I have had the bp for 1 yr 1 mo. I do not have any history on him but he was a good size when I got him. I estimate he is about 3.5-4 ft. I keep him in a 55 gallon tank with a red heat lamp and an under the tank heating pad. I have several rocks, large drinking bowl and a tree limb in the tank. I only have 1 hide toward the middle. the warm side is 85 degrees air temp. He can go to the heating pad or climb the limb to get closer to the heating lamp. The cool side is 75 degrees with about 50 percent humidity. I use newspaper as a substrate. I read that it was as good as any to use. He does move around the cage to regulate his temp. He has only eaten live rats and mice for me. I got him last January and I did not even try to feed him for a few weeks as I heard they should get use to their environment before trying to feed them. I take him out of the tank and put him in a darker rubber maid tub to feed. I would like to keep him but just do not want to harm him by something that I am doing to keep him from eating. Thank you everyone for your comments and suggestions. Keep them coming!