:-D i had to get my own bar freezer to keep in my snake room because the wife did not like me keeping rodents next to our food hahaha
but yeah, i agree that mice are best, the only reason i feed rats is from GTPs losing interest in mice, refusing to even look at them... so i tried with rats of smaller size, they went for them right away.. the issue with rats is like i said earlier, more fat, bigger bones and i've read the fur is harder to digest.
same thing happen with this 2 year old i have, started her on pinky mice, moved to crawlers then she ignored them.. tried a pinky rat and she ate it...but she must have been 1 year old before she ate a rat.
i should try to switch her , must say that i feed them smaller and only every 7-10 days .
when i say smaller,the rat is smaller than what a mouse would be..
i agree,hydration is often overlooked
access to fresh water and misting is an absolute must..
misting the snake itself is also important, they will drink the water drops off their bodies, heck mine even goes for a swim at night sometimes
hope the OP will give more details and updates..