Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've recently started the search for an apartment after living at home (I'm in my twenties, a college student). Does anyone have any stories, advice, experience with keeping snakes in an apartment? Most allow cats and dogs but not snakes or reptiles. Should I directly ask about keeping reptiles or should I just sneak them? Legally how much access does a landlord have to enter your apartment? Thanks in advance!

my landlord is pretty cool about them(I have around 22 or so at any given time)

I can also see the red light coming from afew other apartments in the building so I know I am not the only one

the funny thing is that reptiles will do less damage to the aparment then cats or dogs so they should allow them.

One of my friends who lived with me for awhile then found his own place would just ask if the place allowed aquarium pets rather then saying snakes that seemed to work out ok for him.

most landlords have to give 24 hour notice before they can enter your place. so if you get in a real pinch you could hide them with blankets, move into closets or something on that day.
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Misty Sprouse Ball Pythons

Just never tell them.
Keep everything in rack or behind closed doors.
No one needs te know and they will never know.

A landlord has not the right to enter the house more than once a year I think.
And still I experienced they never do.

in theory 1 time a year but mine seems to do inspections a tad more then that. 1 time will be the fire department checking stuff, another will be them checking air filters/smoke detector batteries.

but there are times they may enter more then that I have found. To fix the water in the unit above me they have had to come in mine(there is acess to the pipes in my roof).

Also when they sold the building to new owners they came in alot to show the property to the new buyers, do appraisals/inspections for selling. They always give notice, but you can't count on only 1 time a year.

And don't forget the times you need things fixed as well.
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Misty Sprouse Ball Pythons

Being from a family who manages rental apts. I can tell you that once a year is not true. In fact, there is no limit. Although if there were entering a lot you could try to claim harassment, however, at the end of the day they own the property. Now, this is VA that I am speaking of, and there could be other states with limiting laws.

I have found that looking for pets allowed apts. or places where you can ask about aquarium pets. Keep in mind whatever you do that with the phobias people have, if word gets out, the owners are more likely to kick out the one "problem" rather then have other renters leave. Also, I experienced a change in policy in one year from any non-dog pet allowed, to "NO PETS" and had to find a secondary location for my animals for one year.
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1.0 100% het albino ball python
0.1 normal Ball python
0.0.1 uromastyx (Styx)...he is a rescue

my dads a landlord and he says no dogs no cas es reptiles zlong as its not freeroaming 24/7. Mainly because i made him allow reptiles but still
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Theres no need to ask directions if you ever lose you mind...

>>>A landlord has not the right to enter the house more than once a year I think.

Man I wish that was true!! I lived in an apartment that went through managers every 6 weeks or so(no joke) I had inspections with EVERY SINGLE manager that came in.. A NO PET PLACE.. WITH OVER 20 snakes..

LEGALLY the landlord has no right to touch YOUR THINGS!! I created a space in back of closet that would fit 10 gal tanks and rubbermaid tubs. I have even hidden a snake in a tub BEHIND my cereal boxes.. And for the tanks that were too big to move, I turned them in terrariums(full of plants) and then left the lights off during the invasion and it just looked like it was full of plants.. perfectly ok..

I now live in a 2 bd apt that caged animals are considered property and not pets.. nothing says it has to be a bird or fish..

Just be smart and stay alert..tell only those you trust.. or look for a landlord that will not care.. push the QUIET PET IDEA.. Never know who will go for it.. But frankly it is easy to hide snakes.. Use black light or heat pads, feed frozen thawed mice(what you keep in your freezer is your business).. and take them "out" in pillow cases, rubbermaid, etc.

Harpy

I laughed after reading this thread and HAD to reply to this one!
I have been keeping reptiles for around 20 years or so now. When I first developed the fascination of reptiles and keeping them, I was in my very early 20's, living in an apartment which I did for nearly 10 years. The hobby increased for me rapidly, where I found myself interested in and keeping venomous snakes. Lots of them. So here I found myself living in several different apartments over the years, usually on the upper floors, in obviously a 2 bedroom apartment(1 occupied totally by snakes), keeping 20 venomous snakes at any given time with no one having a clue!
Luckily, I never had an incident or problem. Since then, I have matured and got a little smarter and am so thankful no one including myself ever got hurt! I no longer keep venomous animals, but when your young and sort of the thrill seeker as I was, adrenalin(sorry about the spelling, has a way of replacing brains and nothing will stop you including laws or common sense!
I would in NO way recommend keeping venomous snakes, large boas and or pythons in an apartment. But, if you are like I was when I was younger and refuse to listen to wisdom from anyone, do as I did, and don't even breath the word snake to anyone in your complex, rental officer or anybody for that matter. I know how tempting it is to show off your collection and need to fascinate others, but that would be your downfall!
Snakes have been the media's favorite pastime in writing or telling snake stories of any sort! Especially when the 12 foot Burmese has escaped and all the neighborhood pets starts mysteriously disappearing. I'm not sure of what type or amount of animals you keep, but if you do decide to keep them, I wouldn't recommend any snake over 5 foot, and DEFINITELY NOT ANY VENOMOUS, regardless if your lacal laws allow them or not!

