I have a 2 year old ball python that I think has some kind of messed up eating disorder. I usually feed her in her cage but make sure to take her our first and hold her and put the mouse in before putting her back in.

Two days ago when doing this however, she apparently did not eat her food and pulled it into her hideout and left it there and I did not check to make sure she ate it cause I was in a rush to work and did not notice she hadn't eaten it until it started to smell the next day. When I checked the cage to see what the smell was I found the mouse and went to go and get a bag to throw it out in but by the time I got back she was already eating the smelly mouse. I didn't know what to do because I'm sure that mouse was not healthy for her but I didn't know what to do to stop her.

This is not the first time she has done this. When I first got her she would leave the mouse for hours even a full day before eating it but after realizing it, I started to take them out right away if she waited more then an hour. I've tried many things to get her to eat properly (braining, putting her in a smaller cage when feeding) none seem to work though. She has been eating and is not underweight but I have been wasting many rats because of this and am really worried about any possible negative side effects of that rat and what would cause her to eat like that in the first place.

Any help would be really appreciated because I'm really worried and concerned. Thanks everyone.

- AJ