Feeding

[Bogertophis]

You're forgiven- it's smart to ask. And yes, rats smell (& presumably taste-) very different from mice, & also pose much more danger to snakes- they're smarter, have bigger teeth & fight for life harder- they can hurt or even kill a snake, depending on the size/age of the rat. Here's the thing: Both mice & rats will defend themselves only after their eyes are open. Until that time, they're helpless. Once their eyes are open, both can & will bite back, but rats are tougher. Most snakes are instinctively fearful of rats, especially when all they've known so far is mice. Some BPs may never accept rats as food, others prefer them-

Best way to transition- if you can (with locally available live food of the right size) is once the snake is big enough to take 2 small items as one meal- first give them a small live fuzzy/hopper mouse- make sure it's not enough to fill them up- (exact items depend on size of your snake), & once they've taken that, (soon after, while they're still "pumped up" in "feed mode" as we say) offer a small second item that's freshly pre-killed (p/k) or frozen/thawed (f/t), either rat or mouse, depending on what you're trying to switch them to. Above all, be patient, don't offer meals too often- make sure the snake is really hungry, & feed at the right time (evening) with low lighting & no commotion in the room to distract or intimidate the snake. In other words, keep yourself in the background. Even though your snake has been eating well, when you make changes, they can be more sensitive.

About sizes of prey- you didn't mention the size/age of your snake or how long you've had him, but most BPs start off big enough to take one mouse hopper as a meal. A mouse fuzzy is smaller & not enough on it's own, & might be hard to come by if your local store isn't breeding them- so I hope they are. So when you're ready to transition a young BP, a live fuzzy might be enough of a live "appetizer", followed by a f/t hopper. See? Also, understand that BPs depend on the heat signature of their prey, so when you offer f/t, make sure it has "lifelike" warmth- many soak prey briefly in very warm water, &/or use a blow dryer & offer quickly, while it's warm enough to get the snake's attention. Also, get & use feeding tongs if you haven't already.