I've lived in 2 apartments now and both landlords were fine with them.

Some will want to know about them, like what they eat, if they can get out, how big they get, etc. Simple education has worked for me.

I wouldn't hide them, but that's just me. That sounds like it is simply asking for trouble if they ever do need to come into your apartment. I think most don't mind because most reptiles won't tear the place apart, stain the rugs, or make the aprtment smell like urine.

-John B

Personally, if the landlord is living in the same building, or even if you have people on other floors or in the unit next door, you are CRAZY if you say anything. People are nuts when it comes to snakes. Ask ten random people if the would live in an apartment where there is 10 or 20 or 50 snakes on the floor above them and see what kind of answer you get? They go gaa gaa.. I like snakes and I keep them myself, but if I owned rental property and someone asked me to keep snakes, I would tell the no just because I would be afraid I couldnt rent the other floors out.

Do yourself a favor and dont tell anyone. Not the landlord, not the mailman, not the kids teacher at school, not the people in the choir at church...no-bod-y. You will be much better off.

~Alan

LMAO..wow that was funny...whoo sounds like me. I use to stay in the basement room with my snakes, its like two rooms ajoined by a open doorway and to get to my bedroom you had to come through the room with the snakes. When I use to bring my female friends in I kept the light off in that room and cover the book shelf I keep the tubs on, if they ask whats that? I would be like "oh just some clothes and stuff I got stored" all some people know about snakes is what they seen on tv so some people would go crazy

Not only did I tell my downstairs neighbor, but showed her young granddaughter my hatchling turtle..and of course the snake zoo. My apartment manager knows but has never asked a damn thing..

The only thing you can do.. if you need to be totally honest.. Call around and "just ask", but DO NOT give a name.. just incase you want to rent it anyways.. I wanted price, size and pets allowed.. never stated what kind of pets I had.

First thing I would recommend is know your rights as a tenant. Read the Landlord/Tenant act for your state/county/city. This way you know what rights you have as a tenant and what rights a Landlord have. Also, if you don't know them already, know your by-laws and regulations for keeping snakes and other reptiles.

Then with this information you will know if landlords have a right to evict you should you happen to own a snake, whether you were upfront upon renting that you own snakes or sneak them in. There are some ways other tenants or landlords may get around this (heard or read here or elsewhere about a woman threatening to sue a person who also lived in the same apartment building because the fact she knew about the snakes made it impossible to feel safe. I think it was just an empty threat but the law does give her rights to feel safe and comfortable in her apartment.

Having harmless snakes will be beneficial. Venomous or large snakes are more a concern than a corn snake or ball python. You certainly can explain to your potential landlord that none of your snakes will ever exceed 6' no matter how much or what you feed them. You can even show them the very secure racks/cages you have (to prevent escapes) etc. Be free and willing to explain everything about the snakes, to ensure him they are safe, won't escape and even if by some off chance one managed to get away, it would not pose a threat to other tenants or their pets (unless they have pet rodents..in which case, that being the snakes natural food, they may get eaten, if not secure in their own cages).

I have yet to have any problems renting places that allowed snakes. I told them I keep reptiles but all are harmless and kept in secure cages. They seem ok with this. You definitely can emphasize they are silent, don't bark, pee all over the place, chew stuff or otherwise cause damage to the apartment.

I still find it funny that most of the people I meet who are leary about snakes or outright scared of them, are guys. One of my apartment buildings maintenance guys is nervious coming to my apartment when he learned I kept snakes. I told him, kind of hard to hide when two of my snakes are visible from the front door. But once he realized they are all in cages he was ok. I assured him that I don't try and scare people with them and all I keep are harmless and nonvenomous. He of course, thought they were venomous but I explained none are, keeping venomous snakes is against the city by-laws and none of my pets violate the by-laws. I think that more than anything reassured him that I wasn't keeping anything dangerous.

