Most people here feed once a week a small small rat.Originally Posted by N4S
Feeding every 3 weeks is not a good pattern for your ball and can cause poor consistency. This may be the reason why your ball stops eating at times.
Also, your comment about "let the rat go down the woods" I really hope you don't mean you are letting the rat go (like freedom) in the woods? This is not only illegal in most states it is also not nice as the rat is a domestic animal and unlikely to be able to survive on its own. You would be better of euthanizing it if you cannot keep it till your ball is ready to feed.