You do what ever works for your animal. Each one is different. We have some who will launch at you on feeding day just to get the rat. Others we just toss it in the tub. They get around to eating it eventually or not. Note to everyone else (The rat is not left in the tub for long to avoid injury to the snake) Keep trying different methods untill you find one that works. Was the animal captive hatch or captive bred. If it was captive bred you might contact the breeder and ask what he was feeding before he sold it to you. Also remember sometimes snakes will go off feed after a change in their environment. i.e. moving to your house. Give it a week to settle, watch it's weight and try again with fuzzies or hoppers.