College Student Seeks BP Opinions

Under msot circumstances, I would advise no; but you said your roomie keeps a snake also? Maybe you two could be co-conspirators then; if you had a tattle-tail roomie who you didn't trust, I would say nope.
Also, "tell no one!"

amen to that

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Originally Posted by nathanledet

haha yeah that is a very important thing...tell noone about your little one. only those you know well. there's a lot of back stabbers out there.

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Originally Posted by Ginevive

Under msot circumstances, I would advise no; but you said your roomie keeps a snake also? Maybe you two could be co-conspirators then; if you had a tattle-tail roomie who you didn't trust, I would say nope.
Also, "tell no one!"

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Not my suite-mate, but a different friend of mine. My current suite-mate is trusted and she couldn't care one way or another (though she has no snakey herself--only a fish :) ). Next year, I have no guarantees about who my suite-mate is, as my current one will be graduating in the spring. I don't share a bedroom or a bathroom with my suitemate, anyway...so hiding my BP wouldn't be an issue even if I end up with a new roomie next fall who I might not know/trust.

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Originally Posted by AzureN1ght

Not my suite-mate, but a different friend of mine. My current suite-mate is trusted and she couldn't care one way or another (though she has no snakey herself--only a fish :) ). Next year, I have no guarantees about who my suite-mate is, as my current one will be graduating in the spring. I don't share a bedroom or a bathroom with my suitemate, anyway...so hiding my BP wouldn't be an issue even if I end up with a new roomie next fall who I might not know/trust.

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as long as people backstabbing you isnt a problem, go for it!!

Hi, I am a college student at University of California, Berkeley. As of right now I don't have any pets but come Thursday I will be the proud owner of a new BP! Like you, I had similar concerns with keeping a BP in my apartment (I have 5 roommates, and I'm not supposed to have pets), but I don't think that I'll have any issues. Thankfully, none of them are snitches - I've known them since the beginning of high school.

I guess I'm a little more of a risk taker, because I'm going to be keeping my BP in a 30 gallon glass aquarium right in the open... haha. My landlord here doesn't really do any inspection, and I don't think landlords are allowed to enter the house without previous notice to the residents (by law). I will be living here for the rest of this year as well as next year.

I can't really offer you any hands-on advice when it comes to the keeping of BPs, but from what I've read, leaving a BP for 3 days shouldn't be a problem as long as you double check temps and fill its water bowl beforehand. Also, recently there have been numerous threads about taking BPs for long car rides, but there seems to be simple solutions for those situations.

When making the final decision on a BP the only "real" concerns I had were fire and eviction. You'll want to make sure that your UTH isn't a fire hazard, and that you don't get caught (haha) and get evicted from your place! I'd say that if you have solutions for preventing both those things, get one by all means! :P

Oh, and make sure that you are ready commit to a BP even AFTER college (where your new place of residence may also not allow pets, etc...).


Hope I've helped with my giant wall of text. Good luck.

I think the responsible thing to do would be to ask someone you trust to watch out for the snake if you're going to be away. Fill the water bowel, pick up poop, etc. Also it would be very sad if there were a fire or something, and your "secret" pet was hurt or killed. Even used properly, the heating pads and lights are less than 100% safe.

I also think that the right thing to do is tell the person/people that you're living with that you have a snake. You may just have to make alternate arrangements if they aren't ok with it. Some people are very, very scared (irrationally imho) and it isn't fair to do that to someone when you're the one bending the rules. And snakes are not 100% safe either, and anyone will tell you they can and will escape.

My house is also "no pets", but I really don't think snakes can be counted in the traditional sense- what is going to happen? Are they going to pee on the carpet or chew the furniture or disturb the neighbours? I don't think so.

Good luck!!

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Originally Posted by Sadie

My house is also "no pets", but I really don't think snakes can be counted in the traditional sense- what is going to happen? Are they going to pee on the carpet or chew the furniture or disturb the neighbours? I don't think so.

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I believe the "no pets" rule is a bit more complicated than that. If your pet snake happens to escape and bite the neighbors, your landlord will be held legally responsible. I believe it is a liability issue.

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Originally Posted by Ktzero3

I believe the "no pets" rule is a bit more complicated than that. If your pet snake happens to escape and bite the neighbors, your landlord will be held legally responsible. I believe it is a liability issue.

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Find out the exact rules about pets, it may be there you just can't have a dog/cat. You said your roomate has fish, they are pets, so obviously there is a line drawn somewhere. Call your school, talk to someone who would know and just say your thinking about going to school there and you have a small pet snake, and your wondering if its okay to have it there. Or even tell them its a gecko (incase the person you talk to is afraid of snakes)

As far as the setup don't go with human heat pads. You want a UTH that is controlled by a t-stat (you can get a nice small one for a single set up very reasonable online). Avoid buying much from pet stores (overpriced and mostly lower quality). Make sure the tub you choose is very secure and add things like bungee cord or heavy binder clips to the lid so there is no give to it. Think about how you will also sneek in weekly prey (live, frozen/thawed or pre-killed) as that may be your biggest issue with keeping this snake "hidden".

Also a backup plan for it in the event you get caught and have 24 hours to remove the snake. Can this get you expelled? Who would offer your snake a home if you are ordered to remove it immediately? Might be easier in the long run to wait till next year, find a few room-mates that like snakes and rent private housing that allows for pets in caging.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

As far as the setup don't go with human heat pads. You want a UTH that is controlled by a t-stat (you can get a nice small one for a single set up very reasonable online). Avoid buying much from pet stores (overpriced and mostly lower quality). Make sure the tub you choose is very secure and add things like bungee cord or heavy binder clips to the lid so there is no give to it. Think about how you will also sneek in weekly prey (live, frozen/thawed or pre-killed) as that may be your biggest issue with keeping this snake "hidden".

Also a backup plan for it in the event you get caught and have 24 hours to remove the snake. Can this get you expelled? Who would offer your snake a home if you are ordered to remove it immediately? Might be easier in the long run to wait till next year, find a few room-mates that like snakes and rent private housing that allows for pets in caging.

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Ditto.
Welfare of the snake comes first. Take my word for it, finding a new home for a snake on short notice is very hard.