Won't eat rats :\

[sugarplum22]

Hello!! Long story short I adopted a ball python from work that wasn't eating and was very skinny! Since I have had her she has been eating regularly and is gaining weight and doing well. Still very small for her age but that's to be expected for how long she refused to eat! Anyway my problem is that I decided to switch her to f/t rat pups instead of f/t large mice! I have recently moved and she didn't eat for a week or so after the move I guess due to stress as temps and everything were fine! So I have been thinking of switching to rats for a while and as I was low on mice I went to a reptile show and bough 50 rat pups! Well I tried feeding her and she didn't eat for 3 weeks and I was getting discouraged worrying that the move would cause her to go off feed and get skinny like before!! But I decided to try giving her a mouse and the little brat ate it right away!! Lol
so now I have 50 rat pups she won't eat and I need some tips to get her to switch over to rats!

Thanks for any tips

[Dracoluna]

You can always try rubbing a rat pup on a mouse to get the scent to transfer over. Another option would be to wait her out. Depending on her weight, that may or may not be the best option. I keep both mice and rats on hand because while I prefer them on the rats, sometimes mine like a mouse (especially my boys in breeding season). If nothing else, go with the mice until she gets enough weight to wait her out. She will eventually eat. Also, depending on how you are thawing them out, I've found that with rats, I let them thaw out in the fridge or on the counter versus in water. Seems to keep more scent that way. Mice, doesn't seem to matter on. Just be patient with her and try different things. These guys do things on their own time.