I certainly haven't had any bylaw officer pounding on my door wanting to inspect my collection.

I haven't told the two little old ladies who live next to me that i keep snakes though..they probably drop dead. In fact, about the only other person other than the lady who rented the place to me that knows I have reptiles and who lives in the same building is the woman with 3 ferrets. I was talking to her when we had a fire alarm go off at night in the middle of winter when it was something like -25 C. I was not going to bring my snakes outside in that kind of weather on the off chance it wasn't a false alarm. They stood a better chance surviving in the apartment than outside, even if the apartment building was on fire. But she brought out her ferrets, cute little buggers and pretty friendly.
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PHLdyPayne

I would "NOT" say anything if I were you. I've lived in several apartments over the past few years. They will come into your apartment for routine maintainence (air filters, smoke detectors, fire extinquishers, and spraying for pest in the begining of summer). You'll find that the ones who enter though are mostly the maintainence crew who could care less what's in your apartment. In my experience, it's the women in the rental office, which are terrified of snakes, and therefore think they have the right to ban them.
I had a baby chondro delivered a couple of months ago and the delivery guy took it to the office instead of my door. They called me on the phone freaking out saying there is a snake in the office with my name on it. When I got there they were standing on the opposite side of the room and pointing at the box saying I can't have snakes. I told them it was a baby turtle and suddenly they were acting like my best friend. If you choose to ask, call and ask anonymously and see what they say. If you ask in person and they are scared of snakes they will remember you. Just my opinion.
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0.0.3 Green Tree Pythons
2.5 Ball Pythons
...(2 pied, 1 Albino, 2 Het Albino, 2 Normals)
1.0 Irian Jaya Carpet Python
1.0 Hypo Boa Constrictor
1.0 Leucistic Texas rat
1.0 Albino Corn

No offense intended to anyone but if I were to go back to living in an apartment I would not live in a place the landlord wouldn't accept reptiles. Was always my way in the past, and it always worked out. If you're hiding something you'll be found out eventually, and it's not worth getting you AND the critters booted out into the cold. Besides, if the landlord knows and is OK with it the neighbors will just have to learn to live with it . If you don't go out of your way to flaunt the reptiles the neighbors will generally just stay away, which ain't all bad either. JMHO.

Quig
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Don't interupt me when I'm talkin' to myself

Quig,

I was one of the people who advised not telling. I respect your opinion as its a little hard to defend my "Lying is the best policy" stance. However, if you own 1 or 2 or 3 snakes, most people look at you like you are a little weird. When you tell them you own 47 of them, they think you are insane. People dont want to live next to insane people.

I find it hard to believe the people who are writing that they have told the people in their building and landlord they have snakes have really said "Yeah, I keep snakes...as a matter of fact I have 62 of them and 7 are pregnant, so I am hoping for another 50 or 60". I really find it hard to believe.

~Alan

Alan, I can see your point, and I AM one of those who only owns a few snakes, but I'd still rather be up front about it from the git go. Then again, I don't, and won't, live in a big city where this kind of thing is more likely to happen.

Quig
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Don't interupt me when I'm talkin' to myself

Most landlords don't care about "caged" animals.
And, the law states that the landlord must give you 24 hours notice before entering your apartment.
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"What is man without the beasts?
If all the beasts were gone,
men would die from great loneliness of spirit.
For what happens to the beasts,
soon happens to men.
All things are connected."

-Chief Seattle (Duwamish Tribe)

I kept one in an apartment. I asked the landlord, and she said that it would be fine since I kept him in a cage. They just didn't allow animals that could roam free.

I started keeping snakes in my apartment after I moved in. Before I left my apartment I had around 10 different boas and Pythons in there My smallest was a baby Boa and my largest was a 20 ft retic. I never kept venomous animals though. My landlord new about my snakes as well as alot of my neighbors. I went as far as taking a few of them outside on the warm days. Granted people shied away from me when they new I was keeping snakes but I personally did not care. If you already have snakes I am not sure if I would bring it up. My advice would be to get the apartment first and then bring them in. But in the end its totally up to you as to what you do.

I hid my snakes for 3 years in an apartment. The last year I had 65 at one point, a majority of them babies. They give you a days notice to come in and fix something, buts its a pain. Most apartment complex are not ok w/ snakes and if they are, the pet deposit can be expensive. The best thing to do is not tell them and put them in a rack in the closet. When they come in, throw a blanket over the rack and it won't be noticeable.

