Hiding my ball python in a dorm?

[hylian]

Though I'm not going to for a few years, I've just been thinking about what I'm going to do with my animals if I decide to live in a dorm.

As an animal lover, I know I CAN'T live without my pets. And I know I probably won't be able to hide my dog, cat, ferrets, or rats. I could most likely leave those with my parents.
So that pretty much leaves me with my fish and my ball python. My mother definitely wont want to watch over my python. He's my baby. And they live for like 30 years, i'm really excited to have a pet that will be with me for such a large chunk of my life. I refuse to give him a new home or live in a lonely dorm with no pets.

So I was just wondering, how hard would it be to hide him? what could I do to hide him?
Just planning ahead, haha (:

[Zuma22]

It's good that you're thinking ahead, but it's definitely not an easy thing to do. I did it with 6 of my ball pythons. One was in a 15-gal tank, the others were in tubs. You really can't do it without the full consent of your roommate(s). I asked my roommates before I even bought my first snake 6 months before we moved in if they would be okay with it. And even then, after a year of living with my snakes, there were several times in which they threatened to have them removed while I was away. At that point, I moved out of my room and lived 20 minutes away at my friend's mom's house to protect my snakes. Not trying to scare you, but want you to really think about the fact that it's not an easy thing to do. On that note, they also got me through the toughest year of my life (I only had them during my senior year). There's nothing like taking a break from the hell of studying and just having a moment holding your snake. Best stress relief ever.

However, if your future school is like most schools in the country, you will not have a car for your first year (some places, like where I went, you wont be able to have a car until your junior year). How will you get to the nearest pet store easily when you run out of mice/rats? What if the snake ever got out? My school had cleaning ladies come into the rooms weekly along with monthly health and safety inspections - all times when I had to make sure everyone was hidden. There were times when things in the room broke and repair guys had to come in to fix them when I wasn't there - queue the frantic calls to the roommates to make sure my kiddos where out of sight or sprinting to the room between classes to do it myself.

In addition, it was absolutely critical to me that no one outside my roommates and one or two trusted friends knew my snakes existed. These animals' lives are in your hands, so it's up to you to make sure they wouldn't be caught and confiscated or whatever might happen (I don't have a clue - hopefully they'd just tell you to get them out and you'd take them right back home and pay your parents lol)

Anyway, I didn't mean for this to be a huge intimidating chunk of text, just want to get the gears going in your head. Very good thing you're starting to think about it now, but the fact that you are trying to "hide" something forbidden is an indicator that you know it's wrong And fish shouldn't be a problem. Most schools allow freshwater tanks 10 gal and under.

[MootWorm]

Very good advice!! I wouldn't recommend trying to hide it. We had a cat in our room and when we were living in off campus housing... Totally got busted. My roommate had to pay a huge fine and immediately arrange to have her cat taken home. I know cats are a bit more conspicuous than snakes, but trust me, they'll find out.

The girls across the hall freshman year tried to keep a turtle in the closet. That lasted about a week lol. Maybe you can go to a school that's close to home and commute? Or if you have someone who's near the school that can house your snake babies for you?

It's definitely a safer bet than having to scramble when you need to get rid of your snake, only to find that no one will take him in. Just my .02

[Brokenangelr]

There are some schools that have "pet dorms" where they allow you to have certain animals. Its definitely something to check for with your school. I was reading an article about dorms that allowed catss and small dogs and such. Just my little tidbit of info. Good luck however you choose to go.

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[PitOnTheProwl]

So I was just wondering, how hard would it be to hide him? what could I do to hide him?
Just planning ahead, haha (:

My honest first thought is, when you get caught. How are you going to make other honest reptile keepers look?
You know what the rules are and will be working harder to circumvent their rules instead of doing things right.
What happens if you get caught and possible booted out?

[Otolith]

I wouldn't do it... Be too stressful keeping it hidden from visitors.. during inspections.. Roommate constantly having an upper hand. No Ty. Might could say u need your snake for anxiety and the college will have to let you keep it. Kind of a thing now. Some girl recently sued the hell out of hers for not letting her keep her comfort guinea pig.

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[PitOnTheProwl]

Some girl recently sued the hell out of hers for not letting her keep her comfort guinea pig.

What is this world coming to???
Her parents need to beat the snot out of her a couple mote times.

[Annarose15]

Though I'm not going to for a few years, I've just been thinking about what I'm going to do with my animals if I decide to live in a dorm.

As an animal lover, I know I CAN'T live without my pets. And I know I probably won't be able to hide my dog, cat, ferrets, or rats. I could most likely leave those with my parents.
So that pretty much leaves me with my fish and my ball python. My mother definitely wont want to watch over my python. He's my baby. And they live for like 30 years, i'm really excited to have a pet that will be with me for such a large chunk of my life. I refuse to give him a new home or live in a lonely dorm with no pets.

So I was just wondering, how hard would it be to hide him? what could I do to hide him?
Just planning ahead, haha (:

Ok, so pretty much everyone on this site is an animal lover. That being said, anyone CAN live without a pet for a year. It isn't like you won't go home on holidays, or possibly even weekends, depending on the distance. "Lonely" dorm? Have you been in a dorm? The entire premise is 20-60 people per floor that you are around day in and day out. If you want to plan ahead, go to school close to home where you can drive/bus back on weekends to take care of your own animals. Or, discuss care with your mom ahead of time and determine what she is and isn't willing to do. My mom was never a fan of snakes, but she cared for my boa and my brother's burm until we could get apartments and take care of them ourselves. It isn't like a BP is a high-maintenance animal. Or, choose a school that doesn't require students to live on campus freshman year (although it will probably be a more expensive living arrangement), and take all of YOUR animals with you, even though I personally feel that a lot of the college experience is lost if you don't spend any time in a dorm, simply because of all the people you would not otherwise meet your first year.

[Otolith]

Yeah 40k.... ridic :p http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/2854661 Schools should have separate animal dorm from people with phobias/allergies imo so no one is made to feel uncomfortable.
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[Annarose15]

Yeah 40k.... ridic :p http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/2854661 Schools should have separate animal dorm from people with phobias/allergies imo so no one is made to feel uncomfortable.
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Or people should respect the "no pets allowed" rules posted in the dorm, and OBEY them. Apply for off-campus (non-campus) housing if you "can't live without" a pet. I had a cat, a dog, a boa, and a guinea pig when I left for school and smuggling them in was never even considered an option. What kind of parents are okaying this, anyway? It isn't like they don't know, when it's a pre-existing pet!