Snakes During College?

[Stacykins]

They cant randomly search, you have to give them a reason to, and if you are dumb enough to leave your snake there over winter break, then you should get caught...

Not gonna derail any further than this, but college dorms do not work in a tenant/landlord sort way, where they need to give you notice before entering. It is more of a parent/child relationship, and any suspicion, even a pissy or vindictive neighbor who wants to say there was drugs, alcohol or a knife in there, whatever, can lead to total search. I had a friend get booted from the dorm because they found her millipede in its tupperware housing in her closet during a search for that very reason. And guess what? No alcohol was found, which was the reasoning for the search.

[mgklug11]

Well im glad i didnt go to your school.
The RA's are not allowed to do that where I go to school.
So it works out dandy.

[SpartaDog]

Easy, I didn't have any pets during college, other than fish. And I went above and beyond with my fish. I kept a 10 gallon with a single betta, a 20 long with five wild type mouthbrooding bettas (B. Simplex which can live together peacefully, males and females), and that was that. They were my kids, since non aquatic pets were not allowed in the dorms. My university requires dorm living for the first two years, no exceptions unless your parents live less than ten miles away. It is how they make their money.

Anyhoo, as soon as summer of junior year hit, I moved into a house with friends. Landlady was OK with pets (furred pets like cats required a pet deposit), and the rest is history. Plus, freshmen year, at least the first semester, is usually crazy. Maybe it was because I was taking 21 credits and was in Army ROTC, but I was glad I didn't have to worry about a pet other than my fish. I guess if your housing situation allows it, it could work. But also, if your parents are paying the bills, you really should do as they say. You may be a young adult, but as long as they are shelling out the shekels, they can make some ground rules. Also, will you have a car? Can you get life or f/t prey on a regular basis if needed?

It'll suck, but do not break rules in the dorms. You will regret it.

Yeah, I'm not going to fight it too much until I graduate high school. I may or may not have a car, since I plan on going to school in Philly so a lot of things are within walking distance. I can get f/t food online if there are no pet stores nearby. What's more expensive, fish or snakes? My dad takes care of our fish so I really have no idea.

How big is the snakes you have?
Do you know your roommate?
My roommate and i have known each other for years
My roommate bought 2 snakes during the school year and had no problem keeping them in the dorm, they were "not allowed" but no one is allowed to just walk in your room and look around.
He just kept them in tupperware. We had friends come in our room all the time and no one ever noticed or thought anything of the tupperware.
Its not hard to do at all and then you dont need to pay for running the heat pad and etc.
So its easy... u should bring them or one of them with.

By the time I move to college, my ball python will be full grown and my rat snake will be pretty close. So 5 ft and about 6 ft. I don't know my roommate(s) yet because I'm about to start my junior year of high school, so most of us don't know what college we're going to yet. The school I WANT to go to doesn't have dorms, but they help to pay for nearby apartments. So I just have to find one okay with snakes, I guess.

[spartybassoon]

I was an RA for two years. Where I went to school, every building ran things differently; some buildings had very vigilant RA's who were instructed to find violations and deal with them, while others were laid back and had a "deal with it if you can see it, smell it, or hear it" kind of attitude. I can't speak for all colleges/universities, but mine for sure had the right to kick you out for pets/offenses (which are all listed in the housing contract which you are required to sign before moving in). I don't want to break any bp.net rules by saying you should bring pets to campus (if there is a rule against saying such things), but I can advise you that you could get lucky with an RA who doesn't care or get unlucky with someone who is out to get you. You could get kicked out (no refund) and are forced to get an apartment mid-semester, which would screw up your life for a week or two while you balance eviction, finding a new place, and still getting good grades. You just have to weigh the pros and cons and decide for yourself. The other thing to consider is how to get food - easy, difficult? At my college, the pet store was a 30 min. busride each way, and this was in a large city. If you have a car, then it's a different story. I would definitely advise against breeding your own food - you run a much higher risk of being caught. Lastly, it is important to note that while I was an RA, we had the right to decide whether or not to call the police for offenses. If this happened to you and you got some repto-phobe (not a word, I know) that answered the call, what could become of your animals? Food for thought.

[mgklug11]

This is true...
good point

[SpartaDog]

Well I'm not going to sneak my snakes in no matter what. I'll contact the dean or something beforehand and ask about bringing them in. If they won't allow it, they won't allow it and I'll look for an apartment that will allow them. And if that's not possible, then I'll just have to suck it up I guess....somehow.

[cstruthers]

Well I'm not going to sneak my snakes in no matter what. I'll contact the dean or something beforehand and ask about bringing them in. If they won't allow it, they won't allow it and I'll look for an apartment that will allow them. And if that's not possible, then I'll just have to suck it up I guess....somehow.

Im in college now and fortunately dont have to stay on campus so I have my own apartment. I have 6 ball pythons, a kingsnake, 7 geckos, a bearded dragon, a tortoise, and a retic. O and roaches lol. Every apartment complex I went to I asked if there was a fee or restrictions for my pets (all of them posted that a pet fee was charged). I told them I had reptiles and they said that they dont even consider them pets and that I didnt even have to write them down on my application. So if you do live off campus you shouldnt have a problem housing a few snakes without any extra fees. I went to over 10 apt complexes and they all said the same thing "reptiles arent counted as pets". I recommend living off campus! Most colleges overcharge anyway, I have a two bedroom apt all to myself for less than a dorm would be on campus

[Caskin]

Im in college now and fortunately dont have to stay on campus so I have my own apartment. I have 6 ball pythons, a kingsnake, 7 geckos, a bearded dragon, a tortoise, and a retic. O and roaches lol. Every apartment complex I went to I asked if there was a fee or restrictions for my pets (all of them posted that a pet fee was charged). I told them I had reptiles and they said that they dont even consider them pets and that I didnt even have to write them down on my application. So if you do live off campus you shouldnt have a problem housing a few snakes without any extra fees. I went to over 10 apt complexes and they all said the same thing "reptiles arent counted as pets". I recommend living off campus! Most colleges overcharge anyway, I have a two bedroom apt all to myself for less than a dorm would be on campus

First off at cstruthers: whoah hey! is that another Savannah, GA college student with reptiles I see?

Also I totally second finding a place off campus! I was lucky enough to have some friends who let me rent a room in their house and keep all my reptiles there and it has been an absolute life-saver and is going to save me lots of money in the long run.

If you're going to have them with you while in college, either in an apartment or wherever you can find that works, my recommendation would be to start saving up on supplies and extra money for feeders and such now.
College is expensive, between textbooks and everyday supplies (even more so for me being an art student, good lord, the paper alone is going to make me broke), it can add up really quick. Having a good reserve of money/supplies for buying new substrate or feeders will make things a lot easier during your transition to college life, and will let you focus more on making those good grades.

And snakes are super easy to care for anyways I think it should be a piece of cake!

[SpartaDog]

College is expensive, between textbooks and everyday supplies (even more so for me being an art student, good lord, the paper alone is going to make me broke), it can add up really quick.

XD I'll be an art student too....oh boy, should be interesting.

[Valentine Pirate]

As a college student, I'd say it all depends on your situation. I'm just going to keep it to two balls until I know I can support more. You have to remember that on top of text books and tuition and living expenses you'll have to pay for food and vet bills. Thankfully, snakes don't really get expensive until they're sick. I'd consider them one of the lower maintenance pets as far as I'm concerned. At least they're less work than my fancy goldfish were xD Geckos require more room, so I'm not so sure about that. But hey, live off campus and cheaply, you should be fine