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Some of my snakes have taken a meal or two the unconventional way. Just last weekend one of females that is a great eater struck and killed her rat and decided she wanted to eat it tail first. She attempted several times until she decided enough was enough. Fed her again this weekend and she ate like a champ.

When I fed F/T I owuld thaw the prey item in warm water, not hot enough to cook it though. Once it was completely thawed I would grab my wife's blow dryer (kidding) and heat up the head more then the rest of the body. Give that a try and see if your little guy will take it head first.

One more quick word of advice, I would move to rats frmo mice sooner than later. The variations in sizes of feeder rats that are available will be able to feed your BP for it's entire life through 1 rat each feeding. Your snake will quickly outgrow the mice and you will end up having to feed multiple prey items in one feeding.

And YES, they will settle in time as long as they feel comfortable and the husbandry is kept up.