Finally getting a BTS!

[artgecko]

Thanks again for the info..
My bad... Easterns not Westerns *face palm*. Another guy on the BTS forum actually has a litter of eye-banded Easterns. those are only for people wanting "investment quality" animals though, as there are not many eye-banded Easterns in the US. the Easterns this breeder has are not eye banded.

The breeder I'm looking at is this guy. He doesn't have the IJs listed on his website, I read in an old post that he had some for sale, but again, I've got to check to see if they are CBB. He has a lot of Northerns for sale.

There's also a guy selling some Mereuke (sp?) juvies on KS / Fauna that I might look into. I think those are farm bred or WC, but appear to be long-term captives. They are about 12" long though and I was wanting to grow up a baby, so they may not be the best option. and there is one baby Meruke being auctioned for charity on a FB group.. I might look into that as well (the baby is stunning) but because it is CBB, I'm sure it will go for far more than I can spend. I'd like to stay around $200, but if I get a non-northern BTS, I don't think that will happen.

I did watch the LLL food video. It's a shame she isn't working with their BTS anymore or I'd consider ordering from them. I'm basically going to follow her recipe, but add in some quality dog food (mainly for the vitamins). I've got a food processor, so will probably grind up everything in that. I have heard of some people having success using lower quality dog food (with by-products) as part of their diet.. I'm considering attempting this to see how it goes. If I can find a brand that specifically uses, say, "beef byproducts" that would be better (mostly organs sinew, etc.) than a generic 'meat by products", but I'm still looking at options.

it's more of a question of availability for me than $$ at this point. There are not might good high-end brands available in my area and I don't want to have any shipped in. It may just be cheaper to use ground turkey and chicken gizzards / livers / hearts.

I was browsing online and saw that boamaster is offering a 4' x 2' x 12" pvc cage pretty darn cheap (I think it's under $200 including shipping), but I'd have to see if he will cut a mesh hole for heating in the top... If I were better at building things, I'd hazard doing it myself, but I'd hate to spend money and attempt to build a cage and have it not work out in the end.