The message reads, in part, "...no negative comments please! Any negative comments will be deleted... When a live rat is left in a cage with a snake, and the snake does not eat it (this snake was in shed, which is why he refused food), many times the rat will turn on the snake. ... If you have to feed live (and we understand there are some snakes that will just not accept dead prey), then you need to supervise the snake until it has finished eating. If they don't eat, it needs to be removed. NEVER leave a live prey item unattended with a snake..."

The author is clearly biased in his/her beliefs and is making an attempt to use this isolated example in his/her arsenal in much the same way a believer of human-caused global warming attempts to use an unseasonably hot Summer. The message even uses the similar admonishment of blocking any comments which don't quite fit his/her agenda - this to quell any would-be dissenters.

It could have been written much more objectively, e.g. "Don't attempt to feed snakes in shed, regardless of whether F/T or live. If, when snakes are not in shed, you do feed live, always offer a much smaller prey item (even as little as 50% smaller) than that which can be ingested. This may entail thinking outside the box and acting outside parameters of the commonly accepted norms, i.e. feeding prey items of less diameter than the snakes widest width and/or feeding more frequently than once a week.

Unless of course () you think that reptiles, which have been evolving since dinosaurs were pooping in puddles, naturally sought out prey as large as their widest width in lieu of smaller prey, and only once a week vs whenever opportunities arose. In which case please continue adhering to the commonly accepted norm."

I recall reading on this forum a message posted within the past month or so which stated something to the extent that small rats were the largest item that ever need be offered throughout the entirety of a BP's life regardless of the BP's size or age. This, by extension, applies to those BP's of >4000g, even though a BP of >4000g is capable of ingesting a 600g rat.

Experienced reptile hobbyists well know that finicky eaters are more likely to accept an undersized prey item vs one of "standard" size. The whole once-weekly-widest-width-dogma, though convenient and economical, should have long been retired. But I digress.