[Sid]

On your "bulb" question, a halogen bulb would be far too hot. What is the temp on the heated side of your viv. Should be 80 to 85 degreess F. If it's higher than that I would go to a lower watt bulb. His not eating could be due to the time of year. In the wild he would be burmating now. Keep offering the live minnows. If he doesn't start eating them you my want to consider cooling him down for a short burmation ( a couple of weeks). Often this will trigger their appitite. As for the pinkies, my Easterns are tough to convert. Once he's eating well again put a pinkie in the water dish with the fish, he'll end up grabbing it and will finally accept it as food. Hope this helps.