Hi all!

My name is Ken, and I am a brand new bp owner and this is my first herp ever. Did a lot of research on them before and have done a lot more research after the purchase.

A little background: I bought the bp from a local pet shop. It is a normal bp (captive-bred). They didn't seem to know much about how old it was, feeding schedule, shedding schedule, etc.. After doing more research to find answers to the every-day questions that keep rising, I guess I should have bought one from one of the breeders on the net/this forum.

I got him on a Thursday, and fed him at the advise of the salesperson (who's dad is a bp breeder) on that Sunday. He took to the mouse very easily, and has fed once more since then. He eats twice a week right now on a 4/3/4 day schedule, although after reading more, I guess I should try two mice on the same day and then a 7-10 day wait?

After his first feed, the day after, we found a pile of bp poop right next to his hide, along with a couple of white "pellets". I'm guessing these pellets are the undigestibles? (Teeth, bones, fur)

The second feed, he seemed to be a bit more aggresive, took the mouse right away, swallowed it faster... but no poop. We did find the white pellets as before, but no poop. Then later on that day, his eyes became a little glassy and I thought "yeah! I've read about this... he's about ready to shed!" Then his eyes went back to normal yesterday (about 2 days after we noticed the change in appearance.) But no shed! What gives?

Along with any corrections to what I've already written, I have some pointed questions to ask:

1.) How often to bp's shed? As far as I can tell, he is around 24" long, and I have no idea of weight. According to the pet store, they estimate his age at around 4 to 5 months.

2.) How soon after feeding do they usually deficate?

3.) How large of an enclosure do they require when full grown? We currently have him in a 20 gallon (long) all glass aquarium with a screened locking lid.

4.) I've been feeding him in his normal enclosure for the first two feeds although I have read that it is sometimes benificial to feed in a seperate enclosure. Why is this, and what benefit does it give us?

I've already learned so much, and I'm driving my girlfriend nuts with all the "the book says" and "the pros on the internet say" stuff I tell her about handling and feeding, and general husbandry and care.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Ken