The first month or so he would only eat crickets, somtimes I could get him to eat a pinky. I had to pick him up and feed it to him. Now he goes on the diet I explained above. He is about 9 months old. The other sites I will refer you to will explain in greater detail the different types of food he will eat. When there is only one Pet shop around, you get what you can.

When I first brought Nefarious home he resided in a 15 gallon fish tank. It was not long and you could tell he was cramped. Now he lives in a condo. His home is 6ft x 2ft x 2ft.

The bigest problem is the heat. I live in Niagara Falls NY, the average temp in my house during the winter is 55-60 degrees. The minimum temp in his tank is 85 degrees, that is at night. The maximum temp is his tank is 105 degrees in his basking area. I use one porcelin heat lamp, one 100watt light bulb, and a cobra heat mat. In his basking area he also has a heat rock. I have to keep a close eye on the ventilation so that the temps don't stray too far.

The cage itself is made of 3/4 in plywood. The front glass is 1/2 in. As for access the front glass is on hinges to drop down, I also have a access from the top. I have one ventilation hole on the left and the right on top. There is also a 1/8 in gap between the glass door and the cage.

Housing
The water dish is one of the most important items in the tank. Nefarious loves to just hang out in there. You need a bowl big enough for him to swim and deficate in. You will be changing the water anywhere from one to several times a day. I have a waterfall that I purchased to help keep the water from going stagnet. As I said, he also deficates there, of course this makes it easy to clean out the tank.

I work 24hr shifts, so I cannot clean out his bowl as often as needed, so you must make it work. I put a carbon filter system on his bowl. You may think that solves the problem, Well I only have to change the water once a day now. The mouse hair clogs everything up if not changed daily.

The bowl must be heavy enough that he cannot "muscle" it over. Place it where you can retrive it easily and close up the home quickly.

When I first started out I used reptile bark. Well I found out that I have a allergy to it. I was in Home Depot one day and seen washed and strained "play sand" on sale. I tried that in the tank and Nefarious now moves around more and has a larger appitite. He seems to enjoy the sand much more.

Water Dish