Another option is to put news paper down in the cage a few hour before you feed. I do it and it works very well. The snake usually feed from a perch right over the top of it. However I see you are feeding LIVE which changes things a bit. I know in the wild these animals ingest all sorts of things and do fine yet like you I totally prefer to avoid it and take extra steps.

That said, instead of making your nice looking setup into another news print jungle, maybe consider coconut husk. It's as fine as sand and will not cause the issues chunks of wood will.

IF you can somehow switch to frozen thawed even batter but that may be totally one of those non options.

Ya gotta do what ya gotta do but feeding is an enjoyable experience and watching it happen in a natural setting is cool IMO.

Try the coconut husk, I think you'll be pleased.

Glad it worked out.

Good thread!!