Had already tried the live before I saw your post Dr. Del - offered a very small live mouse - the smell was reaking after a 45 minute stint in the travel box - introduced in very low light - snake showed absolutely NO interest at all - I have yet to see this snake flick it's tongue since I have had him - I will try what you said Dr. Del - how long should I wait? - On a side note gathered an interesting lesson on the power of a mouse's smell as I decided to peek in on the other 3 after removing the mouse. Two of them were oviously in high alert feed mode with their heads strategically positioned out of their hide and the other went nuts when I opened his lid literally leaping out over the edge of the tub looking for the food. Pretty incredible to see - lol.