Trying to switch to rats, snake is confused. Tips?

Normally, I put the frozen mouse on the shelf next to her tank while I boil some water. When she smells the water, she comes out and I do our little feed ritual so she eats(legit she won't eat unless I do it). She'll usually take the mouse.

Today I tried to give her a rat. The first time I tried this, she was much smaller and terrified of it. This time it's about the same size as the mice she gets and she wasn't afraid at all. I dunked the rat in the water with the mouse, then put them both under a hair dryer to dry and I scented the rat. When I offered it to her, she went right up to it like she normally does, sniffed the hell out of it, crawled around sniffing some more, and then looked at me confusedly. This was not a mouse.

The rat got cold, so I reheated it and scented it again, rubbing the mouse on it a little harder. This got her to sniff more intensely, but ultimately produced the same result. How can I get her to take the rat? She is less than a year old.

You can feed a live rat pup or a live rat weanling. Or just keep trying frozen. Rat pups are equivalent to large mice I believe.

Its not that your snakes confused its that your snake is a ball python and they are known to be picky about what they eat... if you really want to scent the rat your better off getting some soiled bedding from a pet store and doing it that way vs using a wet previously frozen mouse

Skip a week or two of feeding so she's good and hungry. Won't hurt her at all and it will likely increase your chances.

Like she was really interested and reacting the same as she would with a mouse. And then she went right up to it and smelled the hell out of it, and then it ceased to be prey and it became a New Thing that she must acquaint herself with. She does the same thing when presented with a houseplant.

Skip a week of feeding AND go live. BPs are notorious finicky and picky eaters. Have to get them good and hungry/motivated for the rat.

Now you now why I convert mine when they're still on mouse hoppers. They are much more likely to switch when they are young, hungry, and hit anything that moves.

You can try scenting with bedding. Make sure all other conditions are ideal. At night, make sure the rat is hot enough, make sure there's no distractions (like a TV on in the background). If necessary you can also try braining. It's a little gross in concept, but it's not hard. Also, don't try too often to get her to feed. If she skips one, wait until the next appropriate feeding day. I don't recommend going live until it's a last resort because they can get stuck and be picky and refuse f/t after that.

I'm having this problem too. I've had my BP a little over 2 weeks (brand new owner) & he ate a small f/t mouse which I had to leave in his tank (he ate it after 30 mins). 5 days later I gave him a medium f/t mouse; same deal: left in tank & he ate. This past Wed & Thur I offered a f/t rat fuzzy which he didn't eat. I'm thinking he might just like mice, plus the breeder gave him live & f/t. I'm not sure if I should buy live mice or not, plus I have 25 rat fuzzies & 25 pups that might be stuck in the fridge for awhile. Not sure if I should wait a few more days & try again w/th rat fuzzy

First I would make sure to check to see the temps are spot on. Then I would continue to offer the new prey item. As long as the animal is in good health/weight to begin with. You can keep on trying on a weekly basis. I believe eventually it will take it. I picked up Blackpin from a very good breeder last year. When he got here he didn't want f/t. The breeder said he was a great eater and eating frozen. He suggested to just try waiting him out (his weight was good for his age). But I wasn't crazy about letting a little guy not eat, So I tried fresh killed. He took it, I feed him every four to five days for a couple of months. Not large prey items, a little smaller than I would normally do. He became a good little eater. One day I offered him a f/t he checked it out, but wouldn't take it. It went like that for two weeks. On the third he stuck so fast I jumped. Hope it all works out for.