First, congratulations on the successful first feed!

Secondly, many of us here do feed live with no problems at all. I think I'd be more concerned that the mouse would "come out of it" and be pizzed off and more likely to attack than ignorantly exploring the enclosure before it knows what hits it (the snake).

I've been feeding all my "kids" live with no incidents. Just be sure to remove your mousey friend if your snake doesn't eat and try again the following week. I usually give my "kids" 30 minutes. I know them well enough (well Kashmire anyway, the others are striking in under two minutes) to know that if they haven't taken it in the first 30 minutes, they're not taking it at all.

In that 30 minutes time, the mouse really has no particular interest in the snake other than to sniff at it. They don't attack with no provocation and when they've been hit by the snake, there's no time for defensive strategies!