Dang that’s nuts. Guess they don’t really enforce it, since I see plenty of listings with snakes and banned dog breeds. 
Not all snakes are banned on THS and the dog breed relates to the country that the sit is in as each country has its own rules on the breeds that are banned.
If you see a sit that breaks the rules in this way you can report it to member services so that they can take the listing down
hmm, your needs are quite specific yet open-ended - difficult, yes.
Are you near a university? Have you considered approaching the science department - maybe a grad student or visiting professor could fit the bill.
I don’t work for THS, if they have rules that need to be enforced, they should hire someone to enforce them. I shouldn’t need to spend my time reporting things that go against their rules.
As for snakes, there are venomous snakes, constrictors, and snakes that bash their prey against a rock. I doubt THS would be happy to allow a 12 foot indigo snake on here, but it seems like this rule was written by someone with no snake experience.
A tortoise can bite right through a finger, no problem. Same with a parrot. A non-banned dog breed can attack or bite without provocation. Cats can scratch you accidentally and give you sepsis. Some animals carry salmonella. There is an element of risk to working with live animals. With how often THS users are directed to the liability section of the T&C’s, I think we as responsible adults should be allowed to decide which animals we spend time with.
But anyway, I know this is not the point of this thread. I just find it frustrating that some animals are not allowed while others are and there’s no nuance. And then I, as a paying customer, am supposed to be the one reporting these? Nah.
@CoolCatAunt I have edited my comment to
“You can report it to member services” ( instead of you should report it ) which is what I had intended to say
I, and no doubt others who have commented on your post, would love to know what you’re thinking of doing @Irstein or have you left the forum? Your name didn’t pop up just now
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Thank you to all who have responded here. Honestly, I’m not too sure what I should do.
You all have been very helpful answering my questions and I feel like most of my concerns were addressed. But the whole side conversation about customer service thinking ball pythons being banned makes me nervous. (Even if I still think it will depend on the agent you get). What if a busybody see it and flags the listing while I’m half way across the world? There is someone who has volunteered to take the snake locally but I’m worried about husbandry - she’s really nice but runs a reptile rescue in a small house with 16 cats. Not to mention I’d have to hire movers to get her enclosure to the person’s house.
For the record, after talking to my wife I just bought my one way ticket for 2/1. So I guess this is a problem for later. One of the best resources may be universities. I live in a city with lots of them, and hopefully if I get a PhD student or professor in here I could actually charge nominal rent. And they could easily live in my guestroom for a couple of weeks while the semester starts up. I’ve also put out feelers on craigslist and my neighborhood facebook page and gotten a couple leads. But the craigslist ones at least each fell through.
The one thing I’m hoping for to solve the problem is that my house is very nice and in a great location. It’s a 2BR loft with 25 foot ceilings and windows to match. It’s right off downtown and next to the MLB team’s stadium, walkable to tourist areas, restaurants, etc. I’m hoping that carries it. At the same time, I live in a city on the east coast that has a bad reputation that is mostly not deserved (hint: it’s where “the wire” took place), so I imagine even if the snake thing weren’t an issue I wouldn’t get many travelers willing to devote a year on THS who aren’t local and already know where I live is safe. So I guess renting it probably is the solution, but of course I get worried about husbandry getting some random person. I can vet them on things like job and criminal record, but not if they will know what to do when my skink is in shed.
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These is the clause in the terms and conditions that relates to snakes :
5.2.11. not have any inherently dangerous pets (such as venomous snakes or constrictors, primates, wolves or wolf hybrids, non-domesticated cats, alligators), banned dog breeds, or any animal with a history of attacks on pets or people;
Yes. I understand that language. The question is how you read it. (I’m a policy analyst). We don’t need to get into it but the way that it’s written I see ambiguity. I’d rather not get into it.
You might want to try to rent it with a student or anyone who loves snakes, as part of the rental (is it aloud? not familiar with rental law in your location)? Can you rent 1 bedroom as a roommate type of arrangement? With you never being therein the 2nd bedroom?
I mean, if I was offered an apt in a city that looked as awesome as you describe (hello loft space!), for a cheaper price than market price, under the condition that I’d have to mind 3 kitties, or doggies, or hamsters or, etc. I’d jump on the offer!
Can you advertise locally on craigslist to test the waters? or on campus?
I’d say you might find the perfect candidate. If not, you can go to plan B, C, D.