fear of ball pythons

I just feel like ranting...I just moved into this apartment like 3 weeks ago and I didn't tell my landlord about my ball pythons or my rat colony. Why? Because they won't hurt the apt at all. Its not much different then having fish... Well a maintance person told her that we have snakes and rats and she is not happy...
She said she would of never signed the lease had we told her about them.she doesn't want them there because there smelly and unsanitary...really??
I can understand a little bit about the rats but if you clean there cages then they don't smell. I hate that people are so judgmental about ball pythons when they haven't done any research...
I don't know I hope she shows some campassion instead of evicting is based on her preconceived notions on the animals.

I don't know what happens from here. I believe she can technically evict is for it. We re meeting her on Saturday to discuss them. I feel like these are some of the options she ll have...
She ll want me to get rid of them to stay in the apartment...I'm not selling my ball pythons plain and simple. I don't know how to hide them since her maintanance man saw the rack..
Ill sell the rats if I have to buy buying them every will cost me an arm and a leg.

She might have us pay another non refundable deposit.

She might just kick is out...

Or she ll let us stay as it is (I don't think so)

Maybe I shouldn't worry about it so much. But with everything else that is happening this really sucks...

Do yall have any advice? Surely someones been in this situation also? What did you tell them? Were you evicted anyways?

Grrrrr

Oh, man, that sucks. Sorry about that. I don't have any kind of advice for you, some people aren't so easy to convince... do keep us posted on what happens with that, though. I hope everything goes well. :(

I know there's a lot of people that have snakes and rodents in thier apartments and lie to thier landlords, but you probably shouldn't have lied to them in the first place. I think they are well within there rights to evict you if you don't remove the snakes, you might want to check your lease.

I also don't think you can compare snakes and fish. My fish have never tried to escape the tank, and if they did, they're not getting far, and I have 2 cats.

I'm not trying to be mean, but you didn't think a landlord would have a problem with a rodent colony? I do wish you the best of luck in this.

I won't beat you up with "coulda woulda shoulda"....but hopefully a valuable lesson learned. Great risks are taken when you don't tell your landlord about your animals.

While I do hope it's not just an unreasonable prejudice that drives your landlord, I do understand some very real concerns they may have regarding tenants keeping snakes and rats. There is a HIGH risk of very real damage to the unit if the rats are not kept correctly. And an equally high risk of smells that disturb other tenants. You may say "Well, of course I'll take proper care!"....but she doesn't know that. As a homeowner/landlord myself, I can assure you people rarely live up to your expectations of care when they are merely renting your property. The landlord also has to accept the risk of escaping snakes freaking out other tenants.

My advice to you....

Go into the meeting with a calm spirit and not with defensive aggressiveness. Go loaded to the teeth with information...the ability to demonstrate that the snakes are harmless...and some sort of evidence to show her how you can be sure the snakes and rats will never escape...how you will keep them VERY clean and never allow them to become destructive or in any way an annoyance to your neighbors.

It seems like you're going in willing to work with her as best you can, without having to sell your snakes. Hopefully it won't get that far.

Lastly...whatever agreement you two come to, GET IT IN WRITING. Leave no "i" undotted when it comes to getting it in writing. ;)

You can always make a compromise with her, rats go and snakes stay, show her how your rack is locked and how the snakes can't escape. A landlord is going to be much more concerned with a rodent colony than a few snakes in cages. Maybe ask your neighbors if they mind if you have snakes....but ultimately it's going to come down to the wording of your lease and your willingness to remove your pets if they are prohibited in the lease. If they are prohibited in your lease maybe you can reach an agreement to break the lease and still get your deposit back and then move again. Good luck!

Hind site is 20/20 but you'll need to read over your lease agreement really good. Many Apartment complex's only allow cat and dogs up to a certain weight, there may be a clause stating that any pet requires a non-refundable deposit. In that case she might have you have a deposit on every animal separately. :O:O then again the complex owners might find that you're in violation of their lease agreement and is cause for eviction.

Either way it goes, before your meeting get your stuff together know exactly what your lease says. My lease in my old apartment stated that animals maintained in an aquarium required no deposit and no limit on number. :D So when they tried to make me get rid of my snake I simply pointed out that I was within their guidelines and like it or not they had to let me stay and keep the snakes.

I noticed you live in Texas, I am in the Houston area. Find out if pets are allowed in the apartment if she wants to evict you. If you seen any body else with pets, and she says no, you can fight this. You might just have to put up a pet deposit.

You should of been up front. Some people who don't expect to find a snake well freak out no matter if its in a locked up cage or not.

