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When I move into a dorm this fall, I wanted to bring some of my animals with me. I am going to be majoring in zoology, after all. Does anyone have much experience with doing this? I do not know the rules regarding pets in the dorms, but I know most colleges seem to let you have a couple small tanks or have a "don't ask, don't tell" sort of thing.

Here is what I was thinking of doing:

10 gallon tank: Prickly Sculpin. They get about 5" long, but mine doesn't really seem to be active unless I come near the tank (then he begs for food).

20 gallon tank: All my corys... I cut back a bit so I only have like 15 now, but I have some pretty special ones I would like to keep (C41, Corydoras bilineatus, Gold-Line Elegans, etc).

I would also like to keep my plecos, but I have no idea where I would put them. Right now I have two L182s, one LDA72, two L47s, and a Common Whiptail. I have no idea where I'd put those.

35 gallon tub: California Kingsnake.

35 gallon tub: Mexican Black Kingsnake.

20-25 gallon tub: Desert Rosy Boa.

20-25 gallon tub: Coastal Rubber Boa (haven't got yet).

I'm going to rehome my other California Kingsnake and the Kenyan Sand Boa will be staying with my sister. The tubs will probably be kept under my bed or something.

Does that sound like it could be done? Thanks for any input.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

you might want to check with your future roommate before you start moving snakes into your room. not all colleges allow snakes either. when i firt went to college they said the unoffical rule was "if your pet can't survive more than 48 hours underwater you can't keep it"

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

I was actually planning on getting a single dorm as opposed to a double, because I've heard from most people that they they didn't like their roommates freshman year (because they just got paired with some random person instead of someone with similar interests).

My brother just started attending University of Oregon last year, and he said that his roommate would alway tell random stories about his mother...

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Housing assignments were actually released today at my school. A lot of people seem to dislike the random roommates they're getting next year more than their freshman ones, lol.

In any case, the dorm rules would really have to be checked for this one. That's an extremely large number of animals that you plan to bring for such a teensy tiny room. Also, take into account things such as spring break; at my school, you are not allowed to stay on campus during Thanksgiving, Winter, and Spring breaks. Moving that many animals again and again and again could come to be quite annoying.

At my dorm, the maximum is a 20 gallon aquarium and you are (technically) only allowed to keep fish (though I have indeed heard of reptiles being housed, and I myself housed Triops for some time). So checking the rules of your school dorms would definitely be big. The housing rules for my college are online, and it's likely that it is the same for your school.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

sounds fine for your second year where you'll be off-campus,but way too many animals for 1st year uni accomodation. Remember, you have to keep your whole life in that room pretty much, computer, clothes, any sports equipment, books, work, etc, etc. The rooms aren't very big, and I just can't see you having space. Also, bear in mind the beds tend to be camp-bed style and there won't be much space underneath them. They also sag, so you would need at least 2 inches clearance from the lid of the tank to the bed to account for rocking.

I kept 6 tanks in my off campus accomodation, which was fine. Landlord didnt care, flatmates on the whole didnt care, everything was fine. But back at uni accomodation, I had 1 15g with a frog, and had to hide it from inspectors, etc.

You have to remember that the uni have right of access into your room, in an emergency, and they define them fairly loosely, they can send maintenance, etc, into your room with no warning. Most uni employees will report snakes, even if they tolerate fish.

If it's a big issue for you, you should probably look at renting privately straight from the get-go. If you get a room in someone's shared house, you can be sure that they will tolerate the animals and you will probably make friends more quickly anyway, especially if you choose a good house. If getting the on-campus accomodation is more important, then you will probably only be able to have 1 tank of fish.



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I like to think that whoever designed marine life was thinking of it as basically an entertainment medium. That would explain some of the things down there, some of the unearthly biological contraptions

Davis, right? Those dorms are pretty damn spacious, at least in comparison to Cal. Therefore, it’d probably fine to stuff two tanks in their easy, and IMO, one herp and the twenty long ain’t too bad. If it helps, I’m stuffing everything of importance to me in one 25 L, this being 2 L-66 and fry, 5 weitzmani, and a small pair of L-183. The rest stay at home, and hell, that’s really not that far from Davis for you, is it? Alls you got to do is visit the homestead once every month or so for maintenance, and you’re damn golden.

