Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've posted on here about rat breeding and other forums regarding snakes, and everything is great. Forums help everyone out who wishes to read them and is why I'm posting this.
I'm being evicted from my apartment at the end of this month for the very things that I specifically asked about snakes and rodents before I signed my lease 2 years ago. Now I just signed a new lease last month to renew my lease again and it turns out that I am no longer able to keep the snakes or rodents. All my lease says is caged animals permitted and $200.00 non refundable security deposit for 2 cats. So just because that it says in your lease caged animals permitted doesn't mean that your rodents or snakes are!! GET IT IN WRITING AND MAKE SURE IT IS SPECIFIED RODENTS,SNAKES ,FISH OR WHATEVER ELSE YOU ARE CARING FOR!!!
JMILLR2101

Well that SUCKS if you ask me, I think if it's in a cage it shouldn't matter WHAT it is as long as it resides in a cage. But that's just my opinion. But it also makes me glad that I own my house. Ever thought of contacting a lawyer and seeing if you can fight this? This is where Pre-Paid legal comes in good, but this isn't an advertisement for it. Just something that my husband and I both have incase someone tries to screw us and it has helped us in the past fight some injustices.

Good luck with what ever you decide to do.
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Chantel a.k.a. sillygirl
"I came, I saw, I adopted"

2.4.0 green anoles (Stumpy (M)), and the rest remain nameless.
2.2.0 green tree frogs (Romeo & Juliet, Bonnie & Clyde)
0.0.3 D. tinctorius (Cobalt froglets)
0.0.1 Anerythristic 'B' (Charcoal)corn snake (Popcorn)
0.0.1 Snow Corn (KandyKorn)
0.2 Amel Corns (KornSilk & KornMuffin)
0.0.1 Giant African Millipede
2.4 Domestic house cats (Bad Boy (m), Bart(m),Sasha(F),Little Bit(F),Spirit(F)
1.0 Rottweiler (Jake)
1.2 Rats (new additions with no names yet)
1.0 Husband (David, who loves all my critters too)

I would check your state's and countries Landlord/Tenant act cause I am quite positive your land lord cannot evict you for having pets, even if the lease says no pets allowed. At worse they can refuse to renew a lease if you have pets.

The only time they can evict you due to pets is if they prove a nuisence (ie barking, making a mess, etc.) or if other tenants complained about the noise, smell etc. I don't think they can evict you even if other tenants don't like snakes or mice. As long as they are secure and can't escape, there isnt' anything they can do.

If they are found to have unlawfully evicted you, you can get compensation back.

been there, done it even with a court battle. My scenario was with other tenents when they found out the sheer numbers of my caged animals with the fear factore ( of course we are talking non-knowledgement with tenents ). I won a victory for stay untill the next lease came up with the clause of " pets ". Keeping in mind that i reversed " caged pets " with the keeping of tropical fish and pet birds. What the complex got me on of the next lease was the fear factore of people not wanting to live there and or people wanting to move out. It was percieved that my " pets " was a threat to the comnplexes well being and business of leasing. Thatis what got me evicted but not really. I chose to move on my own accord due to harrasment ( in which i also brought up charges ). The thing that had me on un-even grounds was the right ( complex wise ) for the inspection and spraying of insects using insecticides and pesticides that couldn't be done on or in my property due to the caged animals. This in turn was seen as a problem with other properties of so-called infestations possibly happening.
I have come to belief that if you have a buch of anything animal wise...move to the country.....

Chambo ( the fact and number guy )

Is what would you keep in a cage other than lizard, snake or rodent type animal?

Do they expect you to keep 2 cats in a cage? LOL!!

I'm not trying to be funny really but it seems to me that a caged animal would be a hamster, gerbil, chinchilla, ferret, rat, rabbit, etc. All are about the same as far as destructive capabilities and odor. The snakes are actually the least destructive and if lost would eliminate any rodent problem they may have!

This is sort of like the idiots who want to ban reptiles because of salmonella when you're more at risk of contracting that at a salad bar than from a reptile! Morons!
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Marcia - FroggieB Dragons
www.froggieb.com/MHDHome.html

Hubby and I lived for two years in a 1950's cinderblock house. It had a walled in porch with it's own air conditioner and that became my "mouse room". The porch itself was termite infested. But the condition of the house told us the level of care the real estate company and owners took in their house. Most the windows didn't open (broken cranks), most the doors had holes in them (scummy renters from before us), the bathtub was also circa 1950, and none of the accessible plugs were three pronged. In other words the place was a dump.

The rental company knew we had snakes and mice. But we DIDN"T have dogs or cats, so that was okay. We had a nosy neighbor who was the worst kind, and one day she complained to the state inspector that we raised zillions of mice and it smelled awful. The inspector came out and could not smell anything. The reason she called it in is because we got in a mouse rack, and didn't really answer her nosy questions of "what is that for?"

