Problem/Picky feeder - sort of...

[Dracoluna]

My first question would be how was it discovered that it is only going to eat F/T or pre-killed? Coming from corns, where feeding live is a sin, to bp's, I realized that feeding live can be perfectly safe. That being said, these are animals with instincts. If the animal has never been offered live, then I would start with something that's less likely to harm it like a crawler rather than a small rat right off the bat. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how well their instincts work to their advantage. A rescue girl I have was fed nothing but F/T since being purchased at PetCo. When I got her, I noticed that despite only dead 'prey', she still always grabs the head, coils tightly, and holds that long enough for a live rodent to have expired. That is what their instincts are for. Start with something small that can't harm her and if she does well, move her up. Just supervise the feedings and make sure no one gets hurt. There are several threads on here about feeding live and how to do it responsibly. I'd look them over and if you have any questions, there is literally a ton of experience on this forum to answer them so no one gets hurt.

I only feed F/T but I can understand not wanting rats taking up freezer space. Nothing like having a guest looking for ice at a party and hearing the screams from the kitchen because you forgot to hide them behind the frozen veggies... Oops...