# Keeping tortoises/reptiles in an apartment...



## -ryan- (Feb 23, 2010)

Times are tough, and though I have hoped that I would be in a good position to buy a house in the near future, it's just not happening, yet I am getting married in just over a year and tensions are starting to run high between me and my parents (since my fiancee and I live with them). It's about time that we moved out, so since we know we cannot afford to get a house we have been looking at apartments, which seem like the only reasonable choice right now.

We are lucky that we don't have any truly huge animals. Our red footed tortoise is the largest, and then we have the russian breeding group (1.3), and some odds and ends like our ball python, uromastyx, beardie, dumpy tree frog, african clawed frog, a couple russians that aren't big enough to join the group yet, not to mention hatchling tanks and the incubator. I have figured out logistically how to fit everyone (plus my fiancee and I) into a 1 bedroom apartment without compromising the amount of space they have now, but I am most concerned with how to get around the fact that most landlords are not open to having reptilian pets. Is it a 'don't ask, don't tell' kind of thing? Most of my enclosures I can easily sneak in under the guise that they are cabinets or storage containers or something, so that is not really a big problem, but I am just curious what some of you may have done in the same position.

What sucks is that outdoor time will become even less abundant. Usually I try to get them out once a week in the summer (due to circumstances many of you are already familiar with), and once we move it will probably be less because we will have to pack the tortoises up and take them to my parents' house in order to let them roam outdoors. We will be spending some time at my parents' house anyway, because of the nature of my work (I am a professional drummer, which means I will need to continue utilizing the music room in the basement a few times a week), and because we hope to keep up the garden in the backyard, so maybe there will be more opportunity than I think, but it's still less than ideal. It's just a necessary evil right now, but it's only temporary.

Just looking for advice from those that have personal experience to share.


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## Madkins007 (Feb 23, 2010)

Landlords. You are going to need a lot of space, heat, and humidity. There is no way you could hide the animals if the landlord needs to do a repair in the apartment and enters it when you are not there (which they can do in many states.) If you are going to do this, do it legally and above board.

Leaving them at Mom's house sounds like a nice option (offering her some rent to cover the electricity, etc.), bringing those that are more 'acceptable' or need more hands-on care to the apartment.


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## -ryan- (Feb 23, 2010)

Thanks for the input. Leaving the animals at my parents' house would be a deal breaker (because I would have to come by every day to care for them), but I will have to do some research on it.

The way I had the space issue worked out was by incorporating as many enclosures as I can into functional furniture. I have it planned out pretty well so that even the largest enclosures (two of them, 6'x30") would blend in pretty well as furniture, and I do think that around here landlords need to give you at least 24 hours notice before entering an apartment, which means that we would have enough time to further conceal the enclosures.

I think that the legal way is best though, so I will have to go about things the mostly legal way. I was figuring it would be smart to call potential landlords and feel out their stance on tortoises (if we can get them admittance I don't think the snake, lizards, or frogs bear mentioning).


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## BethyB1022 (Feb 23, 2010)

You might be surprised by what landlords have to say in regards to pets. In my experience landlords have been okay with anything kept in a tank, because they don't see it as potential to destroy property. I would always be honest because you could get dinged for violating your lease if a landlord finds out about pets. What a pain, having to hide your pets if the landlord has to stop by. I think it's best to find out what the pet policy is and try and look for places based on that.

I am not sure what area you are from, but it may be possible to rent an apartment that includes some yard access. My boyfriend and I actually rent a house in the suburbs of Philly for less than an apartment in the city would be and we have a small, but workable yard. You may be able to find something similar depending on what type of area you live in.

Honestly, I've had a harder time with landlords when it came to the furred friends rather than the reptiles. Good luck!


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## DoctorCosmonaut (Feb 23, 2010)

I live in an apartment, I only have two redfoots, but I went a long time before telling my landlord I had a tortoise(s). He didn't care much, only because he said I could only have anything that fit in an aquarium (and I took that to include tort tables  ). But I would just ask things like, do you allow birds or fish? And if they say yes, I would use that as enough wiggle-room to say "But, I thought you meant..." if you get found out.


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## -ryan- (Feb 24, 2010)

Good idea looking for a place with a yard. That would be something to keep our eyes out for. Basically right now we are looking for something that falls within the $500-600 range, maybe $650. In this area that tends to get you a 1 bedroom apartment either downtown or in the suburbs just surrounding the city, and some of them come with heat and hot water included in the price. Have to keep looking though. We want to make the move within a year, but more than likely it will happen about a year from now when I will be done with my undergraduate degree and have more time to find more work. It's one of those things where we can almost afford it, we are very close, but it would be a stretch.

I think 'wiggle room' is a good term for my goal. I figure that we will probably need a place that allows cats anyway, so if we can also wiggle in 'what about aquariums?', and then 'I have tortoises, they are quiet and live in aquariums' again with the term 'aquarium' referring to enclosures as well.

Right now we are looking at 1 bedroom apartments and the plan would basically be to utilize the main living space like a studio apartment and then keep all of the animals in the bedroom (and hopefully a set of electronic drums). We have also looked into studio apartments just based on the price (usually in the $400-450/month range), but there is a lot of variance in size and it would really depend on what's available.

Thanks for the suggestions and the help. I am hoping that we will be able to find something to suit our needs and our budget. I am also hoping that this will only be necessary for a couple of years. I am getting certified to teach music in public schools, and I would like to teach band somewhere in this area, but it's a matter of waiting for a job to open up.


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## chairman (Feb 24, 2010)

My apartment experience is from a 'college town,' which did have a couple funky rules to accomodate idiot students that do things to apartments that normal people wouldn't imagine doing. That said, in my experience...

...something you need to watch out for is pet fees. The apartments I lived in either a)waived the fee because all I kept were tortoises or b)only charged me one fee for both torts. Some will try to charge per animal, though, so watch out. Also, the penalty for having hidden pets is usually worse than the original fee.

...non-aquatic species kept in tanks are usually preferred by landlords to aquatic species because there isn't a large quantity of water to spill everwhere should there be an accident. I had an apartment that charged a pet fee for fish/turtle aquariums but not my for torts. So, if you're thinking of going the "do you allow fish?" route, you could save yourself some money by admiting to keeping dry tanks.

...landlords tend to not like anything that is commonly known to eat rodents, because it means that rodents will be alive on-site and could possibly escape.

...landlords also like to do things like apply poisons to your apartment for various vermin. I never had any problems with my torts, but I also didn't raise worms/crickets/etc at home to feed them with. Feeder insects could get contaminated if you raise them yourself.

IMO, be open and honest about what you're doing, because my landlords were usually pretty cooperative with me. You could get them to waive pet fees, cancel pesticide applications, etc, if they know your situation.


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## -ryan- (Feb 24, 2010)

Yeah, thanks for the info. Right now most of the apartments I have been looking at are above shops and not really in a complex, and I think that that fact could help my situation.

Being honest about what I am doing is the right route to go (so long as I find a landlord that is understanding), so that is what we will try to do. I have found some great apartments in the area for around $500 that include heat, water, and electricity. It's tempting to pull the trigger now, but I guess we will probably have to wait until I am completely done with school (next January)... Have to wait and see.

Thanks again to everyone for your insight. Again, I know apartments are less than ideal when you keep tortoises (though mine spend the vast majority of their time indoors already), but I am hoping this will just be a temporary thing. Just the way the job market is right now I wouldn't feel comfortable getting a house even if I did get a teaching gig. Being an un-tenured music teacher is not a safe bet right now


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