Baby Rat Snake

[Deadstick]

Hello everyone! First post, so please forgive me if I'm in the wrong forum.

Just to preface: Normally I don't like to take snakes out of the wild, but I caught a baby Great Plains Rat Snake on my front porch. My daughter LOVES snakes and has been wanting one for a pet for a long time, and begged me to keep it, so.... I now have a GP Rat Snake.

15 years ago I used to have Garter snakes as pets. Whole different ball game I'm sure...

This rat snake appears very healthy at this point and I'd like to keep it that way. The question is, does it NEED to eat pinkies or would it eat crickets?

Also, should I wait a while before feeding it or should I offer food right away?

Of course my daughter wants to play with it NOW, but I've read that it's a good idea to let a new snake acclimate to it's new home for a week or so before handling it. I assume that's a good rule to follow in this case. Should I refrain from handling (and keep my daughter from handling) the snake until it starts eating?

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

THanks!!!