I did come across the regulations hee regarding ownership. Western hognose are listed as threatened or endangered here in Iowa. The only way to legally keep one is with a special issued permit. Even then, breeding or selling them in Iowa is totally out of the question. The offspring would be entirely illegal. The Eastern hognose are not listed as threatened but are still found in the wild in spots within the state. Since that is the case, you don't need a permit to keep one but you DO need a bill of receipt that the snake was acquired from a breeder out of state. Once again....breeding those is technically illegal here also. Iowa has this thing about all snakes being protected that are found in wild populations within the state. Garter snakes are the only ones that are not included.
That being said, I have turned away from them and am going to be starting a breeding project with the Mexican hognose. Since they are not found within the state...they are perfectly legal here. They still seem to be pretty rare in the current reptile trade, so maybe they aren't such a bad thing to work with. I have an adult breeder pair that should be arriving in a few weeks. I'm pretty stoked about it.

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