Some bad news

I guess I should have expected it, but I have to say I got my hopes up and I'm very upset. I only have one reptile at the moment (my Bearded Dragon) because I went off to college last year (3 hours away) and couldn't take anything to the dorms, and didn't feel comfortable burdening my parents with a bunch of animals. The Beardie is somewhat of a family pet since we've had her for 8 years so they agreed to watch her while I was away.

Next semester I'll be out of the dorms, and moving into a rental house in the fall, and I guess I was under the false impression that I might be able to take my Beardie with me, and also possibly be able to start my collection back up on a small scale. Unfortunately I talked to the landlord and his 'no pets' rule extends to even caged animals (he won't even allow fish..) that have no odor.. so I will have to be leave my Beardie at home yet again. They take decent care of her so I'm sure she'll be fine but she definitely won't be getting a lot of attention.

I know I should have expected it but I can't help but be very disappointed and even heartbroken. I'm very close to my family so it's hard being away, and all of my friends at college kind of went on different paths than I (they all party and drink etc and I don't, mostly because of principal but also because I have a heart condition so I literally can't) so we've grown apart. This sounds ridiculous but I guess I was looking forward to possibly having my Beardie there as some sort of companion, to give me something to take care of so I could get some gratification and a sense of self-worth. If that worked out I was also thinking like I said about getting my foot back in the hobby a little more which I was looking forward to and getting excite about.

I guess I'll just have to wait until I'm out of college. It's just hard, and I dread going back there and being completely alone. :tears:

Sorry for venting, I just figured some of you might be able to relate.

Thats to bad! Must be hard.


I have thought about this as well when I go to college since I wont be able to stay at home. It pretty much goes if I dont find a rental that allows pets them I am going to a different college lol. I am sure SOMEWHERE around the college would have pet friendly apartments. But still I have to take my pets since I have a cat that has separation anxiety. A male cockatiel that only likes me. 2 snakes that no one will go near and 2 lizards and of course my tarantula that no one even likes to look at.

So I HAVE to find a pet friendly rental or find an other college lol.

I would be absolutely lost without my animals. I, personally, would find somewhere different to live. There has got to be a place that would accept pets.

If not, stay strong and maybe volunteer somewhere? And college is not forever, I promise.

The problem is that I have already signed the lease so I can't back out now. I got in a bad situation earlier this year where all of the apartments/houses around camping upwere filling up, and I didn't have any plans for the fall so I was freaking out and at the last minute someone asked me if I wanted to live with them there so kind of rushed into this situation because I didn't want to end up with nowhere to live.

(When I say I rushed into it, I mean.. I still haven't even seen the room I'll be living in, and when I signed the lease I hadn't even been to the actual house, only seen pictures.)

At that point the pets thing didn't even cross my mind... but I guess it's my fault for assuming that the lizard would be okay, because all of the rentals I've been in before that didn't allow pets have allowed fish and caged animals etc.

Honestly if the college near my house offered my major I'd just transfer so I could live at home and have all the pets I want, sadly that's not the case.

At least when I'm out of college I can be more selective about where I live and pick somewhere that suits my lifestyle better.

Sorry about your situation. As a professional apartment dweller, the first thing I as is if aquarium pets (my term for snakes) are allowed. If they say no, I just explain how much I'm going to miss living at their complex as I head for the door.

I really hate to hear that. I'm the same way, I could never live anywhere that didn't allow animals. Is there nobody who will babysit for you?

You have my sympathy dear.

It is good that you don't waste time and money as your friends do, that will make graduating come that much sooner.

It is too bad about being rushed into the lease, sometimes things don't go our way. Perhaps you could find a shelter or even a vet office you could volunteer for ? They are usually glad to have help walking dogs or doing light cleaning tasks. It's not the same, but it might help the time go by faster.

Gale

I wouldnt have signed the lease if i didnt know if they allowed herps. With 4, soon to be 5, snakes its very important that when i do transfer from community college i find an apartment that allows snakes. If the landlord is iffy about it im a pretty good salesman and am confident i could convince them. Like Slim said it will probably be the first thing i ask. At the very least, if i absolutely had to, i would just bring the snakes in the apartment with me anyways. Theyre in a rack so all id have to do is throw a sheet over it when theres an inspection and the landlord would never know. Its a little harder with a bearded dragon though i guess.

*This is all hypothetically speaking of course. I would never actually do that bc thats illegal and im a tax paying, law abiding citizen.* ;)

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Originally Posted by foxoftherose

I really hate to hear that. I'm the same way, I could never live anywhere that didn't allow animals. Is there nobody who will babysit for you?

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I'm just going to leave her with my parents like I did last year - at least I can check up on her and see her when I come to visit. I just was looking forward to her keeping me company at college. Plus, despite my sister technically caring for my Beardie fine maintenance wise the past year, apparently she never paid her any attention or anything like that, which makes me sad 'cause I'm becoming paranoid about how much longer realistically she will live being 8 years old now.

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Originally Posted by angllady2

You have my sympathy dear.

It is good that you don't waste time and money as your friends do, that will make graduating come that much sooner.

It is too bad about being rushed into the lease, sometimes things don't go our way. Perhaps you could find a shelter or even a vet office you could volunteer for ? They are usually glad to have help walking dogs or doing light cleaning tasks. It's not the same, but it might help the time go by faster.

Gale

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That's a good idea. I was thinking about checking out the local pet shop and possibly offering to volunteer there to help clean cages and maybe score some time holding the animals - I used to do that way back in middle school and it was really rewarding for me. It'd be something, at least. :)

It's kind of ironic now that I think about it because the whole reason I really got into herps was because I grew up on a lot of property and we always had tons of animals: emus, horses, dogs, cats, parrots, snakes, you name it. But when I was 11 we moved to a rental and per that lease we could ONLY have caged animals, so my mom bought me a snake, and then it just escalated from there since I could have as many reptiles as I wanted without being in violation of anything.

I know what that's like. My recommendation would be to start apartment hunting a couple months before you have to next semester to ensure you find a place that will allow your pets. Then again, hiding them is always an option as well. Through my first year of college, I hid a 28 lb. Maine coon cat in my dorm room for the entire year because freshmen had to live in dorms and I wasn't going to leave my baby home. Also, once you find a good landlord/apartment where you can have your pets, renew for as long as you're going to be there. Makes it easier than moving every year.

In the meantime, get to know a good pet store nearby and possibly even volunteer at a shelter. Be sure to mention you have experience with reptiles because most shelters don't have people who are knowledgeable about them. They will be thankful for the help and you get to play with the animals. There may also be a herp club since a lot of college towns now have them.