I have to say that I have already fed a live rat pup to my male normal once. My male is a little over a year old. Now, before you jump on me, let me explain why I had to do this. My male normal went off feed for 43 days and would not eat small rats or mice of any kind. I had to give him a live rat pup to get him eating for me again. Mind you, I only did this one time.