Paul -

First off, CONGRATS!!!!! That is awesome - I am so glad that Mr. Plissy Pants finally kicked his hunger strike! "Eau de Stanky Mouse" can work like a charm to switch those finicky feeders over to rats!

Just a thought - when you're feeding either of your snakes & they grab the rat, make sure you don't let go of the rat immediately upon them grabbing it. Give the rodent a nice little wiggle/shake/tug with the tongs, as this will elicit stronger constricting behavior from your snake - i.e. it makes them think they're really having to overpower the prey item. Sometimes asking them to "commit" to constricting their prey by giving it the extra tug can help to ensure they don't decide to drop the prey item later on, which some picky feeders will do on occasion. Nothing adds insult to injury like a snake that grabs a rodent & then drops it after constricting.

Don't jerk so hard that the snake lets go, just put up a little bit of a fake "struggle" - that's usually all it takes.

Congrats - keep up the good work!!! You're a diligently observant keeper & your thirst for further understanding of your animals is always a pleasure to see.

K