Live to Frozen?

[Bogertophis]

Yeah, some snakes are easy & others much more picky.

Many here swear by using a blow-dryer to warm the rodent (especially the face) right before offering, so it has lifelike warmth.

Feed when your snakes are HUNGRY, & waiting to ambush (evening usually best, dim light best for some also). Use feeding tongs (keeps your hands out of the way
since they go after warmth, but also keeps your scent from confusing the snake).

Using tongs to slightly wiggle the prey, but don't over-do it; also don't approach the snake with the rodent (that can scare the snake, since prey doesn't volunteer to
be eaten in the real world). Instead make it look as if the rodent is cluelessly walking past where the snake is watching (hopefully from his hide)...not too close, you
want to elicit the snake to chase a little.

How you thaw can make the difference: doing it wrong causes spoilage which can cause many snakes to reject. I recommend* thawing in refrigerator (very slow) or
preferably, thawing in cool water until you can feel it's soft thru-out (thawed), only then immerse a few minutes in very warm water (not boiling, you don't want to cook
it!) & use a hair-dryer for extra heat if needed immediately before offering to snake. *There are many methods that ppl will suggest but I prefer to avoid spoilage...just
remember that rodents are whole animals, with a GI tract full of bacteria just waiting to grow at room temperature, so the faster you can thaw while keeping the rodent
cold, the less spoilage you'll have...then warm quickly & serve. Thawing in cool water is what I do...it's pretty fast, depending on size of rodents. (med.-large rats can
take a while, but adult mice or small rats are pretty fast)

If your snake is still refusing f/t, another way to switch them over is to offer 2 small items that together are roughly the size of what they'd eat as one rodent. First offer
a fuzzy or hopper mouse (live) as an appetizer, & either (A) as soon as they swallow that, offer the f/t rodent (already thawed/warmed) while the snake is still pumped
up...most will pounce on it, but if not (B) try chain-feeding one after the other. You'll need to be very quiet & stealthy or your snake will tuck their head in & refuse.

I've never used "broth" for flavoring or found "braining" a dead rodent to be helpful...at all. But if you want a bit more scent from a f/t rodent, use your feeding tongs to
pinch-damage the rodent's nose & you'll typically see a lot more interest...and that's what you want your snake to grab anyway.

Patience... & good luck! It's well-worth changing them over for safety & convenience both.