I feed live because the lady I got my snake from (10 years experience owning/breading) feeds all her snakes live and said that the risk is minimal if the prey is appropriate and your eyes are on the snake until the food is gone. She gave me more detailed instructions, but that's not what I want your opinions on.

Yesterday was feeding day and when I went to buy a mouse they were all pretty small, so I bought two. I put the first one in and she took it almost immediately. I waited about two or three minutes after it was completely gone and put the other one in. I was going to give her a few minutes and then take it out if she didn't seem interested. She took the second one after about two minutes.

Afterward, I started wondering if that was OK, so I did some Googling. I came upon a link to a post on this site (the post was from 2006ish) where this issue was being discussed. One member said he does exactly what I did and he keeps doing it until the snake stops expressing interest. Other members said this is overfeeding and isn't a good idea.

I know methods change with the times and members come and go. So, I'd like some fresh opinions based on current knowledge. Is it harmful or unhealthy to let her eat until she wants to stop? Will she stop when she's done? And what effect if any should this have on her feeding schedule?

She is almost 4 months old, about 15" long (I'm guessing here), and I haven't weighed her. I have no interest in making her bigger faster. I tried this strictly to make sure she got enough food to be satisfied.