Heh... I get that ALL the time since I bring home feeders from the store by BUS. In critter keeper boxes.

So far, responses have been more curiosity than disgust, but I'll NEVER forget this one woman... she saw me get on with the adult mice in the boxes and flinched. Then, when she heard me tell someone else why I had them, she got up, snorted rather loudly, proclaimed that it was 'Horrible!' and moved to the back of the bus. Before I could say anything, a young man turned to her and asked why keeping a pet alive was so horrible. She got off at the next stop, but I was so surprised at what that guy did... Of course, I thanked him and spent the rest of the trip answering his many questions.

To a lot of people who tell me it's "cruel" or "awful"... I let them know that I have had pet rats I loved, and that my breeder mice all have names and are spoiled rotten. That, of course, confuses them as to how I could ever 'subject animals I like' to the 'horrible fate' that is being fed to a snake. First, I tell them that it's nature and there's a difference between pet and prey. Then, I let them know that I CO2 my rodents before they're fed off. That usually hushes them up.

As for the whole apartment thing.. I also live in an apartment and have had to pay a $300 pet deposit for my snakes since the new manager hates snakes. When we moved in, the old manager thought it was neat (and I only had 3), so no deposit. We renewed our lease and had to pay. That sucked, but oh well.
Everyone in this complex knows me as the 'Snake Lady'. I have snake crossing signs on my front door to remind the maintenance people (since two of them are really afraid of snakes) and just as a general reminder. My neighbors in my new building think it's great, and half the office staff are always asking me about them.
It all depends on the types of people in your complex and HOW you handle and approach the situation with residents. If you flaunt your snakes with no warning and keep them in less than optimal conditions, you'll get a LOT of complaints (like the moron above me did with the normal female I got away from him). If you inform people gently and let them know the facts (like 'my snakes are not giants and not poisonous), then they accept it a bit better. In my experience, at least.