Lots of good advice here, some not so good...
I understand the fear of picking up a snake. Confidence takes a little time to build but once you realize the bites are the least scary thing on the planet, you will be just fine! If my snakes even look like they are going to strike I either tap them gently on the nose with my hand or some nearby object. This will usually make the snake "ball up" and is much easier to grab. If you feel more comfortable with gloves, then do it! All this scent stuff is kind of nonsense... You are huge compared to this snake, its not like they can only smell your hands and if you cover them up they suddenly can't smell you.
As for rats and rodents in the vicinity of the snake, I don't think it matters. I keep my ASF colony right next to my snakes and I don't notice any strange aggressive behavior or anything like that. It should also be worth mentioning that ASFs are a great choice for feeders. Their full adult size is pretty much perfect for an adult ball python. And they breed like crazy!!
If for now you can only get your hands on adult mice, that would be fine to feed your snake. 10-15% is just a guideline. If you have a scale it takes the guess work out of deciding which prey item to feed.
And thank you for doing your homework and being so receptive to our feedback!
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