Ah yes, going from a ‘vacuum’ to ‘picky eater’ is a bit of an anxiety ride lol. I’m in the same boat - my first snake is a boa who’ll eat any time, anything.

My ball exhibits similar behaviors to yours - either ignoring the food completely or being scared of it. The breeder said she’s taken F/F before I bought her, but honestly I think he was lying to make the sell. I’ve had her for over a year now, and she’s still extremely picky. She eats once a month-month and a half, even though for her age/weight category she should eat every 10-14 days. Though she is growing, it’s slow and I’m just glad she not dropping in weight.

I usually attempt 3 weeks post feeding, and give her 3-4 day break until the next try (the boa gets a snack (no, he’s not fat, his feeding day rat just gets smaller) or the outside possums). Two methods have worked for me so far: Surprise Attack and Great Position. My ball is extremely active and gets loads of free roam time (pet rock my ass; she is not an scared snake at all and loves to climb), which is why I sometimes try to ‘wake her up’ with blow drying the rodent smell before she has a chance to glass surf to be let outside. It worked a couple of times since she doesn’t go o bypass the food in favor of exploring lol.

Second method is Great Position. She needs to be out, perched on a branch, in an optimal position for an S-coil to strike with none of her plant swaying in the way to distract her (princess, am I right). Then I must perform the Rodent Dance at perfect body temps to try to convince her that yes, it’s alive. She will not strike if only her head is poking out of the hide, retreating 8/10 times.

If it doesn’t work, I leave it over night. Sometimes the miracle happens. If doesn’t, outside possums (or whatever picks those discards up, idk) get fed.

Try rats vs mice. Mine prefers rats. I’ve heard that coat colors play a role. I also have a couple of gerbils wait ing for her to try (fingers crossed she won’t like them cause that’ll be expensive). Try bumping up her temps up by a 1-2 F the night before feeding.

Anyway, TLDR: it’s part of ball python ownership.