Beginner Questions & Blue-Eyed Leucistics

[butterballpython]

Hello Everybody,

I am brand new to snake ownership. I know someone who loves snakes, and after several visits where I got to meet his animals, I realized that snakes are not the awful things I imagined, but quite interesting. I spent a lot of time learning about snakes on the internet and dreaming about having one of my own, then last weekend I saw one for sale and had a gotta-have-it moment. He's a young male butter morph ball python, about 150 grams, and he's in his new home being nice and mellow while I wonder if I've gotten in over my head. By that I mean I'm yucked out about the thought of feeling a dead rat pup to see if it's the right temperature to feed him. I can handle everything else. He arrived here on Thursday. I got help getting the plastic tub just right for him from someone who knows ball pythons quite well. I have six years' experience raising geckos, so I'm not new to herps, and have crested, chahoua, and leopard geckos.

A few newbie questions, please. His cage has cypress mulch on the floor. When I feed him, should I move him to an empty 10 gallon long enough to feed so he doesn't ingest any, or will that cause him to think of feeding when he's in it and strike at me? I read both comments while reading up on snakes on the internet. I do have a pair of small feeding tongs.

His cage is a little lower in temps than recommended, about 84-85 on the warm end, but he doesn't seem to want to stay there all the time. He seems happy going back and forth between the warm and cool ends during the day. Is this warm enough? Should I listen to the snake, who seems comfortable, or to the care sheets?

He's a butter, and I was told his father is a nuclear champagne and his mother a normal, and if bred with a mojave, lesser, or another butter, he could produce blue-eyed leucistics. I've searched the net, but can't find the answer to what would happen if you bred two blue-eyed leucistics or a butter, lesser, or mojave to a blue eyed leucistic. Two blue-eyed leucistics should probably give you more of the same, but what about breeding one to a butter, lesser, or mojave? Would you increase your chances of white snakes, or does that result in deformities, like breeding two merle dogs? Those questions are just in case I decide to get further into this.

Many thanks!