I deal with thousands of balls at work. Everything from normals to animals with 7(+?) Genes. I also had balls in my collection until recently. Balls are going to do best feeding on rats, plain and simple. Once they hit 2,000 grams, they will pop mice when they hit them. I never knew Balls were such aggressive feeders until I started working where I work. An adult Ball hits HARD, and we're feeding medium-large rats to our breeders. Most balls will only take live with any regularity. Most of the time this can be accomplished in a safe manner as long as you visually watch the snake grab the rat. Now if you are feeding F/T, the best thing to do after you thaw it out is to wrap it in a paper towl and roll it in your hands. It warms the rodent up and drys it off. Most Balls will take a rodent like that quicker than just a wet rat. An adult Ball simply won't do well on mice, maybe an adult male you want to keep under 1,000 grams so he'll be a productive breeder, but an adult female should be around 1,800 grams+, and feel like a big muscle. Mice aren't going to do that as easily as a rat will and your snake won't get the same nutrients. Rats are so much better for boids and pythons than mice. I strongly reccommend feeding rats.
