The primary reason the snake would not strike when offered f/t is that it probably was not warm enough. If prey is cooler or the same temp as you then the snake is going to get confused a little by the different temperatures it is sensing.
Now as far as the original question, multiple mice or a rat. This is just my opinion and as far as I am aware a study has never been done. Every prey item has non usuable substances in them such as skin, hair, bone that offer little to no nutritional value. In my opinion the amount of non usable substances of 4 mice is greater then a rat of the same cumulative mass. Therefore in my mind 1 rat is better for the snake.
I do know this for a matter of fact from personal experience. A mouse eater, no matter how many mice it eats in a sitting or a week is always significantly smaller then a rat eater of the same age. I would personally say stay with the mice only if the snake refuses to switch or you simply can not obtain rats. Thanks for listening. Todd
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