I have been having trouble feeding my 4-month-old bp since I got him. He has terrible aim and every time I've tried to feed him (f/t), he strikes but misses his prey at least once. He either ends up with a mouth-full of substrate, or occasionally a mouth-full of skin off the top of the rodent's head. The rodent is usually 1-2 cm from his face when he strikes and I always heat it up with a hair dryer before trying to feed him, yet he still has trouble locking on.

I am trying to transition him to f/t rats because that was his diet before I bought him. The first meal I fed him was a f/t mouse due to unavailability of rats at the time, and I have not been able to get him to take a rat since. He always shows interest and strikes at rats, but whenever he strikes and misses a rat, he always is too spooked to strike again (and usually is irked by the mouthful of dirt he ends up with) and won't eat. However, with mice, he is willing to strike a second, third, and fourth time after missing. It's frustrating because I have been trying to get him on a rat diet, but he's only persistent when it comes to mice.

Any possible advice/answers are welcome!! I'm a first-time reptile owner and would appreciate any help I can get!