AFTER we moved out and into our very own home, the real-estate company showed a new face. Never mind that we spent two days scrubbing the house from top to bottom, and that we paid rent on time every single month. Never mind that the only times we ever bothered them with repairs was when the AC broke down (115* indoors) or the toilet disintigrated (we saved the carpet by being awake at 3 am and hearing the noise of the disintigration, and turning off the water). Never mind all that. They charged us for the broken window cranks, for unsealing windows THEY had painted shut. The real kicker was when they said (in addition to our WHOLE deposit they kept, partly for TURNING on utilities to work on THEIR problems with the house), they also said that the tub had to be reglazed, and they would be charging us for that, and also that as it was common knowledge that we'd had snakes and mice they would have to include a disclosure statement to any prospective renters, so we had materially damaged their ability to rent this place (they DIDN'T disclose to us that, before we moved in, the house was a major drug-dealer's dive... we got that from the nosy neighbor, and from the police who kept hassling us thinking we were the previous occupants). They also said they would have to call in the exterminators and charge us for it to keep the place from being "re-infested" with snakes and mice. (probably want to charge US for the termite removal, after all, the mice lived on PINE bedding, and everyone knows that termites are drawn to wood, and so of course the termites are our fault, for having wood shavings in the covered porch.)

They haven't sent us a bill for the reglazing of a 50 year old toilet or for the so-called pest-removal (not even removal, it was PREVENTION). If they do, we'll probably just send it back to them and tell them to stick it.

Anyway, renting and raising mice and having snakes is a real PAIN. I'm SO GLAD we now have our own house. Hubby is glad too... there's a seperate building for the mice now... no more shairing our air with te mice.

~Sasheena
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~Sasheena

This is exactly why I haven't owned herps for 3 years, we had to move to a new town and rent so I sold all my animals knowing that renting lotsa herps is a bad idea, just bought a house, got some boas to celebrate, albino het pair

When you rent they're all nice to you because frankly good tenants are HARD to find, so if someone actually PAYS they do and say WHATEVER they have to to get them to stay, but once you move out, the gloves come off.

We're in the final stages of cleaning out the rental house we've lived in the past year and I'm pretty sure they're gonna try and keep all my security deposit, what they don't know is I have a list of grievances a mile long, and documentation, including pictures, of what we found wrong with the house when we moved in (painted shut windows, broken screen door, etc) and if they really piss me off I'm going to mention that there are laws against pouring DIESEL FUEL on open ground (the owner was too cheap to spring for Round-Up for weeds so he poured DIESEL on the ground around the fences and buildings to kill weeds) especially when there are WELLS in the near vicinity (we were on a well).
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Gary Harris - gary@mydixiesys.com
http://www.dixiesys.com/
http://www.8-95.com/

I've never really had a problem with this... Even renting... because I keep my animals clean and away from the general public... No one sees them... hence no nosy neighbor and no people being called. The landlords generally know I have them... though not how many.. but we have two dogs too.. so if he doesn't have a problem with 2 big dogs.. I don't see why he'd have any problems with caged animals anyway *L* But I do get those reactions from people like.. "Euwww you have rats AND snakes? How can you stand that?" Just wait till I tell them that I have a colonies of thousands of mealworms and superworms then they can really go "euwwww" *l*
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Lucien

1.0 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)
2.1 Leopard geckos (2 Blizzard and 1 het Blizzard)
0.1 Savannah Monitor
13 rats
12 Gerbils
2 Dogs
3 cats
1 Albino Corey (fish)

Yeah, then tell them about the roaches! LOL! I have found that some relatives and neighbors just won't come over because of their fear of reptiles! And, just why would you keep roaches when I'm trying to get rid of them!
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Marcia - FroggieB Dragons
www.froggieb.com/MHDHome.html

I just went through this...well, I'm actually GOING through this with my landlord over my owning prairie dogs. Our lease also read caged animals or aquariums under 75gal (weird specification, I know) and had a special rider for our three cats. While we were out of town for a funeral, he came into our apartment for a "plumbing issue." He saw my three prairie dogs and freaked out. First of all, I have had them since May of this year. No one knew, nor did I feel it necessary to inform him, as our lease has the allowance for caged pets. Second, we had been gone for 4 days when he came in. As it was a funeral, we didn't have time to get anyone to come care for our pets. I packed their cage with food, water, and hay enough for three weeks...let alone 4 days. Of course, they made a royal mess of the hay! It was all over the cage, and the floor surrounding it. Hey, they're pds, rodents who burrow...of course they made a mess. So, even when I tried to explain I clean up after ALL of my pets every day (three cats, a tree frog, the crickets I breed to feed them, and the several aquariums we have running) he wanted them GONE! Part of it was the cleanliness thing, the other part of it was the Monkey Pox scare earlier this year.
Sooooo, since it is now a federal offense to move,sell, display, trade, or release prairie dogs, I have to get special permission from the FDA, the CDC, and the Illinois Dept. of Agriculture just to move them to a foster home. He is stalling on renewing my lease now until this is resolved. Argh! On a side note, our neighbors have two very large, very noisy, very destructive birds as pets. He's never responded to my questions regarding them, as caged pets, being allowed. Hmmmm, wonder why?
I contacted the Illinois Tenant Rights association over this. I found them by "googling" tenant rights, Illinois. According to them, he has NO RIGHT to take any action against us. If it is not excluded in your lease, you should be able to fight the eviction. Many local courthouses have one day a week where you can meet with a Pro Bono lawyer for advice if needed. That is my intention for tomorrow.
Good luck to you!!!
Sandee
Monkey pox free in 2003

Wow, is your old lease up yet? If you landlord lets your old lease lapse without having you sign a new one yet and you have paid rent (ex: you are paying month to month with no lease right now)He/she has put themselves in a precarious postion check you local laws pertaining to this. If the laws are anything like it is here in CT., well, I wish him luck in trying to get yo out!

