I'm a newbie and I feed live, partly because I don't have issues dropping a live rodent in the snake cage and monitoring until it's done and the snake starts eating. I've grown up watching nature shows and seen it a thousand times, sure not in front of my eyes but that is nature. I also only have 1 snake (for now) and I feed monday or tuesday and due to work be highly inconsistent in the hours I don't have half a day to prep 1 meal that the snake may or may not take. My last feeding he was interested in what I was doing trying to open the box to feed but I must of moved to quick in a motion so he pulled his head back into the hide and stayed like that. I closed the terrarium door with the rat on the opposite side and waited. After a few minutes he realized something else was there and went on the hunt. If I was feeding anything else I wouldn't entice him back out again that day. I stand and watch until he lets his grip go to ensure the rat is in fact dead. I'm aware of the risk that one day he has the chance of being bitten once. I'm still researching alternatives. I always sit in front of the cage ready to open the door and put a tool between the rats mouth and the snake in case something happens. So far none have been that smart to bite back and generally the squealing lasts only a few seconds. It's interesting to see the hunting behaviour in terms of stalking across his new cage. This is a method that works for me. I buy my 1 meal on a per need basis as the reptile store isn't that far from home. I also don't feed large meals either and prefer to feed consistent medium size, he was eating wean rats at 266g when I bought him. He is now 370g and still eating the same. He eats every week eagerly so I'll continue to feed not super large prey for his size and slowly increase the size as he grows. I bought him Dec 14 and we're having a pretty cold winter but he isn't fasting.