If you are having trouble finding tubs, many of us use 10 gallon tanks for our ASF's. they are usually about 9 bucks each. the screen lids if you don't want to make your own are also about 8 bucks each, and the clips to secure them are 3 bucks. a glass water bottle is 6 bucks, and the water bottle holder 4 bucks. so total for each tank would be about $30.

Caution though... It would be just about impossible with one snake to not get almost immediately over run. These things reproduce more consistantly then any other rodent. When the females have their babies, they will be pregnant again by the end of that day. my average litter size is 12... and that is every 3 weeks. Some will sell mice and rats to pet shops when they get too many... but many pet shops will not take ASF's. Generally speaking, there love to bite makes them undesirable pets for the main stream pet trade.

To answer your questions, the smell is next to nothing, and that is HUGE to most people including myself. They take 3 - 4 times longer to grow to full size compared to a rat. When full grown they are twice the size of an extra large mouse... about the size of a small rat only fatter. They eat and drink much less then mice and rats (probably 1/3 as much). Rats / mice, to avoid the stink, even with the perfect setup, you have to clean every 5 days. ASF setups can easily go 3 weeks, and even then they don't stink like a 5 day old rat set up. Some claim to have "tame" ASF's. That said, once they have babies, you will need to pick them up with feeding tongs. If you don't, you will likely get bit, and they will draw blood.

I wouldn't worry too much about the prey imprinting theory. Sure, it can happen, but it is not likely. Haven't talked to anyone yet that was not able to switch from ASF's to rats in time.

Mike