Yeah, actually our lease was up in April of this year. He now says that was another part of his intention that day he came in was to leave us the new lease to sign...now he wants to "see how the prarie dog situation is handled" before he renews us. And, yes, we have been bugging him since May for the new lease as well as paying our rent every month. What's more is I am trying to redo my loan on my car and I need proof of residence for it. I can't provide that without a current lease. I explained that to him (landlord) and how he is now holding up a totally unrelated part of my life, too. He said, AGAIN, we'll see how this goes. Does he think that loans just wait on CRAP like this? I didn't get to talk to a lawyer today, but I am circling my wagons...
I'll keep ya updated!
Grrrr, land lords....
Grrr, I say!
Sandee
Monkey Pox free in 2003

Your landlord may be creating a very bad situation for himself! You should REALLY REALLY REALLY go to you local housing authority first. I know that when my mother rented a place to someone and let their lease lapse, trying to evict him when we found the place to be in DEPLORABLE CONDITION(I have never seen so much damage committed by one person in my life and the place was so dirty I was gagging from rotting food!!!)was damn near impossible and it took months. So it won't be easy for him to get rid of you now! Housing Authority is there to protect renters from unscrupulous landlords and vice versa. More often that not the renter wins. I strongly suggest you bring this matter to the attention of your Housing Authority ASAP.

Sorry part of this actually pertained to someone else (about the lapsed lease)!Did you get an eviction notice from the Housing Authority delivered via a sherrif? If not, don't pack. Eviction is a legal process that takes a couple of months to complete. If your landlord is telling you to get out then You REALLY need housing Auth. because he is doing nothing more than breaking your lease, which is breech of contract. As long as what you own isn't illegal in your area and is not specifically prohibited in your lease, too bad for him. Things that are non-specific in the lease screw the landlord not the leasee. Unless you have screwball laws in your state you should come out on top here. It was your landlord that should have "Gotten it in writting", not you

Just to let everybody know that even owning your own home does not protect you from idiots. Somebody complained that my rodents stunk. I had a compost pile that was 7 years old and working quite well with no odor or insect problems. The City I live in wouldn't do anything about it so the jerk called the county and the qualified inspector came out and checked it out from a distance of about 80 ft(that's as close as she could get). Her response was to spread the bedding all over my yard as to help it dry out better and I had to spread 7 years of bedding from my compost pile to satisfy her. I complained that she needed to come visit the facility and see it up close, her response was comply or she would SHUT ME DOWN. Just to let everybody reading this and falling out of their chair, that I live in FLORIDA where yards do not dry out and my yard smells worse than ever, but I did what she said. Thanks Snakeman56

How can you be evicted for abiding by the lease? It does state that caged animals are ok. Go to your local housing authority and contact a lawyer immeadiately. If you can't afford one contact Legal Aid in your area.

Please read my replies to inZanadee. Also, does your new lease state that snakes and rodents aren't allowed? More so than a lawyer, you need the Housing Authority. Is this in an apartment complex or a duplex or multi-family house? This really sounds like the work of a landlord the is ignorant of housing and basic contract laws, and if so lucky you. If you haven't been given an official legal notice from Housing and signed by a judge, you are not evicted. If your landlord is just telling you he wants you out, he is breaking the law and Housing should know about it. Just as Leasee's can be held liable for breaking a lease, so can the landlords. Most housing laws are made to protect renters from such practices. Many landlords will try to get away with anything and never even check the laws to see how little say they actually have in what goes on in their property once it is rented.

I recieved a notice stating I have 24 hours to get rid of all animals, which didn't happen. Now I have to go to a hearing to tuesday to hear them say the magic words. I already found another place that is cheaper and allows pets in general so I am not worried about it either way. What I wanted to do was inform all the new herpers and breeders to help themselves before they run into the same problem I did.

So line up a new place, and then MAKE THEM evict you, eviction is NOT a quick process at all, I've done it 3 times and it took well over a month each time and this was with people who didn't really fight the eviction but did wait until the last minute to move. While they're doing that fight the eviction anyway, maybe make them spend a little money on lawyers. Now's when you borrow your friend's car that leaks oil like a texas well and park it in your driveway until this is over
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Gary Harris - gary@mydixiesys.com
http://www.dixiesys.com/
http://www.8-95.com/