Is live feeding really that dangerous?

[Spiritserpents]

I feed live, it's natural. Just watch the kill and then leave it alone with it for a while so it feels safe.

This I must quibble with.

The way we feed live to our snakes is nothing close to natural as in nature, the snake and mouse/rat do not find themselves confined in an area that is a couple square feet, unable to escape.

It's like saying that, because it's natural, I should release live rabbits and fawns in my living room for my dog to kill and eat for her dinner. I'm also not going to release song birds, rabbit pups and rodents for my cats to hunt and eat because that, too, would be 'natural'.

There are understandable reasons for feeding live. 'Natural' is not one of them.