ok i just bought a BP. i bought it from petsmart. I had really no idea about what i was doing i did a little research before i went on care but not on what to look for when buying one i think i got a good snake though. The guy that helped me was not really forthcoming with the details (he said he owned 4 snakes including a reticulated python) but he helped me pick out a 20L tank and steered me away from the hot rock i only got one hide and i got a small water dish and i got a half log hide. I went back today after reading this site. I got a medium ceramic water bowl (big enough for my snake to soak but small enough that he/she could move around it. i also got a better hide (in my noob opinion) it is a half coconut that my snake fits in rather snugly but still big enough for it to get in and out of. when i got the snake i got one of the heat pads that sticks to the side/bottom and put it in the bottom the temp would not get above 80f so i went and got a 50w infrared light to help keep him warm if that is still not enough i will get the 75 untill his tank is about 85 daytime and 80 night. i did get the digital thermometer/hygrometer yesterday so i can keep track of his habitat precisely. he is more active now than he has been all day so i dont know if it the extra warmth of the better hiding spot or if it is time for him to start coming out being as he is nocturnal and all but i will keep a good eye on him to make sure he is doing well. they gave me his feed chart he ate on friday the 4th of july so i am going to keep feeding him on saturdays. I am sure this is a pandoras box for me to open but... they were feeding him frozen and the guy told me he had a bad experience with fresh having parasites. i feel beter about fresh for some reason i just feel like it would be the best way to go nutritionaly and i would not some half warmed funky thing to eat. how can i be sure that my snake is getting good quality food weather it be frozen or fresh. how can i make sure there are no parasites that will effect my baby (it is only about 9-12 inches long) if i do fresh i will use the co2 method i think that would be the safest humane way of doing it. or i stay with frozen how do i prepare it i bought a book but it still did not say anything on how to prepare frozen. help me the more i write in this thread the more helpless i feel to properly care for my snake. the guy said nothing of lifespan or anything. i am ok with having a snake that lives to be 40 but i would have liked to have known that before hand