Renting with parrots & other critters

[Grey_Moon]

So its that time of year for me again, being the gypsy that I am

I'm a bit nervous because up until recently I've been renting off friends or family, who own their own homes/apartments and already have pets---so my critters haven't been a problem. This year though yours truly has to step up to the plate and actually be a big person and rent from a stranger (having various disabilities and thus having a hard time finding work/keeping work and knowing disability pays well below the poverty line -_- I'm absolutely stressed out).

That said, I *ALMOST* wish I had a dog instead.

On paper I'm a landlord's dream, I'm quiet and only have caged pets who are quiet, don't make any noise and almost all of them don't actually leave the cage for any period of time.

Reality...well I've got a parrot, a ball python (yay surprise gifts), and I breed geckos. So that means bird mess, frozen rodents and live insects. To me---she's quiet, the reptiles are quiet and don't smell or demand much and I am *VERY* picky and careful with how I store/care for my feeder insects---I can ACTUALLY say my cricket tub doesn't smell one bit--and anyone who feeds crickets know how mindblowing that is.

But of course---most peoples reaction to birds and reptiles (especially snakes) is eeww omg nooo its gonna squawk and the snake is slimy and gross and its evil and gonna get to be 20 feet long and kill mmeeee

I don't even have a chance to explain he's half grown at just over two feet long, that Jacko is silent unless something is wrong and that every animal is up to date on vet care and their cages are cleaned daily.

Worried? OH HELL YES.

Any advice?

[Pomlover2586]

Give yourself plenty of time to find the right place. Most animal friendly rentals will have a limit on amount- 2 or 3 animals- and when restrictions are in place it'll be breed related such as no Pit Bulls/Rottweilers etc.

I have yet to see a place that restricted certain species such as snakes, or birds. I'm sure they are out there- but not as common. Try to stick with bigger complexes that are owned by companies as opposed to renting a from or in-law unit from a private family- I find those renters to be far pickier than complex ones. Good Luck!

[terri]

Grey moon your a very well worded girl In my life when I really wanted something. I took the attitude,im not stopping till I can make this work.I was a single mother and used it when I bought my house, got a job, talked Dave into letting me have 9 birds[ ]etc.Find the place you want the most.Then talk to the landlord and start out saying [I was wondering if you could help me].Explain how you love this place and want to live there, that you have animals that are your life. Tell them where and how you would like to keep the animals.Offer to let them come see them there till they felt comfortable with it .Have your list of people they can call to hear how you are as a renter.If they seem not sure ask them is there anything else you could do so that they were ok with this situation.Good luck to you ps what do you do with geckos?

[Grey_Moon]

Thanks terri

I'm stubborn for sure---just nervous is all. Seeing as I'm disabled life sucks in terms of money n benefits n government help.

I breed leopard geckos as a hobby and a way to make a little profit if the breeding season goes well (plus selling the babies helps cover everyone's vet bills ). Disabled or not one thing I very well is my animals.

Right now I'm on the hunt to round out my tiny colony (last year as our introductory first year friends bred the geckos we had together---now we're looking to expand a bit and start our own projects)--so that brings my grand total to four geckos. On a good season I could have 30-35 babies, which at about $50 a baby makes enough to cover pet costs and vet bills--plus a little extra

[Eurycerus]

At least where i live having a dog it's impossible. Having a bird and other animals is much less frowned upon which is good but i love dogs and need to make it work soon for family reasons so it's annoying. I definitely understand your issues.

[marie83]

I know it doesn't help you much but over here it tends to be no pets allowed at all rather that no birds or snakes. Cant you continue to rent off friends/family or are they selling up/you moving away etc?

Cheaper run down places are more likely to accept pets but that generally (but not always) comes with other issues like damp. Why not put an advert of your own in the free ads stating what your after, I know several people who have gone down that route and had success.

[sidech]

I'm from Quebec and have rented a lot in my younger years. I've always been able to convince lanlord to accept my cats or dog, because I look and act very responsible. I was also willing to give 1 month deposit if necessary, to cover damage, which never happened. I also had a cockatiel, but they are very quiet.

But honestly, the problem with your menagerie is the noise factor with the grey, and the insect infestation problem with your geckos. I don't want to discourage you, but I don't think anyone would be really thrilled about all this. Even if you give an extra deposit, they will be scared about the noise disturbing other neighbours, and the place becoming infested with crickets... And i'm not even talking about the snake here...

I vote like the previous poster, stick with renting from friends and family, or find homes for some of your animals.

Or find a gecko /snake breeder as a landlord...

[Grey_Moon]

I'll see what I can do, still asking around. The problem with where i'm currently living is that I'm no longer romantically involved with the guy....and living with one's ex is not a good situation.

See Sidech thats the problem I have with most people, is that there is this blanket ignorance of omg parrot and eww reptiles. They'll rent to the person with kids or dogs or cats...but never to someone like me. They don't take the time look beyond their initial fears. Reality is that the house is cleaner and quieter with my zoo than with a dog or cat or kids.

And don't get me started on people's close-minded irrational fear of snakes

[marie83]

Do you have to mention specifically what your pets are? Obviously you should mention your parrot but for the rest just say they are caged animals that stay in their housing. In the past I've mentioned cage animals and nobody has specifically asked what they were when I was looking for rentals. Of course they will find out what they are if/when they do an inspection but then they will clearly see they are well cared for, clean, tidy, non smelly and theres no risk of escape because everythings fastened correctly so it's unlikely to be a problem. Just make sure your contract says that your allowed caged pets then you should be fine, it will be the landlords fault if they don't ask what they are.
Just make sure that you give it plenty of time to find somewhere suitable. I don't know if there is a council housing system in canada but they tend to be more lenient regarding pets in the UK, not sure if its the same over there.

Good luck finding somewhere.

[Shelby]

Hi Grey Moon!
My parents actually own 3 rental properties and have several other "small renter" friends so I may be able to give you some helpful advice. Our policy has either been:
a) no pets, no smoking OR
b) x number of pets under x pounds (has varied over the years), no smoking

Two of our units are currently no-pet units because all the renters we've had there previously had large dogs (mastiffs and the like) which ruined them and were extremely expensive to fix up and we don't have to go through all that again. Our pet-friendly apartment is being rented by a woman with a cat and 2 budgies and we've had absolutely no problems with pets destroying the place, so it's going to stay a pet-friendly unit for the foreseeable future. So I think you're actually better off not owning a dog!

I think your best bet is to find a place that allows pets. Those landlords usually understand the hazards that pets pose to a rental unit and they're ok with it, so they shouldn't be too picky about the type of pets you have -- as long as you don't have more than their limit and don't exceed the weight limit. A reasonable landlord of a pet-friendly unit won't freak out about the snakes. It's much better to find a landlord who's already decided to allow pets than to try to convince one who previously didn't like pets; the latter may end up disliking the animals and use it as a means to evict you. I've seen it done before in our neighborhood.

However, it's totally understandable that they would be a bit squeamish about live crickets. They may ask you to switch to freeze-dried crickets or have surprise inspections to ensure you're not creating a potential infestation. At one point we banned rodents from one of our pet friendly units because the renter's son was breeding white mice and when we had our bi-annual inspection they were running all over the house!