I live in Illinois and caught a small western as a kid near a pine forest. It was a darker phased one and looked a lot to me like a pygmy rattlesnake in coloration. It was passive and gentle and I immediately released it because I was aware of their appetite for toads. I was sure the snake could take care of itself better than I could and, besides, I love toads and could never bring myself to treat them like food animals. As I grew older, I had this nagging fascination with these snakes and when I learned of breeders that had successfully gotten them to accept rodents, I became excited that my dream may someday come true. When I saw some beautiful morphs from a breeder in Wisconsin at the show in Chicago, I was ready to make my purchase only to learn that westerns are classified as a threatened species in Illinois and you need a special permit from the state to keep them. At that time, there was an initial processing fee and an annual renewal. I gave up on my dream and went with a ball python that I rescued from a broken home (balls are awesome reptiles). The other day at the local petshop, there were 2 baby westerns offered for sale and I was in love. Few reptiles are cuter that baby hogs. They said that the permit thing was still in effect, only now it was free. I excitedly called the number they gave me only to get an unanswered ring with no answering machine or a busy signal (taxes at work). This proved very frustrating as I was ready to fork over the $80 for one of these babies. That weekend, there was a swap meet by Peoria, and since I was visiting relatives there, I took an hour to check it out. In one of the tanks I saw what appeared to be a speckled kingsnake, only with a reddish coloration. I can't tell you how surprised I was to find out that it was an "african hognose". It was wild caught, but the same $80 price. It's disposition was calm and passive like my ball. It is truly a beautiful animal with a kind of fishnet striped pattern going through the speckles. Although it's face is not quite as cute as our native hogs, it still has the trademark cartoon smile on close inspection. I was even more impressed when I learned it was from Madagascar. Although there is no way these snakes can be related to our hogs, it's amazing how many traits they have in common. When he was in the snake bag and I guess I woke him up to check on him, he puffed up but only briefly. I really love my new snake and I don't need no stinkin' permit! I feel real lucky to make this find and recommend other people in Illinois to look beyond the westerns to pursue your love for these snakes. Sorry for the length...just had to share.