Feeding question?

[Erndogg]

So, I have had my albino girl now since the End of April (My first). To this point, I seem to be noticing a pattern with her feeding, and I want to know if its something I have been doing wrong or if its specific to her.

First off, I have found that she will only eat live, doesn't want anything to do with F/T. She is 500+ grams. I have found that she only eat a live small rat (I have a good relationship with mom and pop pet shop in the area, so when I go in for a rat, he goes and gets one smaller then his "small rats" from his personal stock in back. So they are just a bit bigger then a weanling rat. 40-50gram range) I have found that she will only eat once every two weeks.

I have tried to feed her every week since I got her and have noticed that she eats one week, refuses the next. Is a pattern like this normal or is there something to be concerned with.

I have been checking her temps almost daily, and they stay in the area of 89-92 on the hot side, 78-81 cool. She has 2 hides, one on each side, Humidity is generally around 65%, I cant seem to get that to come down any more.

I have her in a Steralite tub with heat tape on the hot side.

This week I expected her to refuse. After about 15 minutes in with her, I decided to remove the rat. I used the 12 inch tweezers to remove the rat, and I moved it in front of her for a min, and she struck it, and coiled. I was happy she it looked like she was going to eat. The next morning, I opened the tub part way, and saw the dead rat laying there.

Now is there something I am doing wrong where she is not eating every week, or should I just assume that she only wants to eat every other week and plan accordingly?

[KMG]

If your feeding live and since you only have one snake I would watch it until the rat is dead so that the rat could be stopped if it starts to harm your snake. Some rats think that have alot to live for and fight. Some people keep a pencil near by for a biter but I just flick them in the head to stun them.

I would think your snake would eat weekly but biweekly isn't terrible.

Things that may help:
1. I leave my snakes alone the day before and the day of feeding.
2. Feed while dark and quite.
3. Place the rat in the room near the tub so your snake can smell it a while before you offer it.
4. Try to weigh the rats so you know what percentage your feeding. It may be alittle high so your snake is skipping a week.
5. Add fake plants or logs to clutter up the tub and add to the feeling of security. This may not be an issue at all. I'm just throwing out tips that can help with non feeders.

[Erndogg]

I probably should have elaborated on this last feeding, she hit the rat while I had it in front of her, and coiled, I watched for a few mins and made sure that the rat was done for. I was paying attention the entire time, and made sure the rat was dead before closing up the tub, and leaving her to eat.

[treeboa]

KMG has a lot of good tips. It has to be something subtle, you're definitely not doing anything obviously wrong. If the surface temp of the hot side or hotspot is low 90's you could try bumping up the temp just like 2 degrees. Balls tend to be quirky and sometimes little changes work. At least she eats and rats at that! Worst case scenario it is just her preference and she grows a little slower. Try everything one at a time and good luck!