Rat Escapes Ball Python Strike

[B.P.'s 4me]

I have a couple of ball pythons that absolutely refuse anything other than live. I tried fasting them for several weeks, and then caved. They have NEVER missed a live meal since. I feed every 2nd week, and the rodent is always taken within 30 seconds (usually less) of my putting it in the bin.
I had a 3rd youngster that was on live when I purchased her. The breeder advised me he'd never had luck trying to get her to eat f/t and after she refused a couple of feedings I accepted that was the case and just assumed I'd be feeding her live forever, with the other two.
Three weeks ago, on feeding day, I thawed a rat which was refused by a snake in pre shed. On a whim, rather than waste it, I offered it to my "live only" girl as she was the only one accepting that size rodent. To my utter amazement, she grabbed it with no hesitation. Since then, she's had two additional f/t feedings and taken them the moment I offered.
One thing I HAVE noticed that makes a difference, esp. to "fussy eaters", is the method of thawing. When I first got into ball pythons I was advised to thaw by warming the prey in warm water and then using a dryer to heat them up a bit. This does work if the snakes are eager feeders, but I find better results in thawing more gradually ..... under a 40 watt light bulb (in an enclosed space) for a couple of hours works well for smallish rats. Once they're completely thawed, I heat for a few moments with a hair dryer (particularly the head and shoulders) and then offer immediately (they cool down very quickly) It was this method that worked for my yearling live feeder, and I find that most of my snakes just have a better feeding response if I DON'T soak the rats first.
I can honestly say that I've never had a live rat harm my snakes. There have been a couple over the years that weren't grabbed properly and did struggle a bit, but honestly, even that doesn't last longer than 20 - 30 seconds. I hate feeding live and for a long time didn't have snakes because I didn't want to. I refused to buy any snakes that were eating live, but eventually had to make a choice in passing up a snake I really liked, or be willing to feed live. I STILL hate it, but admit that I've often thought that snakes kill much more humanely and quickly than so many other predators.