This will probably be a recurring story I share on the form, but that's because it is a good example of why switching to f/t rodents is ideal:
I intern at an exotic animal clinic, and a few weeks ago we had a young female ball python come in with a bony growth near her cloaca. Coincidentally, the time period in which this growth started to appear lined up with the last time this snake had been fed as she had started refusing food. The owner confirmed he was feeding live, and we suspected that a bite had fractured her spine. Sure enough, x-rays showed that the spine had been fractured and hadn't healed normally. This is a permanent defect, which can sometimes affect the ability to safely breed an animal and their quality of life. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the x-ray to show you but I found an image online which is similar to what we saw.
Many people don't realize just how strong rodent jaws can be. Bites can happen too quickly for you to intervene in time, causing severe and permanent injury to your animal.
There are plenty of resources to help you start the process of switching to f/t.
Good luck with your little guy!
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