Another feeding problem.

I've been feeding the snake f/t mice for over a year now. I thaw it, place her in a separate box, then dangle it in there. No problems until now. She's refused to eat twice now, and I hate wasting rodents. There have been a couple changes so this may be stress related, which is why I'm trying to fix them. First off, I always had one half log hide on the warm side. After reading a bunch of posts here, I upgraded to two identical cave hides, which she loves. I also just moved back to a somewhat colder climate from school, so the ambient temp has been a little bit lower (in the 70s). I've adjusted the two UTHs accordingly, so the warm and cool sides are spot on. The last thing I've done is move from large mice to rats. These are a lot bigger, and she seems scared of them.

So here comes what I've done. I got new hides as I mentioned. I'm using mice now again, and just feeding two. I'm trying to get the amb temp up, and it is getting warmer climate wise.

This is where you all come in. I decided next time I'm going to pre-scent the room, even though a f/t mouse smells horrid. I also might start feeding her in her tank. I use ReptiBark, so will this pose as a risk of impaction? I've heard some people place something flat in the tank to put the mouse on. Could I say, remove the hide she is not in to place the mouse?

I'll attach a picture of my setup.


I guess I'm also worried that if I feed in her tank, she'll be more likely to bite me when I take her out. Is this possible? Is there anything else I can do to improve the feeding process?

I am just a mess of questions...but it's good to get everything worked out.