I always fed live with no problems...but when I rescued a BP that was near death and partially blind from very badly capped eyes, I wanted her to eat live still so I started smacking the rats on the ground pretty hard while they are still in the paper bag. When I dump them in her feeding tank they are still moving and live... but are severely stunned... To avoid feeling like a jerk I tell myself it is more humane this way because there is no way they will bite my snake.. and the live rat doesn't see what is coming... You don't have to watch the rat realize it is going to become lunch. Now I do this every time even though she is fully recovered. The first time I fed my red tail... I tried to do the same thing but the large rat didn't wasn't even phased by two heavy thumps on the hardwood floor... and when it got in the the feeding tank it was like every other live feeding I had seen until the strike ... The rat fought back screached and as soon as it was wrapped up I got close to look... And my heart almost stopped when I saw the rats with it's mouth open around my snake... I was so upset... Until he started to move to injest and I saw that the rats teeth sitting on the surface of his scales and no puncture... THANK GOD for the two smacks on the hardwood... Knocked the rats teeth loose so that when It tried to take a mouthful of Ziggy ... It's teeth just came out... That large rat would have done some serious damage. Snakes do get bit by live feeding... even happens in the wild... I have even heard of internal bites and wounds that get infected and turn fatal... Those are almost impossible to treat. I love my snakes to much to take the risk of putting a fully aware rat in there... even though the risk is small... It is there and can be avoided if you knock the wits out of the rat first.