Kyle

I live in a apartment and keep snakes I have 30 I just put a sheet over my racks when they come to my apartment. Also don't tell people that live in your apartment area that you have snakes they may freak out and tell the landlord.

Would the apartment owners have the right to take your animals away if you hadnt told them about you snakes? I am looking to move and was wondering the same things. Also does anyone have problems with having rats?

NO!! Animals are property!!! In every state they are your property. You could sue and charge them with theft. The only people allowed to take your pets are animal control. Even the police can not legally take them.. EVEN IF THE SNAKES ARE ILLEGAL TO OWN...unless there is NO animal control in area.. and then, only with warrant..

haven't read the rest of the replies but here's my 2 cents.

i live in a medium sized 1 br apartment and have 3 snakes, 1.0 taiwan beauty yearling, 0.1 albino nelson's milksnake, and 0.1 western hognose.

in my previous apartment a couple years ago i had a full grown iguana with a 7 foot high cage in the living room.

my philosophy has always been don't ask don't tell. if you're a responsible herp owner and you're keeping your enclosures clean then there are 0 reasons for your landlord or neighbors to gripe about you keeping nonvenomous snakes. for the same reasons they have no grounds for complaining, they won't know if you don't advertise it (i.e. snakes are odorless, soundless, and stay inside your house).

since you're posting this in the BP forum i'm guessing you're looking at one of those which would be happy in a sweaterbox which makes it doubly easy to keep in an apartment because NOBODY has to know, even if they enter your place.

landlords may not (in the US) enter your apartment without asking. just like cops, but that's not to say they won't. the good news is if your landlord is going into your place and he throws you out for having a snake, a) he's doing you a favor because that's a [bleep]ty landlord that you don't want anyway, and b) you can forget about suing him to stay in the place because that would be prohibitively expensive, also see point a).

as always, read your lease before signing it.

iv keep snakes in an aprt while i went to school in north fl,I told them i had a snake or two but i never told them that i had well over 30.i never had a problem but you should make shore they cant get out! lol take care kevin

I'm also a college student living in an apartment, and I've kept my reptiles a secret as well. I've gotten a lot of adverse reactions to them when people find out, but as long as I say nothing they don't even notice they're there. Unless your reptile is very large, reptiles are pretty much the most unobtrusive pets you can have in an apartment. If so many people weren't freaked out by snakes, they'd be the perfect pet for apartments.

On a more practical note, the one time the company we lease from sent over a guy for repairs, I covered my two terrariums with pretty cloths and made them look like coffee tables. Nobody asked questions.

I've had my carpet python for over twenty years and was kicked out of my first two apartments over her. The first place just waited until the lease was running out and said I could not renew it with her, the second place said "Get rid of the snake or get out" as soon as they saw her. Since it was an efficiency with no spare room to hide her in, I got out.

So these days, I keep my mouth shut. If you live in an apartment that doesn't allow pets, keep the snake in your bedroom. When the manager visits, shut the door to your room. They'll be dealing with the sink or the toilet or the showerhead or something like that, none of which is in your bedroom. Do the same thing when neighbors visit, too, at least until you know who talks to who. If you're no sure whether your building has a grapevine or not, be paranoid, and assume that it does, and assume that the old lady down the hall is going to make certain that the landlord hears how upset she is.

However, when not dealing with neighbors, showing them cute pets happens to be a great way to break the ice and get women into your bedroom... unless they hate snakes... in which case things are unlikely to work out anyway.

Being quiet saved my ass a couple of years ago. Somebody found a snake in their apartment a few floors down, sounded like a California King from the description, not that I said that. They's already called the police, who removed it, probably because one of the cops wanted a free California Kingsnake. It's probably better off there than with the idiots I think it escaped from. I'm pretty sure it had belonged to the kids across the hall from me, but if word had been out that I have snakes, I would have been automatically guilty. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I'd have been better offf LYING and saying that the snake was mine, and being perceived as an irresponsible owner who can't keep his pets in their cages, then being completely HONEST and being perceived as an irresponsible owner who not only can't keep his pets in cages but is also a liar. To most people, you're either into snakes or you aren't. And if anything turns up that isn't a garter, it's your fault. A lot of crack-smokijng dilletante snake owners pass through apartment complexes. Don't set yourself up to take the rap for them. I'n certainly glad I didn't.
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0.1 Coastal Carpet (Boots)
0.1 Western Hognose (Bebe)
0.1 Cane Toad (Hengo)
0.1 Solomon Islands Ground Skink (Minerva)