Saint Paul, MN · Member since 2021 · 35 posts · 15 votes
Hey. Curious if folks allow Skinks/lizards. And if you do - do you charge a normal pet fee? I have another tenant that paid a deposit of $300 for their cat. I'm not familiar with lizards.. thinking the food they eat and them getting out are the bigger issues. Sounds like these live in 40gal aquarium. Curious what others do.. pet fee? no pet fee? reduce the cat fee? Would love some opinions
Investor · Clairemont, CA · Member since 2011 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
4y
Personally, I charge a refundable pet deposit and no pet rent. My rents are near (or even past) the top of market and appeal to responsible working professional tenants that want a place they can have their pet. It also avoids issues like this as I charge the same deposit for a cat, fish, lizard, turtle or dog etc. As long as nothing is damaged my tenants will get all their money back and we're both happy.
My first post in the forums and it's about a skink! We've been lenient with our tenants when it comes to small, aquarium bound animals. Unless it was an animal that had real potential to damage the property (think dogs, cats, parrots that can chew trim, stain carpet, etc.) we tended not to require a pet deposit. When I was young I was heavily into reptiles and amphibians and I'm betting they probably have a blue tongued skink; they're docile, non-destructive and likely will be eating out of a food bowl on a diet of non-living, non-mobile food. Personally, I would be more concerned about the tenants turning the place into a zoo than a single skink.