When I moved out of my last roommates house and was looking for any apartment. I check on a couple in Texas City near my work (security at BP Plant). I checked on two places that said no pets allowed. I explained to them that first I had a caged animal that was in a locking cage with a pad lock with no way to escape. They asked me what kind of animal, and I said a reptile. One of said they didn't care about caged animals, but one did ask what kind of reptile and I told her it was a baby ball python. The lady I talked to told me that the reason she didn't allow pets was because she had problems with lazy people and cat litter boxes, and dogs that made misses that no one cleaned after. She told me she didn't have a problem with the snake, but would charge me for 2.5x what a pet deposit was worth, because they had some one time that had an escaped snake that got in the toilet and cost them about $2000 to get it fixed. The pet deposit would of normally been $200 but she told me it was going to be like $450.

but if they allow pets in there units she can't evict you if you put up a pet deposit.

Thx for yalls replies. I'm meeting up with the landlord tomorrow to discuss the "sanitation" issue..
Wish me luck...

good luck :) .... im rootin 4ya

What happens if you don't have a lease?

Keep us posted:gj:

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Originally Posted by TheWinWizard

What happens if you don't have a lease?

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If you haven't signed a lease with your landlord, then you both are legally bound to that state's month-to-month rental laws. Basically, you can walk out on the landlord...or he can kick you out of the property...with nothing more than a 30 day notice. So, if your landlord doesn't like your life style, he can make you leave.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JLC

If you haven't signed a lease with your landlord, then you both are legally bound to that state's month-to-month rental laws. Basically, you can walk out on the landlord...or he can kick you out of the property...with nothing more than a 30 day notice. So, if your landlord doesn't like your life style, he can make you leave.

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They have to evict you. They can't just toss you out the door. Then you get time to find a new place to live. If you need more time you go back and they give you additional time. Been through it once.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TheWinWizard

They have to evict you. They can't just toss you out the door. Then you get time to find a new place to live. If you need more time you go back and they give you additional time. Been through it once.

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Yeah...I did say they have to give a 30 day notice. (Some states it might be 60 days) And if a tenant fights it, then they may have to turn the notice into an actual eviction process. I was just pointing out that without a lease, either party can legally terminate the arrangement for any reason with (typically) nothing more than 30 days notice to the other party.

Maybe if you go the "These snakes are my children!!! D:" route???
I mean it sounds strange, but everybody else who has to rehome dogs/cats seem to say that....LOL
And I agree with the other poster who said go armed to the teeth w/ information!

My last 2 apartments only had deposits on dogs and cats. Caged animals were allowed with no fee and no specified number.

I always tell my land lord I have a 'caged pet'. Granted I have ferrets who live more like puppies and kittens than a caged animals. I suppose my apartment management think I have something like a guinea pig or hamster or something..... they never asked for specifics ..... I hope to get a one or two pythons next month. And start off a VERY small rodent colony(1:3 - I feed my ferrets weekly snacks of mice anyway. Adding a snake would make it worth starting one....)

But as a future precaution, I suggest getting a rack cover to cover all your animals when you are away or expecting maintenance. That's what I do with my ferrets and will do with future rodents/snakes . And maintenance is not allowed to touch personal belongings when on the job unless its something that hinders their work. They cannot pry and open coverings. That's against the law and privacy agreement on most leases.

Nobody really expects to find animals in my room even though I asked management. Uneducated people won't understand what they don't know.....

Good luck! Keep us updated!!

Awww I really hope it all works out for you! Good luck!!!!!!!!

hey guys it worked out. She came by and she wouldn't even come in the apt she was so scared.. But we explained how we take care of them how clean there cages every week. Oh she saw my animal plastics snake rack and was like I thought you said you only have 2. Lol oops. I don't remember that but ok. She didn't even see my breeder colony which was in my second bedroom..she saw our 2 rats which are designated pets lol. So she pretty much was like you already live here so please try to take care of my apt...
So it worked out..
I was pretty worried guys...thank yall for yalls replies. Btw the cover idea is a great idea. But get the positive to this is I don't have to hide them now lol. Well unless I get ferrets e something lol

:winner::winner::winner::winner::winner:

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Originally Posted by ss10gotanks

Well unless I get ferrets e something lol

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lmao I would not press your luck! Glad it all worked out for you

Glad it worked out! Just be careful from now on. Remember, you might be on thin ice now, so you don't want to give your landlord any reason to be upset with you. You don't want to be the person with rats+snakes+other problems!! But I'm sure you know that! :) Good luck in the future!!

:D Yay!! I am so happy that it worked out for you! :gj:

You got lucky with this. Next time be sure your animals are ok before you commit to anything. My first question when apartment hunting the last few times I've done it is "We have 2 geckos - is that going to be a problem?" If they're not ok with that, no hard feelings, no harm done, and both sides are happier not having dealt with the hassle of finding out later. *Most* places haven't had a problem with my animals (one apartment manager even said "oh, that's fine, I keep a Chinese water dragon myself"), though admittedly I wouldn't be surprised with objections to a rodent colony.