Cornsnakes and TAXES?

[Javen]

Okay... first off I just wanted to say that when it comes to Taxes.... I'm not too bright. I do my own, heck, I do my boyfriend's too, and have for years, but if it gets any more complicated I'm gonna need help. So I turned to TurboTax.
The use of this product was a subject of discussion between my father and I, sitting at dinner last time he visited. He let me in on a few secrets I didn't know about my hobby.


One being that, if I do claim income on selling hatchlings, I can then claim deductions on ALL my expenses! (I know most of you already know all about this, but as a tax noob it blew my mind) He then went on to talk about everything could be claimed: the expense for getting FedEx certified, buying the animals themselves, the room where I kept my reptiles, the food, the food FOR the food, and even gas to and tables for reptile shows! He also said that, if at first I'm taking a loss on this home 'business', I will get more back on my income from work?

Sounds too good to be true. What's your take on the pros and cons of claiming herp income?
(I'm so glad I have virtual paypal receipts from every snake I've bought so far, except Raver, from the petstore)