I would definately try getting that guy on rats; they're so much more economical.
Ball pythons are such unreliable feeders. So if you can actually get him to eat, why feed him something small? If Goblin is only going to take one prey item for the next three months, I want it to be a big old rat, not a small mouse.
Except in hopeless cases, feeding live is completely inexcusable to me. My finger got bitten a few days ago by a hopper mouse and it is still bleeding off and on. Imagine that on your snake's inner mouth where you can't see... not a good prospect.