Just a thought, but why board them for the entire 4 years? Obviously you couldn't take them to boot camp with you, but afterward might be a possibility. If you're married or have kids, you'd likely be living off base. If you're single and in the barracks... well, my sister kept a ball python in a tub under her bed for quite a while. Not that I'm encouraging you to keep anything somewhere where it's against regulations, just sayin.