We were standing in a dark bedroom near the heart of Central Campus. Twin heat lamps dangling over the snake’s terrarium gave the apartment a calm glow, almost indistinguishable from the sunset outside. This atmosphere reflected Rich’s snake, Buddha, an embodiment of chill in all but its flickering tongue.
“It’s funny to see how scared people are of snakes,” his roommate Dylan Brockmeyer* added from the doorway.
The two Duke seniors have been living together since freshman year, but Buddha joined them only a few weeks ago.
“I was actually pretty freaked out the first day,” Rich said. “We went to Petco wanting to get a fish, and I saw him, and I didn’t realize you could keep snakes as pets. We took him out, Dylan played with him for a bit…. Two days later we came back and bought everything.”
Duke’s campus is home to a surprising number of student pet owners, all hiding a myriad of creatures from the eyes of the law. Ball pythons aren’t common here, but alongside the dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, ferrets and hedgehogs that students raise, Buddha just about rounds out the surreptitious Duke zoo.
Ownership is a risky game. Pets are strictly forbidden by Housing, Dining and Residential Life policy, and pet owners are vividly aware of this. Their fear is justified. According to HDRL policy, “if it is reported that you have brought an animal into the residence halls, you will receive a letter requesting you remove the animal immediately and sign a statement that you have done so and will never again allow an animal to be brought into the residence halls.”
But Rich said this doesn’t worry him.
“I didn’t even know it was illegal for a while,” he said.
As Brockmeyer and Rich see it, having a pet on campus is well worth the risk.
“It keeps us some company,” Rich told me. “We’re just relaxing in here, Buddha relaxes with us. When you work and you see a snake passing by, it’s very chill; it kind of gives you this confidence boost. It’s a snake! In the room!”
Ball pythons are a non-venomous species commonly sold as pets, so despite Buddha’s intimidating presence, he isn’t actually dangerous.
Brockmeyer agreed with his roommate.
“It’s cool having another living thing besides humans in the room. You get pretty insane otherwise,” he said.
It’s said that owners resemble their pets, and when I asked about the difficulty of keeping the snake secret, it was clear that Rich shared Buddha’s confident nonchalance.
“Last weekend, we had a party, and before we knew it, one person came in to see the snake, and then five more came in, and they told their friend, and he told his friend, and she told her friend, and there ended up being a lot of people around here,” Rich told me.
I looked at him in disbelief. The stakes are very high, and Rich clearly understands this. But he also understands his friends.
“Nobody’s going to go and rat on us,” he said.
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* Names have been changed to protect sources.
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