The College Crisis

[Dracorex5]

So I'm a junior in high school, looking for colleges currently. I plan on going into an undergrad program for Biology, likely at BYU in Provo, Utah. Sadly, there is an issue... Pets are not allowed on campus, and I am uncertain of off-campus living. I have many a dear reptile, including my two precious crested geckos, and my parents are NOT willing to care for anything but the ball python. It would break my heart to have to give my babies away.... Anyone ever had such an experience before? I guess I just need a smidge of advice! College is important, is it worth the difficulty to go so far away?

[loui1203]

I am going through the same thing you are unfortunately, although I am a senior so it's a lot closer for me.
My advice would be not to let your reptiles hold you back, when your reptiles are gone you will still have your education.
What I'm trying to do is talk to a herpetologist at my university to see if he knows of anywhere on campus that I can keep my herps. My plan B is to look for a place nearby off campus that I can house my geckos for a small cost. I'm thinking either a pet store that would board long term or someone's house that already has herps who wouldn't mind lending me a little bit of space. Plan C is to have my younger brother feed and mist them during the week and I'll clean them and check for eggs and what not when I come down on weekends.
Off campus housing would allow you to keep your reptiles (as long as you find an apt that allows reptiles) but then again, you would miss out on the freshman dorm experience and apartments can be costly.
Also, some universities do allow small pets (1-2 max usually) in specific dorms so you can research that.
I know it's a tough situation to be in, I hope it works out for you. I'm curious what other advice people have.

[sickingerm]

but then again, you would miss out on the freshman dorm experience

sounds like a win/win to me

[acpart]

I am many years past college and didn't even start keeping geckos till my kids were old enough not to need me so much. However, my Gecko Time (www.geckotime) co-editor, who just graduated from college last year had to go through this. (You can read about his high school gecko breeding experiences here: http://www.geckotime.com/teen-gecko-breeder/ and about his rebuilding his collection after college here: http://www.geckotime.com/rebuilding-a-gecko-collection/).
He did decided to sell his gecko collection as he was leaving high school and it was probably the right idea. It was a very good investment because now he has a good job, a nice apartment and a very cool gecko collection.

Aliza

[LeslyErin86]

I'm thinking either a pet store that would board long term or someone's house that already has herps.

Please don't let a petstore take care of your cresties! They have too many pets to give them proper care & I have personally seen some bad experiences with petstores. I once found a dead one while looking at their cresties at an exotic pet store I trusted & another time got one for free because it was SUPER skinny, had cuts on his head, no tail, & the worst, stuck shed all over constricting all of his feet, one so bad it was all clenched up & looked terrible. I took him home & did everything I could but unfortunately behead beyond saving! A trustworthy friend or family member would be much better. Or if it were me & I only had 2, I would sneak them in my dorms & just hide them at times I needed... that's just me though. If you can't find a good home & don't sheen them, please sell or give them to someone who can love & care forbthem like they need. Both of you guys

[loui1203]

Please don't let a petstore take care of your cresties! They have too many pets to give them proper care & I have personally seen some bad experiences with petstores. I once found a dead one while looking at their cresties at an exotic pet store I trusted & another time got one for free because it was SUPER skinny, had cuts on his head, no tail, & the worst, stuck shed all over constricting all of his feet, one so bad it was all clenched up & looked terrible.

Thanks for your input but that's not really what I had in mind. I would just use their space and go in and take care of my geckos myself, and it would have to be a specialty shop, not a chain like Petco. For example, there is a pet store called Fins Furs and Feathers nearby to me that has a room dedicated to boarding birds while people are on vacation. So I would rent out a spot in a store or someone's herp room and go daily or every other day to take care of them. I wouldn't even trust my brother to take care of my geckos for an extended period of time, let alone a stranger. lol

My gecko's care and well being is the most important thing to me and if I felt like I could no longer provide it, I would rehome them.

[thebluejackal]

. . . I would be a bad influence, but . . . I had about five pet mice and a pet ferret in a "pet free" dormitory my Freshman year . . . and then uhhh . . . had two pet ferrets, a dozen pet mice, and eight pet rats in a campus apartment that didn't allow pets.

Ah ha ha ha.

In any case . . . the responsible thing would be NOT to be me and either see if you have a local her society that can help you out or sell your geckos . . . Heck, check with the biology department and see if they'd let you keep them in one of the lab areas. The biology department at my school had two corn snakes, two axolotls, a ball python, and an iguana in one of the laboratories, plus a PDF viv in one of the professor's offices. You never know.

[daisys_3299]

I was thinking what about your biology professor, I mean you could say they are needed in your research. In some cases because the professor says that they are needed then you can get permission to keep in your dorm. Is biology all you are taking because if say you were to push that in to Vet courses then you may have more of a chance to keep them with you. I have heard of some students getting to keep their pets based on this idea.

[Pogaf]

Yeah, I'm with thebluejackal. I currently have 15 geckos and 5 hamsters in my dorm room that doesn't allow pets. I've had hamsters since my sophomore year and geckos since my junior year.... so stop reading now if you don't want to be negatively influenced.

Luckily, Cresteds are freaking easy to hide and they don't smell, make noise, or require lights. I keep mine under my bed behind a large comforter and I used to just have them behind boxes under my bed. If you have large habitats you may have to downgrade though. I think your biggest problem would be a roommate who doesn't agree with hiding them. You would also have to be extremely careful and not tell anyone about them, which is easier said than done. One slip up can equal a lot of people knowing and you getting into trouble.

I should note that I had one of mine escape over the weekend and now I have to deal with the potential that she got into someone else's room. Not a fun reality to face.

[Jecko]

Hahaha freshmen in college here. I agree with Pogaf, Crested geckos and other various Rhacadactylus geckos are very easy to hide in your room because they don't require extra lighting and can live in smaller areas. Not saying that you should keep them in your dorm, but there are clever ways to disguise a cage ;D If worst comes to worse donate to a wonderful place that actually breeds CG's, like Pangea Reptile!! Um I highly highly doubt that talking to a RD will do anything good, but most likely cause harm because they know you have them and then they can come and search to see if you have them in your room, which could lead to a fine or being kicked out. So some wise words from one of my professors "Better to ask for Forgiveness then Permission" lol.