how long is too long?

[latazyo]

my baby ball python has not eaten since April 5th and continues to reject rats

the first time I fed the snake (march 24) I fed it an adult mouse and it ate it within 1 minute

the next time I fed (April 5) it ate a small rat immediately upon site

since then I've had no luck

I am beginning to think that I might be feeding improperly

what I have been doing is soaking the rat in hot water to heat it up, and then offering it to my ball

when I feed my snakes I pull them out and put them in individual feeding containers until they're done eating and then return them to their normal tubs on the rack

is all of that moving around freaking my ball into not eating?

everytime I offer a rat to my snake and she rejects it, I DO leave it in her original cage overnight with the snake after I return it to the rack, however she's never taken it over night

the past few times I've brained some pinkie mice onto the rat, but with no luck

how long is too long to hold out for rats....should I offer mice?

PS: as you may have seen from my pic post last week the snake is not skinny and has actually gained 40g and 5" since I acquired the snake 3.5 months ago