes they were, but he had at least three. I gave him a ride home one weekend and he brought them in the car-- without me knowing! I was so mad when I found out- I would've loved to see them.