Yeah the Davis dorms (the new ones anyway) are pretty fatty compared to the other colleges I visited. The bed were actually about three and half feet off the ground (they are adjustable), and a lot of the students were using that as storage space. I think I could definitely fit a few snake tubs under there.

Milton makes a good point about bringing fish tanks home during breaks however. That will probably be too stressful on the fish. I guess I'll just have to leave them at home or sell them or something. It wouldn't really be hard for me to come home and do maintenance... The school is only about a 70 minute drive away.

Here are what the tubs look like. It's kind of conspicuous that there's a snake it it, though.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

When I went to uni I had so many pets that my best friend and I rented a whole house between us. Moving was hell, and it took a whole week to get all the cages setup. The 10 foot iguana viv was the worst. Needless to say I didnt even visit home for 3 years.

I kept having biovisual studies students come round to take pics of all the lizards.

College Tips.

You have to take all pets with you on Semester breaks. If during smaller week long breaks the power will be shut off, then you also have to take everything with you then as well. I lived 90 minutes away and had to transport a 20g often.

Are you certain you can get a single room? Major thing to consider. . . in dorm rooms you do not have control over climate conditions. Even if your room has ways to set its own temps, those are controlled by a master system for the entire building. I recommend maybe a 20g tank to start, then see what you can handle. Do you have someone to tend to your critters while you're gone?

Remember, some colleges have a Zero Tolerance policy for pets. You might be able to find it out in an FAQ section of the Residential Life and Housing section on your school's website. Check into it.

Also, make sure that you have easy access to facilities to do water changes and tank cleanings and such. Walking the length of a floor or to another one sucks for each bucket of water you need.

Good luck, do your research.

You have to take all pets with you on Semester breaks. If during smaller week long breaks the power will be shut off, then you also have to take everything with you then as well. I lived 90 minutes away and had to transport a 20g often.

Not necessarily, I had a 37 wk (full 3 terms and vacations, not the summer break) contract in uni accomodation as an undergrad and a 51 week (full year) contract as a postgrad in uni accomodation. Some unis will give you the vacations, some unis encourage you to stay on campus during vacations, especially Easter. Also, surely CA might not have reading weeks? And that won't be known until the course starts?

Something else to consider is that, at uni, your room is much more than just a dumping ground for stuff. It is the one private place you have and I guess you need to think about what you will be doing in there and how compatible it is with pets. Also, aren't snakes susceptible to vibrations, similar to fish? What are you going to do about the vibrations that always result from the people next to/above/below having their music on or getting it on? If your accomodation is anything like the ones I've lived in, you will have vibration problems and that might cause the snakes and fish stress. And it's not really OK to ask people to be quiet, IMO, just for your animals. After all, they're there to have a good time too.



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I like to think that whoever designed marine life was thinking of it as basically an entertainment medium. That would explain some of the things down there, some of the unearthly biological contraptions

tiny_clanger ,

we had 15 week semesters with 5 weeks off for Christmas break, and a long summer break. Both of those you are required to take your pets home. During the 5 days (including that weekend) for thanksgiving, as well as the week for Spring Break, the power in our buildings was shut off. When the power is off, your pets will have no temperature or filtration control.

I don't even know what a "reading week" is that you mentioned. I assume its to study before finals. My uni. didn't give us anything for prep, we were expected to be on the ball already.

But regardless, what I am saying is that CA needs to find out the pet situation From the university before taking that many animals there.

reading week is when the university gives you a week free from lectures, with the intent that you do additional reading. Every uni is different, that was my point.

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I like to think that whoever designed marine life was thinking of it as basically an entertainment medium. That would explain some of the things down there, some of the unearthly biological contraptions

"All residents must leave the halls during academic year breaks. Residents leaving the halls during breaks are not required to take all of their belongings with them, but we do suggest that you take valuables with you."

"Pets and animals are not permitted in the residence halls. The only exception are fish in an aquarium that does not exceed 10 gallons. Requests for aquariums must be approved by Student Housing and must have the concurrence of all roommates prior to set up."

My brother went to davis, and the beds actually adjusted to about 3-4+ feet off the floor.

http://www.housing.ucdavis.edu/Current/faq-new.htm

Damn... I guess I'll have to get some less-transparent tubs.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.