Another reason to be upfront about your pet is that you never know when the landlord might decide to spray the apartment for bugs...that can kill your snake.
You'd think a quiet cage pet would be fine in a rental situation, but unfortunately, some irresponsible people have messed things up for everyone else by allowing
their pet to escape & leaving it behind to scare the next occupant when it finally re-emerges from hiding. You can't hardly blame rental managers & owners, they
don't want to be sued for someone having a heart attack, or risk losing their income if people move out in a panic because a snake is somewhere in the plumbing
or the walls. (& yes, it happens!)