Hi all,

My name is Jenna and I'm an Illinois dweller. I'm fairly new to this site, but never fear I'm not so new to the crazy world of all things slithery and cute.

First off, I'd just like to tell everyone in this forum that I am soooo insanely jealous of your little hoggies. I remember the first time I got my hands on one, I think I might have swooned more than the time I played with my first retic and bought my own ball python. These guys are just some of the most fascinating little critters in the world and I just can't help but utterly melt when I see one. But, the main reason why I'm here is because I'm pretty sure owning and breeding and keeping one is impossible for me. I've tried my absolute hardest to read up on reptile regulations and laws in my area, but for some reason I have such a hard time understand what I can and cannot do. That may sound somewhat dumb, but I've always found that when someone explains something to me in their own words I can comprehend concepts way better. Getting off topic, anyway, I was just wondering if anyone has experience with Illinois laws or knows of anyone I can talk to about this. I really adore the breed. I would really love to keep, breed, and raise them. I just don't see myself having a future jumping into breeding my ball pythons. There are just too many out there and I really don't want to add more unwanted animals on the market. Not to sound hypocritical. I'm not trying to strike gold in the snake industry. I'm just so interesting in genetics and the appeal of the hognose is just so tempting. I know selling them is probably not going to happen around here. I've looked around a bit, but haven't seen much info on the topic. Would loooove some input and advice and just general conversation. Maybe some help on trying to get focused on another breed to turn my interest in?

I dunno. Help a sister out or just show me your cute snakes.

Thanks!