Uh-Oh!!

[SnowFoxx]

Who knew my poll about landlords would be prophetic?

My landlord left a note on my door today that all the apartments in my building will be entered and inspected next Wednesday. I will be away that day. I have seven snakes and a monitor in my apartment right now, and my landlord has no idea. Cats are allowed.

Option #1 - Move all the snakes out, except for the two BPs, who are in cages too large to move. Two BPs aren't that bad, and I think they wouldn't have a problem with them. They are in nice, clean, neat Boaphile cages.

Option #2 - Move everyone into my brand new Boaphile rack (which is also clean and neat looking, with only one electrical cord coming out the back). Leave everyone in the apartment. The cages wouldn't take up very much space and would look nice.

Option #3 - Do everything in option 2, and also call the landlord's office and tell them that there are a few snakes in the apartment. Tell them I didn't want to surprise them, or scare a snake-phobic employee, so I thought they should know ahead of time. Answer any questions they have.

Ok, what do you guys think? I only have a few days to decide.

- Victoria :w

[sSNAKESs.com]

Option #4 - Make then get a search warrent issued...

LOL okay joking.. I would call ahead or get rid of them... or casually ask him what he thinks about reptiles in the building, if he says they arent allowed then make them scarce when they come in! ;)

[stretch]

Why are they allowed in your apartment anyway. Thats an invasion of privacy. I don't see how a landlord can come in and search your apartment, like he's the police.

[marisa]

I would NOT call and I would certianly not let them know what I kept. In a perfect world honestly should be rewarded but chances are your landlord has the same unrealistic and irrational view of snakes as many people in todays world. It coudl get you into more trouble than saying nothing.

I would hide everything frankly. Under a bed, at a friends house, whatever.

Marisa

[Pixie]

Personally, I would remove as many reptiles as I could possibly then make the ones that had to stay as inconspicuous as I could. I would say something to the landlord or visiting person warning them that there are snakes in the appartment. The last thing I would want is a freak out situation that would almost garantee the animals having to be out of the appartment.

What is the inspection for? If for repairs or due to a specific problem I can understand, if it just for checking out the appartments I would be wary if your landlord does this more than one or twice a year as it can be invasion of privacy.

Pixie

[nouserpif]

Well... I would first ask him/her about reptiles, like "I am thinking of getting a few snakes..." or something. If they OK it, great, but if they don't, I would get the snakes on over to a friends house untill the inspection is over...
Dan Conner

[Lisa]

I don't know about there but here land lords are permitted to enter a premisis provided that they give ample WRITTEN warning or there's an emergancy. They are allowed to inspect the premises to see if there is anything that needs fixing, do general maintenance, and to see that lease condtions are being met. Many don't exersize this but some do. I'd probably put everyone into your boa phile and see from there. don't know about calling and letting them know.

[HeatherRose]

I'd get your snakes outta there......

I agree with Pixie though, be wary about the inspections, but I doubt you'd want to cause a fuss by demanding to know the reasons for the inspection, etc, am I right?

For future reference (or future inspections) it might be a good idea to find out what the landlord thinks about snakes though ;)

[reverendsterlin]

always best to let the landlord know before signing a lease. My experience has been that as long as they understand the animals are kept about the same as fish(housing) they usually don't throw a fit.

[tai_pan1]

I agree with reverendsterling. If cats are allowed, snakes should be as well. Courts (in the US) have ruled that pet policies must be uniformed to be enforced. Generally cats are allowed because they make no noise and can be kept indoors. This being the case, they will not bother other tenants. Dogs barking and defecating in the common areas tend to be the reason dogs are prohibited. Since your snakes don't bark (I hope), and they are not routinely defacating in the common areas, I think you'll be ok. You may want to have a friend call the landlord and ask questions about their pet policy in regard to reptiles. Most apartments will openly give the info out as they don't want hassles later on.

[SnowFoxx]

My landlord is a great guy, and always reasonable. The inspection is just the yearly walk-through to make sure everything is ok. Cats are allowed, so I am hoping the snakes won't be a big problem. I'm not on the lease, since I sublet from a nurse I work with. I'm an approved tenant, though. I'm only living in this apartment until the end of June, anyway...July 1st I'm out.

I think I'm going to to with option #2. I'll let you guys know what happens.

- Victoria :w

[Lisa]

Originally posted by tai_pan1
I agree with reverendsterling. If cats are allowed, snakes should be as well. Courts (in the US) have ruled that pet policies must be uniformed to be enforced. Generally cats are allowed because they make no noise and can be kept indoors. This being the case, they will not bother other tenants.

Lol you haven't seen one of my cats. As soon as I'm in the door he's meowing up a storm. Drives me nuts. he's quiet all day with katey though, go figure.

[Clownfishie]

LOL Lisa -- I was about to say the same thing ;) My cats can be noisy as hell sometimes....not quite as loud as a dog maybe, but damn close sometimes, I swear....

[Samba]

Victoria-

Before I go about telling you what I would do... let me ask you this: In your state/city/country/etc. do you need permits to keep certain species (like the hognose?)? If you do need them and don't have them I would say stash the pets. If you don't need the permits then I would casually ask the manager what he thinks about small (?) caged reptiles. As long as they aren't banned in the complex or pose a danger to anyone, I wouldn't foresee a problem. However, you know your landlord better than any of us, and it sounds like you're worried.

It would be easy to say get rid of you pets for awhile and bring them back after inspection... but think of this: What if, God forbid, in the future a fire or something should happen? You would want the first person notifyed (your landlord) to be aware of the pets in the place if you aren't around or available.

Secondly, if one escapes and is found, you want to make sure it gets returned to you and not sent to be euthenized. Another thing: being a brave herp representative for the rest of us shows you aren't ashamed of your pets and can be confident in your caring for them!

I went through a similar process with my landlord awhile back, and after she found out about the reptiles, she actually liked them! However I realize not everyone will appreciate their beauty, intelligence and out-going nature! (j/k)

In your situation this is what I'd do: keep the small, cute snakes around and choose which ones (and probably the monitor) to hide at a friend or family member's house. Then, with enough warning I would phone the landlord and casually say something like, "Hi, I just wanted to give a little forewarning before the inspection on such-and-such date, that I have a few small, caged reptiles as pets and I didn't want anyone to be frightened."

If you don't own any cats or dogs, you can tell your landlord that you keep reptiles because they are hypoallergenic (excuse my spelling... it's like 4am here!) If you do own cats or dogs... stash the,! JK!

Good Luck, and please update us after the inspection on Wed.!!!!