Yea i dunno if hitting the mouse/rat over the head is "inhumane".... either way its going to be killed by the snake right? ...if it wakes up its gonna have a concussion or whatever a rat/mouse gets after being blasted in the dome so i dont see it doing too much to a snake... either way OP i think your best bet is to get smaller prey... I dunno what your local pet shop has but see if they carry F/T or small mice... If your snake doesnt eat in like 3 weeks send me a PM and ill send you some F/T.