A medium sized rat does not drop dead easily or quickly with reasonable care. My guess (as a former pet rat keeper & breeder of many years) is that it was sick,
& I'd for sure mention that to the pet store, though it's hard to prove at this point. Rats in pet stores* can be exposed to various illnesses & when under more stress
(like trying to feed it to your snake) might have been the "last straw". You might not have noticed that it was congested, etc. Live rats also pose some risk to us
too, by the diseases/pathogens they carry, so I second the suggestion to get your snake feeding on f/t...it's safer for your snake AND for you.
*In the past, I've known some pet stores that bought their rodents from local suppliers, & one time when the mgr. actually checked out their source in person (after
buying their rodents for a while) they discovered to their horror that their rodents were being raised in a shed that failed to keep out wild rats (etc) too, under dirty
& horrible conditions...you never know, but you might get some hint if you know what to look for in the rodents themselves...like if they're scratching (have lice) etc.
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