anytime i feed live i wear a glove for 2 reasons one i can hold the tail of the rat if im not sure the snake will strike well (have a spider that really wobbles when foods around and wont look at f/t) and 2 if i let the snake hunt if a bad strike happens i just grab the top jaw of the rat and wait i know of a guy that uses chainmail glove when dealing with rodents but leather seems to be good just remain vigilent if a live rodent is in your snakes enclosure