What I do for thawing the food animals (varies with me depending on whether the reptile shop has the right sized rats available, or whether I just have to settle for some large mice) is I use a medium large insulated mug. I fill this with hot tap water, seal the mouse/rat in a ziploc style bag, and using a short metal handle prop it under the hot water in the mug. I have a kitchen "Candy" thermometer which I use to monitor the temperature of the water. When the water drops down to about 100 degrees, I check the mouse/rat and make sure it feels warm all the way through. If not, I'll refresh the water with some more hot and continue thawing a little longer.

When I feed, I hold the mouse/rat with a pair of long needlenose pliers that I've placed heat-shrinkable tubing around the jaws (makes sure there are no harsh metal edges to potentially abrade the snake). I dangle the prey nearby in front of the snake, or, if the snake is in its hide, I jiggle the mouse/rat in and out of the hole on the hide. Some snakes have no problem taking the prey without any motion, while others seem to need some jiggling to simulate a living prey. Remember that your snake starts the strike on visual mode, but switches to "heat seeking" for the final "hit". This is a very important point to remember when you dangle the mouse or rat with your hand, as your hand is going to be very close to the same temperature as the prey. On visual, the snake saw a rather small target, but on thermal mode, it suddenly "sees" a very large target, and it may strike for center of the heat mass. That might just mean it hits your hand instead of the mouse. While BP's don't have very large teeth, they do have a lot of very sharp teeth, which can leave numerous puncture wounds, and worse, if you jerk away from the strike, numerous nasty lacerations. You may also injure your snake if you snatch your hand away from a strike.

It's better all around to avoid the problem and use forceps or pliers. It also helps prevent the snake from associating your hand with food, so when you reach in to pick him or her up, you won't have as much chance of them getting excited and striking for a mouse that isn't there.

As Mike suggested also, some BP's can be a little shy about eating in front of an audience. Leaving the prey in the enclosure overnight, or for a while with the enclosure covered or the room darkened, can sometimes encourage the BP to feed. Magellan seems more likely to feed when I'm not looking. Phil will feed no matter what's going on, but Magellan is a little more shy about it. I'll have to see how Dixie is the first time I feed her.