My parents took care of my pets while I was away at college, but it doesn't mean they didn't want me to take them as soon as I was able to do so.

I called around to some apartments once asking about snakes... the responses were fairly uniform... People said "eww, snakes, why would you want one?" Then said a small one would probably be ok, and asked what kind. When I said ball python, 100% of the time people said "A PYTHON?!? No, we would never allow that!" I suspect they had no idea what a ball python was, and assumed something giant.

So... try at all costs to avoid using that python word. I'd ask about "smell reptiles" or even just "small caged pets". For the most part, pet policies have to do with cats & dogs that run loose & can cause damage to the property, and fish tanks that can cause damage if they leak.