General and Feeding advice for 1 1/2 yr old bp

I guess I'm here for a checkup to make sure that I'm not making any obvious mistakes. Also, I arrived at a slight feeding dilemma that I'd like some advice on.


First off the slight dilemma: My bp usually eats 2 adult mice (19g a piece) every 10 days. He has been on this feeding schedule for a while now (4+ months). The mice are f/t from the pet shop. Today is feeding day and to my surprise, I had no mice on hand. After a trip to the pet store (and many in the area), apparently no one has adult mice on hand. Also, they have no idea when they will get some in. I bought a small rat (f/t 40g) and will try it tonight. From what i can feel through the bag, the width of the rat is around the same size as my bp's widest part. I know some bp won't make the switch from mouse to rat. Has anyone had experience with this? And what do you think my chances of a successful feed with a hungry bp are? (Like i said, slight dilemma - nothing earth shattering here).

As for the general advice, below is the general info about my bp. If you see anything I'm doing wrong/should do better, please let me know. I figured its worth it to ask while I'm writing this thread anyway.

BP Info:
Male (sexed around age 1) ball python, captive bred, 1 1/2 years old
Approximately 40 inches long
620g before a meal
yearly checkup at herp vet

Feeding/shed Info:
2x 19g f/t adult mice every 10 days
Shedding about every month (all full, successful sheds)

Housing info:
40g terrarium (18" x 16" x 36")
temperature is 83* to 93* gradient
humidity 55-60%, raised to 75-80% near and during shed
controlled by herpstat 2 & automatic humidifier
heat provided by ceramic heater and heating pads
multiple hides

Thanks for any advice in advance :)
reptibark substrate