Hello! My name is Anna. I'm a 21 year old crazy college kid that has suddenly found herself fascinated with sneks. I'm going to be receiving my very first ball python about a week from today. I'm super excited and nervous and happy and anxious and and and--- stressed.

So here's some stuff about me.

Non-snek related:

I live in Bloomington, Indiana and currently I'm a senior at Indiana University, graduating in December. (I took a semester and a half off of school to get a full time job and kind of take a break from university, since I was getting majorly burned out and my GPA was showing it.) I'm majoring in biology and minoring in French. My hobbies include Netflix, sleep, video games, watching twitch.tv, and preparing for my baby BP. I've been a vegetarian for over 6 years now, which my friends find very ironic considering my newfound love of carnivoran constrictors. I work part time at the local department store (where I worked full time during my hiatus), which I absolutely love, and I plan on trying to work my way through the ranks after I graduate.

Snek-related:

I've been planning for his arrival for weeks now, and it's coming up so quickly I cannot believe it! I had never even thought of owning a snake until I had to go over to a classmate's house for a group project, and her roommate had a little normal ball python. I was curious at first, but after a couple of sips of wine I was ready to ask to hold her-- and she obliged.

That little snake was absolutely the sweetest and cutest living thing I had ever seen, and she loved how warm I was (I'm a naturally hot natured person) and cuddled around my neck.

Something just clicked in me. It was truly love at first sight. <3

I could not get that little snoot out of my mind, and suddenly I found myself Googling ball pythons and their care just to humor myself. The more I read, the more I began to entertain the idea that "I can actually do this!"

One fated day, I visited my local Petco just to start to look at the supplies I would need and their prices. Lo and behold, they were having a sale on tanks and their stands. I took home a 20 gallon tank and a nice stand for about $70 total, and that sealed the deal.

I began collecting supplies and setting up my tank to make sure it held humidity well and also had the correct temps. In the meantime, I began shopping for my own little BP online. I have to say that the idea of shipping a live animal from somewhere in the U.S. kept me wary at first, but after watching a couple of unboxing videos on Youtube, I was convinced.

After several days on MorphMarket, I had finally found a baby that spoke to me.


He is a butter pewter male, hatched on April 6, 2016, bred by Ivory Exotics. I've almost got him all paid off, and he is going to be my little boo boo, but I haven't really settled on a name yet. I was thinking Brutus...? I'm so happy to take him in under my wing and I just want to give him the happiest life a little ball python could ever have.

He is also going to be my secret boo boo. I've only told people not in my immediate family, minus my brother and aunt (two of my most trusted family members). If my parents found out, they would freak out and probably just not understand, so I will wait for a while to tell them. My grandmother... well, imagine an old woman's reaction to finding out that her granddaughter is keeping a snake willingly as a pet. However, my family lives on the other side of the state from me right now, and they practically never visit. I've blocked my mom and her friends from seeing my story on Snapchat since I know that the majority of my snaps are going to be of snek. Hopefully I won't have to keep the ruse for very long, I want to share him with the world and show him off because he is the most precious creature on the Earth. <3

But anyways, I thought that I would join your fabulous community to share my boo boo with you, but also try to be an active member and troubleshoot any future problems I might have with him (knock on wood!).

Thank you for taking the time to read about me falling in love with a reptile, though I can imagine many members can relate.