Dorm Room Herps

[Andrew Larson]

I am curious how many people have kept reptiles in their dorm rooms "illegaly" so to speak. How many animals? What kind of cages? Did you get caught?

[singingtothewheat]

I would not suggest you try this. Being in a dorm room is a lot different than being in, say an apartment. You might get a yearly inspection in an apartment. I think the R.A. can check out your room pretty much anytime.
Having said that, I'd disguise it as a maybe bedside table, with a round piece of wood on the top and a skirt to cover the cage.

[bloodpython_MA]

I kept chameleons in my dorm closet for 2 weeks and my bumble bee ball under my bed for a few weeks. I also know a few ppl that keep cresties in their dorm rooms. As long as you dont have other suspicious stuff in your room, RA's dont usually go digging.(but it depends on ur school and RA)
I even know a few RA's that would keep reptiles in the dorms.

BIG ** POINT**
Findout what happens if you get caught. some places have a "strict dispose of the animal" policy.
Other places will ask you to remove them with minimal punishment(volunteer hours, etc.) But it could result in something as serious as losing your housing.

Be smart about it if your going to do it. dont go parading about and dont bring anything *dangerous*

[j_h_smith]

Talk to your RA, they will let you know what THEY will tolerate. My daughter is in a dorm right now and she has a leopard gecko. The RA said it won't be a problem if it doesn't get out or someone complains. I told my daughter, that anyone could drop a dime on her for any reason. She told me the RA would then allow her 24 hours to remove the gecko in the event someone complained.

BUT, this is up to the RA, she could turn on my daughter and bust her. I know, the first offense is the animal has to be removed and my daughter would be given a warning. So it's not that big of a deal for her. Other colleges could and probably are different.

Good Luck!
Jim Smith

[cinderbird]

I wanted to be responsible with my animals so i waited until i was out of the dorms to get my animals.

Let me copy a response i had to someone else on a similar note:

"Unless your dorm allows you to keep and breed animals, i would seriously consider against this. Its college, you'll probably be out of the dorms in a year or two where you're somewhere with more room and no one to force you to rehome your animals if you get caught with them.

BPs definitely aren't going anywhere. They will still be here in a few years when you're in a better living situation for the animals. I wanted my first snake when I was 10. I FINALLY got my first snake when I was 20. That was literally 10 years I had to research and find out exactly what I wanted. Its really only within the last 4 years that I became interested in morphs and breeding. But i still have my first snake. She's an educational animal and helps other people learn about ball pythons.

I wouldn't even recommend that you get your first snake now. I wont tell you to do something thats against your dorm rules. I know in my college dorms they SERIOUSLY had problems with people who disrespected the housing rules. (and i graduated college in May of this year). What happens to the animals if you get caught? Do you have a room mate? How do they feel about this? What about having frozen rodents in your freezer? What happens if a snake gets sick? What happens over breaks when they do room checks and cleaning? They often shut off POWER to the rooms to save on utility bills (i know my college did, and they made you clean out your freezers/fridges and open and unplug them).

To me, having pets in a dorm room that dosent allow them is a logistical nightmare, and the animals are the ones who end up suffering. Are you planning on living in the dorms next year? I got my first snake within months of moving out of college housing. I asked my house-mates and they were ok with it. I also had a freezer i used for food. When i moved into my own apartment, i could store feeders in the main freezer (because dorm freezers are SO bad for keeping stuff frozen)."

I understand your post wasnt about this, but im pretty sure this forum has a strict policy in place to not undermine laws or rules.

J H Smith is right, just ask your college what they'll allow.

[greenex]

I had a bp in a dorm room for 2 years. 1 of those years, I was friends with the RA and she didn't care, so it didn't matter. The other year was a pain though. I did get caught, in which I said "i'm looking after it for my brother, he is out of town for a few weeks" and they gave me 4 days to get rid of it. It then moved to one of those fake closets that I just kept closed when I was in class (and left "dirty" laundry on the floor where the cords were going into the closet). No problem after that.

I would wait till you don't have to worry about the RA's and you have a little more space. It would be a lot easier and less stressful. And you can enjoy your animal more freely.

[tweets_4611]

I had a BP in my dorm for two years, and a chameleon in my closet for a semester or so. My friend Kasi had a BP one year, and a whole plethora of herps the next However, my RAs were both pretty cool about it. The first year when we both just had the BPs the RA saw one of them, walked out, and came back once it was put up. The only thing she ever said about it was "I don't want to see or hear about it". She was pretty much of the mind set that as long as you don't bother other people, or boast about the rules you were breaking, she didn't mind. The next year, Kasi brought most of her reptiles to the dorms (couple of leos, bearded dragon, several BPs, and the cham that stayed in my room) but she had a Japanese type screen that blocked off part of her room... to 'keep the sun from coming in in the morning' The RA that year never knew about any of the herps, or the rats we tried to breed for a short time.

The only way we were able to get away with all of this was b/c my school doesn't have regular room checks, and we had both been in the dorms for at least a year before bringing the animals so we knew how things worked up there. I also knew that if I got busted, I had a place for my snake (and Kasi had a place for her herps). It's a risk, and depending on you school may or may not be worth it. It's breaking the rules, and there can be big time consequences for it. It just depends on whether or not your willing to deal with them if you get caught. You can't be upset about it if you get in trouble when you know your breaking the rules...

[Kaorte]

I had two ball pythons for 2 semesters. We had room checks once a semester and they weren't allowed to open closets or move anything. I kept them in tubs in my Armoire and kept it open unless there was an inspection.

It really does depend on your schools policy though. Some are more lenient where others will remove the animal without telling you.

[DShaw]

I go to A&M right now and keep my ball python in a tub....I just have him in the closet and whenever im not in the room I just close the closet due to there not allowed to open them