Russian Rat Regurgitated

[hilabeans]

If I could decipher where his neck was, I think I'd ring it...

I got another live feeder yesterday and tempted him with it. He ran away from it like I was trying to kill him. He finally settled down and I left the writhing pink next to his head. He just sat there staring at it, so I left them alone. After 2 hours the mouse no longer moved and I assumed it was dead, or dying. Bonsai hadn't moved either so I just left the two of them there and went out with the fam for a few hours. When we returned late last night, the mouse was gone and Bonsai was in his hide.

I assume he ate his mouse, though I didn't lift his hide to check. I'll do that this evening when I get home from work. I just can't believe this once bold, ravenous eater has turned into this hesitant, disinterested, nervous little thing. I do not want to keep feeding live, I absolutely hate it, but if it takes him hours to eat a live mouse - surely he's going to totally turn down a f/t? Right?

Could time of feeding be an issue? We leave the house early every morning, before the sun is up, so I've been offering his food in the late afternoons between 4-5 PM when we're home and he's out. As a diurnal snake, is this a turnoff for him? It never mattered before, but now I'm grasping at straws trying to figure out why he's completely changed his tune on food.

I would really love to end this thread, but the corner I'm trying to turn seems as far away as ever.