I was in the same boat. I didn't really do much research before I got mine either. Probably not the smartest thing to do, but I had to have him right then and there I have learned a ton about them though in just a couple weeks. Never thought I could get attached to a snake, but he's my little buddy now. I brought mine home on a Saturday and then a fed him a frozen to thawed hopper I think it was either a Monday or Tuesday night and it took him about 15 minutes to grab it and finish it. He has always been a really good eater though. The only time he refused a mouse was the day after he shed. That was my bad though. They don't usually eat until a couple days after they shed. Now it takes him 5 minutes to get the thing down. He doesn't mess around haha. He's pretty good about striking at the hoppers head but if he gets the belly he will twist it around. I usually lay the head of the mouse straight and put the snake so that they are nose to nose basically. Maybe that might help a bit so your guy doesn't eat it backwards. Sorry for the novel