Experiences with moving out with animals?

[Luvyna]

I am roughly at the "moving out" stage (stalled right now by Covid) and my experience so far is this: an absolute nightmare. Decent rentals are already very hard to come by where I live because of how expensive housing is. When you throw any pets into the mix (even non-exotic ones) the options that are affordable, close to transportation/work, and not super low-quality are pretty much non-existent. Finding a snake-friendly rental is even harder because many people are terrified of them and the moment you bring up having a snake, they will peg you as a creepy weirdo and won't be inclined to let you rent.

My advice is this:

- Discuss your long-term plans with your family. If you need to temporarily move somewhere else for college or work or live in a "no pets" apartment for a few years, would they be okay with taking care of your pet(s) in this time? Would you be okay with being apart from them? There's a possibility that you won't immediately be able to afford or find a place to rent that allows pets when first moving out.

- Decide on your priorities. You will probably need to choose between having pets and having a nice apartment that is close to transportation, your workplace, and other amenities. I know people who have made renting with pets work but they had to make a lot of other sacrifices including longer commutes and sometimes living in basements for years.

- Think about where you want to live or work in the future and have back-up plans in case this changes later. If you want to experience living in different countries or move to a different place in the future, moving your pets with you may be a challenge. Snakes in particular are hard to transport long distances because you can't take them in a plane's cabin with you like you can a cat or dog. You will need to either drive your snake or ship them in cargo. Species like BPs also require a CITES permit to go to different countries (and are outright banned in some areas) which further complicates things.

- Spicey had some good points - finding smaller, cheaper apartments that may be further away or renting in someone's home is often the best way to go. I don't think lying about having pets a good approach (and it can often spell disaster) but you'll want to approach the topic of having a snake cautiously with prospective landlords. I have read elsewhere that one method is to ask landlords if they are okay with "pets in a tank" like fish, reptiles, turtles...etc. without saying snake outright and getting that included in the lease. However, it may be better to be forthright about having a snake to avoid a situation where the landlord wants to throw you out after discovering your pet. This really depends on the situation and the person you're dealing with and you'll need to use your own judgment about how to best proceed.