what do i do when i go to college

[camb]

so, i am a freshman in high school and i have a corn snake, a ball python, a leopard gecko, and an red ear slider, and i m getting a long awaited together in a bout a month at an expo in new hampshire or in about a year. and my parents are all fine with this stuff but their argument is always "what will you do with your herps when i go to college?" and i need suggestions what will i do when i go to collage?

[aaramire]

I have my 11 snakes with my at college, granted I live in a house off campus, and all my roommates are fine with it. I think the best thing to do your first year or two is try to keep them at home with your parents. If you are living in a dorm, which is best for the first year at least, you obviously cant have your herps with you. Good luck! Its a tough situation, but you will figure it out.

[TimmyG]

Off campus, I rent rooms and usually most ppl although aprehensive will not say no to you keeping somehting. I only have one BP though so you may have to get rid of a few to sweeten the deal. but shop around and its best to keep things on a dont ask dont tell level.

[blackcrystal22]

If you intend on going to a college, your probably going to be unable to take your reptiles to a dorm.
I intend on renting a small apartment of my own for that purpose.

Plus I'll be living here for my first 4 years of college anyway as it is so close to my house.

[ssjsmits]

If your Campus requires you to attend your first year in a dorm, my suggestion is butter up your parents to care for them.
.
I never had this problem as I attened a Community College right out of High School, so that waved the "dorm for the first year" deal. But, I still had to leave one Boa home, due to space issues. And now, Dad won't give it back, lol.

Good luck.

[PigsnPythons]

I think its a good idea to live in a dorm at least one year. I'm a Jr. in college and have lived at two different apartment complexes. Neither place had a problem with the reptiles, so finding off campus housing that will allow it shouldn't be too bad.

[blackcrystal22]

I think its a good idea to live in a dorm at least one year. I'm a Jr. in college and have lived at two different apartment complexes. Neither place had a problem with the reptiles, so finding off campus housing that will allow it shouldn't be too bad.

Out of curiosity, why?
I don't really care for the distracting 'dorm party life' and don't really see any reason to have to be in one if it means giving up my snakes.

Just wondering. :]

[Mitch21]

You're in a tough situation, but it IS MANAGEABLE... I'm a senior and have 3 Bps with me at college. I can't give you completely solid advice as I live off campus and only bought them this past year, I still think I can offer you some help.

If your parents are anything like mine, they WILL NOT care for my snakes. They take an interest in them and will watch them from time to time, but they won't be dumped on with that burden. Having said that, I think your only real option no matter how unmanageable you think it will be once you're there is to take your reptiles to college with you.

I think you have a couple options with this now. If your school requires you to live on campus in a dorm the first year or two (as most do that), you can try two things. First, you could try to get a waiver from the office of residential life and make some bullcrap up that states that you have to live off campus. Then you could rent an apartment or house (which is almost always cheaper than living on campus anyways). In this situation you would be perfectly fine having your reptiles with you, except you wouldn't have the true 'freshman' life with meeting people in the dormer or what not. I think your second option (which is probably what I would do) is to build a rack for your reptiles. Since your dorm room would typically be small, you could build a tall and not too wide rack to conserve space. Some colleges actually let you choose a single so you don't have to deal with a roommate, but they charge extra. Even if you had a roommate, I think the rack idea could work as long as you don't take up too much space with it (cuz your roommate would get pissed then if you're hogging an already small room) and as long as you keep it clean (cuz no roommate would want to be smelling snake piss and such all year).

I think a rack system would work well for you. Just put some thought into it and don't build it until you know exactly what you want. My rack system helps me conceal my snakes from my landlord

I think your only other option is to give or lend your snakes and reptiles away until you can better manage them. But who really wants to do that!

Hope this helps!

Mitch

[chetman7]

Out of curiosity, why?
I don't really care for the distracting 'dorm party life' and don't really see any reason to have to be in one if it means giving up my snakes.

Just wondering. :]

You meet more people freshmen year. My freshmen year I met soooo many new people cause people don't have their own clicks and are trying to make new friends.

I got my snake last year and had it in my dorm room. I had no problem with him nor did any of my ra's see him. I had him in the living room in a 20 long...wen people came by i would put a coffee table over him and tada...u can't see him....but in your case since u have so many..i would pick your favorites. I'm in a senior on campus apartments and have both my snake and my 2 cresties with me....I couldn't imagine letting someone else take care of my pets..cause i know they would mess it up somehow.

[frankykeno]

I think it's wonderful and very responsible of you to be thinking this far in advance.

You may want to think about not expanding your collection too much since you know you are facing these issues. I can't in good conscience suggest you hide snakes in a dorm room or break the school's rules because if you do get caught, your animals and you may be in a very bad way. That kind of decision is your call and yours alone to assess those risks.

You may want to start cultivating snake owning friends, or if possible, join a local herp group if there is one in your area. You may be able to board your small collection for at least your first year of college. You'd be responsible for some compensation to the boarding home but it would ensure your collection is maintained in a proper manner for you. It's an option to consider.